Button phobia

State the 2 assumptions of learning approach

1. Classical conditioning helps to explain changes in behaviour.

2. Social learning helps to explain changes in behaviour.

Describe the psychology being investigated

• Evaluative learning is a form of classical conditioning in which a person comes to perceive. a previously neutral object negatively.

• Phobia: a persistent and unreasonable fear of an object. The fear is disproportionate to the danger posed and leads to avoidance of the object.

• Fear: an unpleasant emotion caused by an organism’s defensive response to an imminent threat.

• Disgust: a feeling of revulsion or disapproval aroused by something unpleasant.

• Disgust is a concurrent emotion that in interaction with fear may result in increased avoidance behaviour.

Explain the background

• Evaluative learning was investigated by Ivan Pavlov, who observed dogs salivating in a laboratory.

• Salivation is an uncontrolled response to being presented with food (unconditioned stimulus).

• Pavlov presented food to the dogs alongside a neutral stimulus (bells), which created a learned association.

• Over the course of several trials, when the dogs heard the bell (conditioned stimulus) they began to salivate (conditioned response).

1. Before conditioning: unconditioned stimulus (food) → unconditioned response (salivation)

2. Before conditioning: neutral stimulus (bell ringing) → no response

3. During conditioning: unconditioned stimulus (food) + neutral stimulus (bell ringing) → unconditioned response (salivation)

4. After conditioning: conditioned stimulus (bell ringing) → conditioned response (salivation).

Describe the aims

• The aim was to examine the role of classical conditioning in relation to fear and avoidance of a particular stimulus.

• To investigate if using a type of exposure therapy could reduce the disgust and distress associated with buttons.

Describe the research method and design

• This was a clinical case study as it involved just one participant.

• Data was collected using self-report measures.

• The results of the treatment were measured using a nine-point scale of disgust known as the ‘Feelings Thermometer’.

Describe the sample

• The participant was a 9-year-old Hispanic American boy.

• Along with his mother, he had sought support from the Child Anxiety and Phobia Program at Florida International University, Miami.

• He had a specific phobia of buttons and had been experiencing symptoms for 4 years prior to the study.

Hierarchy of fear/disgust (rated using feelings thermometer scale of 0-8)

1. Large denim jean buttons - 2

2. Small denim jean buttons - 3

3. Clip-on denim jean buttons - 3

4. Large plastic buttons (colored) - 4

5. Large plastic buttons (clear) - 4

6. Hugging Mom when she wears large plastic buttons - 5

7. Medium plastic buttons (colored) - 5

8. Medium plastic buttons (clear) 6

9. Hugging Mom when she wears regular medium plastic buttons - 7

10. Small plastic buttons (colored) - 8

11. Small plastic buttons (clear) - 8

Explain the procedure

• The boy and his mother both provided informed consent to participate in the study.

• The phobia had begun at age five, when the boy had knocked over a bowl of buttons in front of his class and teacher. He found this event very distressing and his aversion for buttons slowly increased this point on.

• When he was interviewed the phobia was interfering significantly with his normal functioning; he could no longer dress himself with clothing involved with buttons as he found touching them severely distressing and disgusting.

• The most difficult items for the child were small, clear plastic buttons. These were rated at an ‘8’ on the

  nine-point Feelings Thermometer. This was the most unpleasant task for him.

• The boy was treated with positive reinforcement therapy, where he received rewards for handling a variety of buttons.

• The mother provided positive reinforcement therapy by hugging the boy while wearing plastic buttons. The treatment lasted 30 minutes with the boy and 20 minutes with the boy and his mother.

• In the imagery exposure therapy Interviews with the boy had revealed that he found buttons touching

  his body disgusting, and believed that buttons smelled unpleasant.

• Imagery exposure therapy uses visualisation techniques.

• The boy was asked to imagine buttons falling on him, and to consider how they looked, felt and smelled. He was also asked to talk about how these imagery exposures made him feel.

• The exposures progressed from images of larger to smaller buttons, in line with the boy’s fear hierarchy.

Explain the results: positive reinforcement therapy (behavioural exposure therapy)

• The boy was asked to rate 11 different scenarios (fears hierarchy) that included buttons .

• Even though the boy could handle more buttons his ratings for dislike increased on the hierarchy scale over the sessions.

• His feelings of disgust and anxiety also increased as a result of the positive reinforcement therapy.

Explain the results: imagery exposure therapy

• The imagery exposure therapy was successful in reducing the boy’s rating of distress.

• One example was, when the boy had to imagine hundreds of buttons falling on him which was rated as 8 at the start of the therapy, 5 during the therapy and 3 at the end of the therapy.

• After this treatment he came for follow-up sessions every 6 months and 12 months.

• The boy reported feeling minimal stress towards buttons and could actually wear his uniform with clear plastic buttons.

• Buttons didn’t affect his normal functional and he no longer met the criteria for a specific phobia of buttons.

Explain the conclusions

1. Emotions and cognitions relating to disgust are important when learning responses to phobic stimuli.

2. Imagery exposure can have a long-term effect on reducing the distress associated with specific phobias as it tackles negative emotions.

Evaluate the strengths of this study

• As this was a case study including only one participant in-depth data was collected making the results more valid.

• Quantitative data collected using the feelings thermometer allowed for an easy statistical analysis which allowed easy comparisons.

• Qualitative data collected using interviews allowed the researchers to understand the reasons for the abnormal behaviour.

• High ecological validity as the study was conducted in a therapeutic setting.

• The boy and his mother gave informed consent, this study gave him a range of therapies to minimise his psychological distress associated with buttons to improve his quality of life.

• His privacy was also maintained by keeping his identity confidential.

Evaluate the weaknesses of this study

• More chances of demand characteristics as the boy was aware he was being studied.

• The study was subjective as he created his own fear hierarchy for the feelings thermometer, which included his personal ratings.

• The findings of this study lack generalisability and representativeness as only one participant used and only explores one specific phobia of buttons which cannot represent the general population.

• Low mundane realism.

How can the findings of the study be applied to everyday life?

Classical conditioning can be used to treat specific phobias. Imagery exposure therapy can be used for long-term improvement by challenging the fearful association with phobic stimuli.

Nature vs nurture?

This study supports the nurture side of the debate as phobias cannot be genetically inherited as they arise negative experiences.