Using Conditioning to Help Children Overcome Fears
Imagine that you want to encourage a child to try a new food – perhaps restaurant chicken as opposed to Daddy and Mommy chicken. You may be concerned that forcing the child to eat the new food could lead to hatred of that food. So you may wind up softly urging, “just take one little bite.” In your most encouraging voice, with your broadest smile, and nodding your head, you repeat, “just one.” If the child still refused, perhaps you say, “Then just smell it!” You may use a little modeling too. You may take a bite and say, “Mmmmm, this is delicious!” and then encourage the child once more. If the child tries the chicken, you show great approval, including ample hugs and kisses (reinforcements). Another reinforcement, we might hope, would be the taste of the food itself. (if not, find another restaurant.)
The method is counter conditioning. In counter conditioning, a pleasing stimulus is paired repeatedly with a fear-evoking object or situation. In this way, it comes to counteract the fear response.
How about encouraging a hesitant child to walk into the surf? Perhaps you cajole the child into putting in one foot at a time to avoid severe anxiety. Then you show approval with each additional step. Once in the water, fear may be further counter conditioned by the fun of splashing around. Counter conditioning is a gradual process that requires some patience.
Some parents, of course, toss a resistant child into the water. This method could be called flooding. The assumption is that the child will learn that the water is fun and see that hesitating was silly. But the method could backfire; the child could continue to fuss and develop a lasting aversion to swimming. By the way, the cognitive therapist Aaron Beck overcame his own fear of blood by forcing himself to watch surgical operations.
Do you have any strong fears? If so, which method would you prefer be used on you to help you overcome your fears – counter conditioning or flooding? Why did you choose the method of therapy you did? Why did you not choose the other?