Saavedra & Silverman et al

• Phobia


  Persistent, irrational fear of an object or situation that is out of proportion to the actual danger
• The person tries to avoid the phobic object or situation
• The fear and anxiety is out of proportion to the actual danger
• The phobia is persistent, lasting for 6 months or more
• The phobia causes clinically significant distress or impairs social, occupational or other areas of functioning
• The phobia is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder
• Systematic desensitization


  A treatment method for phobias that involves gradually exposing the person to the phobic object or situation while helping them relax
• Systematic desensitization procedure


  1. Start with a picture of the phobic object

  2. Hold a fake/plastic version of the object

  3. Hold the real phobic object behind a glass box

  4. Hold the real phobic object
• In vitro


  Exposure to the phobic stimulus outside the person's body (e.g. picture, fake object)
• In vivo


  Exposure to the real phobic stimulus up close and personal
• Flooding


  A controversial treatment method that involves overwhelming the person with the phobic stimulus to the point they can no longer feel afraid
• Flooding aims to overwhelm the person's cognitive capacity to process fear
• Case study of boy with button phobia


  • Developed phobia after buttons fell on him at age 5
  • Severely affected his daily life, struggled to dress himself
  • Hierarchy of button types from least to most distressing created
• Treatments used for boy's button phobia


  1. Contingency therapy - gradual exposure to buttons with positive reinforcement

  2. Imagery exposure therapy - imagining buttons falling on him and activating senses
• Contingency therapy


  Allowed boy to physically handle more buttons but distress levels increased
• Imagery exposure therapy


  Helped boy overcome phobia by activating senses and emotions related to the traumatic event
• Imagery exposure therapy was more effective than contingency therapy for overcoming the boy's button phobia
• Evaluative learning


  Learning where a neutral object is evaluated as disgusting
• Imagery exposure therapy


  1. Imagine buttons in sequence from big to small

  2. Imagine what you see, feel, smell
• Imagery exposure therapy


  Reduces distress ratings significantly
• Evaluative learning


  Involves looking at something neutral and evaluating it as disgusting
• Expectancy learning


  Involves thinking that something threatening is going to happen
• Phobias can involve both fear and disgust
• Imagery exposure therapy can have long-term positive effects on reducing distress from phobias by tackling negative evaluations
• Case study


  • In-depth, rich data
  • Cannot generalize results
• Validity


  • Triangulation from multiple sources
  • Quantitative measure of distress ratings
• Possibility of demand characteristics due to close researcher-participant relationship
• Ethical issues - distressing for vulnerable child, but informed consent and long-term benefits
• Phobias are generally learned through nurture rather than nature</b>
• Using children in research raises ethical concerns about protecting them from harm, but can also provide benefits