A03

• * scientific?

  • focuses entirely on behaviour we can observe & measure such as symptoms & responses
  • * internal
  • can establish cause & effect relationship between phobic objects & behavioural characteristics
  • research takes place in an environment which controls evs
• * led to effective treatment?

  • sd works by helping people unlearn their phobias & has been effective at treating them for many patients
  • * valid
  • has been used to develop a treatment for phobias so has had positive impact on society
• X contradictory evidence of behavioural explanation?

  • research has found that many people with phobias have not had a fearful experience with phobic object in past
  • study showed that only 2% children who had phobia of water had actually had frightening experience with water in past
  • ? valid
  • suggests we may not acquire & learn behaviour through classical conditioning & association
  • may be other factors that are involved in development of phobias
• X reductionist?

  • reduces phobias down to fact we acquire it through association & maintained by negative reinforcement
  • pro - allows us to research in great detail & likely to be scientific
  • con - ignores other factors such as biological that could explain phobias
  • ? valid
  • other important factors are not taken into account when explaining phobias
  • too simplistic
• X treats symptoms not cause for sd?

  • treatment focuses on behaviour displayed in response to phobic object
  • replaces anxiety with relaxation to reduce panic & other symptoms
  • but does not deal with reasons behind these behaviours which means phobia may return later
  • ? effective
  • causes of phobia are not dealt with meaning it may not fully treat phobia in long term
• * evidence to show effectiveness for sd?

  • barlow et all 2002 examined those with injections & spider phobias
  • found sd has 60-90% success rate for clients
  • effective
  • shows in majority of patients with phobia sd successfully reduces symptoms of anxiety
  • allows them to lead normal lives
• * requires little effort for sd?

  • involves 3 simple steps which just requires creating anxiety heirarchy & learning relaxation techniques
  • does not require changing thoughts/personality
  • stages are easy & not cognitively demanding
  • many people can complete this such as children & those with learning difficulties
  • appropriate
  • easier for clients to go through in order to have phobia treated
  • means more people can access it & suitable for everyone
• * not as unethical as flooding?

  • main aim of treatment is to treat phobia gradually through replacing anxiety with relaxation so less chance of psychological harm through stress
  • appropriate
  • protects clients from harm
  • makes it more ethical so clients more likely to undergo this therapy
• * cost effective treatment for flooding?

  • treatment requires less time than others
  • only one session so cheaper for client
  • appropriate
  • phobias can be treated in more suitable time frame
  • makes it more accessible for wider population even those with lower income
• X flooding traumatic for patients

  • involves immediate exposure to phobic object can cause psychological harm
  • some people may pass out/have anxiety due to being exposed so quickly
  • ? appropriate
  • doesn’t protect patients from psychological harm
  • may be deemed unethical
  • people less likely to undergo treatment reducing its practicality
• X not effective treatment for all phobias for flooding?

  • works well for some phobias e.g arachnophobia
  • much more difficult to treat other phobias e.g social phobias
  • these people have irrational thoughts which accompany their phobia which flooding fails to treat
  • ? effective
  • treatment cannot successfully treat all phobias
  • may be better treatments that are universal for all individual symptoms