A2 Psychology Units G543 (& G544 Synoptically) Health & Clinical
A2 Psychology Units G543 (& G544 synoptically) – health & clinical
Behavioural perspective = behaviour is learnt and so has little to do with the individual and more to do with the situation they are in
As Watson & Rayner showed the learning of phobias appears to be a valid explanation (at least of phobias). Little Albert learnt to have a phobia by being presented with 2 stimuli together, the rat and the loud noise, until his response was fear of the rat alone. Behaviours such as phobias could be unlearnt in the same way. By pairing the phobic stimulus with something pleasant or relaxing, the treatment of phobias should be effective, and is known as systematic desensitisation. In terms of classical conditioning the fear response can be replaced by a conditioned response of calm. The stimulus that causes the fear is presented with something that makes the patient feel calm. Research by McGrath shows how successful the treatment can be for reducing phobias in a case study of a girl with a phobia of loud noises (ligyrophobia).
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A2 Psychology Units G543 (& G544 synoptically) – health & clinical
McGrath: successful treatment of a noise phobia
Aim
To treat a girl with specific noise phobias using systematic desensitisation
Methodology
A case study that details the treatment of noise phobia in one girl
Participant
Lucy, a 9 year old girl who had a fear of sudden loud noises. These included balloons, party poppers, guns, cars backfiring and fireworks. She had lower than average IQ, and was not depressed, anxious or fearful (tested with psychometric tests), so only had one specific phobia.
Design
A single-participant design
Procedure
Lucy was brought to the therapy session, and the programme explained to her and her parents, who gave their consent for further sessions.
At the first session Lucy constructed a hierarchy of feared noises. These included doors banging, cap guns, balloons and unexpected party poppers.
Lucy was taught breathing and imagery to relax, and was told to imagine herself at home on her bed with her toys. She also had a hypothetical ‘fear thermometer’ to rate her level of fear from 1 to 10. As she was given the stimulus loud noise, she paired her feared object (the loud noise) with relaxation, deep breathing and imagining herself at home with her toys. This would naturally lead her to feel calm. She then associated the noise with feeling calm. After 4 sessions she had learned to feel calm when the noise was presented. She did not need to imagine herself at home with her toys any more.
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A2 Psychology Units G543 (& G544 synoptically) – health & clinical
Findings
Session 1 / Session 4 / Session 5 / Session 6 / Session 7 / Session 8 / Session 10At the end of the first session, Lucy was reluctant to let balloons be burst even at the far end of the corridor. When the therapist burst the balloon anyway, Lucy cried and had to be taken away. She was encouraged to breathe deeply and relax / By the end of the 4th session, Lucy was able to signal a balloon to be burst 10 metres away, with only mild anxiety / Lucy held a deflated balloon, then a slightly inflated balloon and eventually was able to allow a small balloon to be burst in the consulting room. At the end of the session, Lucy was able to pop the balloons herself / Party poppers introduced and Lucy went from not allowing them into the consulting room to being able to pop one if the therapist held it
Cap guns were then introduced and were used outside, but Lucy was quickly able to agree to one being fired in the consulting room / By Lucy’s 10th and final session, her fear thermometer scores had gone from 7/10 to 3/10 for balloons popping and 9/10 to 3/10 for party poppers; the cap gun had gone from 8/10 to 5/10
Conclusion
It appears that noise phobias in children are amenable to systematic desensitisation. The important factors appear to have been giving Lucy control to say when and where noises were made, and the use of inhibitors of the fear response which included relaxation and a playful environment.
Thinking about the study…how does it help with the following?
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