Individual Differences: Psychopathology (abnormality) AQA A Unit 2

To be able to explain one of the behavioural approaches to the treatment of abnormality. To evaluate the use of this psychological approach to therapy.

A women has an extreme fear of feathers that developed after a bird flew into her room as a child. Using behavioural principles can you explain why this phobia developed? A women has an extreme fear of feathers that developed after a bird flew into her room as a child. Using behavioural principles can you explain why this phobia developed?

Conditioning of a Phobia Before conditioning UCSUCR ( Something flying at you )(Fear) NSNo Response (Feathers)

Conditioning of a Phobia During conditioning UCSNSUCR (Flying at you)(feather) (fear) After conditioning CSCR (Feather)(fear)

A women has an extreme fear of feathers that developed after a bird flew into her room as a child. Using behavioural principles can you explain why this phobia developed? A women has an extreme fear of feathers that developed after a bird flew into her room as a child. Using behavioural principles can you explain why this phobia developed?

Systematic Desensitisation One of the behavioural therapies aimed to change maladaptive behaviour using the same principles by which it was learnt. Counter-conditioning –Classical condit ioning –Operant conditioning This therapy aims to extinguish an undesirable behaviour fear by replacing it with a more desirable one: relaxation. – phobias & anxiety disorders.

Systematic Desensitisation Systematic desensitisation works through reciprocal inhibition. We can not feel fear and relaxation at the same time

Systematic Desensitisation 1.Relaxation – the individual is taught how to relax using muscle relaxation techniques. 2.A hierarchy of fear is formed, with the most frightening anxiety inducing stimulus at one end and the least at the other. 3. Reciprocal Inhibition – relaxation is practiced and becomes associated with the least fear provoking situation, then the next least fear provoking and so on. The fear is worked through systematically.

Hierarchy of fear Example: fear of spiders 1.Think about spider 2.See picture of spider 3.Be in same room as spider in glass tank 4.Sit next to glass tank with the lid closed 5.Sit next to glass tank with the lid open 6.Put hand in tank 7.Hold spider in hands

How it works The subject is made to relax at each stage of the hierarchy, starting with the least fearful situation, and only progresses to the next stage when the they feel sufficiently relaxed to do so.

Your turn In pairs, come up with a hierarchy of fear for any phobia

Evaluation What might we consider when evaluating SD? Can you think of any evaluation points?

What evaluation points are there for the cognitive approach to abnormality?

Marie is terrified of dogs. Whenever she sees a dog or hears a dog barking she becomes very anxious and shows obvious signs of stress. She avoids people’s houses if she knows they have a dog and will no longer go to the park because people walk their dogs there. She thinks this goes back to an incident when she was six years old when she was bitten by a neighbour’s dog. Mark hates hospitals and other medical situations. Just the smell of disinfectant makes him feel very uneasy and he finds it much easier to avoid hospitals and surgeries altogether. He thinks this started soon after his mother died after a long illness during which she was hospitalised for long periods.

Surita is a successful young businesswoman, who runs a small accountancy firm. Recently, she has not been her usual self. She has become afraid of leaving the house, and feels acute anxiety when walking down the street, especially at night. Sometimes the anxiety is so bad that she has a panic attack. When she is inside, and especially at home, she does not feel so anxious, but this is making her reluctant to go out at all. Her friends and family are helping out by bringing round things she needs, and accompanying her when she goes out, if possible. She can do quite a lot of her work from home, but the anxiety is making her working life difficult, and is having a negative impact on her social life. The symptoms began shortly after she was robbed of her bag and phone whilst walking to her car after work. For this example, try to identify what started the phobic behaviour off and also which factors might play a part in keeping it going.

Practice Question James is afraid of flying. Just thinking about flying causes him distress and even going to the airport is a problem. James has consulted a psychologist to help him overcome his fear. 1.Which approach to psychopathology would be most likely to advocate the use of systematic desensitisation? (1) 2.Explain how systematic desensitisation might be carried out to overcome James’s fear of flying. (6) 3.Explain how one other psychological therapy might be carried out to treat James’s phobia. (6)