Aversion therapy & eysecks theory

    Cards (15)

    • Aversion therapy
      Applies Eysenck's personality theory to the treatment of sex offenders
    • Eysenck's theory
      • Criminals tend to be strongly extravert and neurotic
      • This makes them harder to condition because they are more resistant to learning through punishment
    • Aversion therapy procedure
      1. Offenders asked to think about an unacceptable sexual fantasy until aroused
      2. Strongly aversive stimulus (e.g. electric shock, nausea-inducing drug) administered
      3. Procedure repeated until offender associates deviant arousal with stimulus
      4. Aim is to stop the thoughts and thus stop the offending behaviour
    • Aversive stimuli
      • Electric shock
      • Nausea-inducing drug
    • Aversion therapy has had very limited success, usually only short term, and its use in attempting to 'cure' gay people has also been criticised as a human rights abuse
    • Peter Price had aversion therapy to try to 'cure' him from being gay
    • Aversion therapy for Peter Price
      1. Shown magazines designed to arouse him
      2. Given electric shock or vomit-inducing drugs
    • Roger, the nurse who administered the aversion therapy: 'Described it as "dirty, filthy, grabbing"'
    • Peter agreed to have the "treatment" despite it being ludicrous, inhumane, and the cruelest form of torture
    • Aversion therapy is used
      To make the person feel disgusted
    • Aversion therapy used with gay men
      1. Shown arousing magazines
      2. Given electric shock
    • Peter's biggest fear during the treatment was whether he was going to come out alive
    • Peter's therapy lasted 72 hours
    • Roger had the power to decide if someone was given aversion therapy
    • Roger did not think the aversion therapy treatment was effective
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