What was the aim of the study?
Who was the participant?
9 year old Hispanic American boy
What button had the lowest rating?
Large denim jean buttons
The boy was followed up 6 and 12 months after treatment and at both times he did not meet the DSM-IV criteria for a specific phobia anymore. He could wear clear plastic buttons on his school uniform shirt.
One strength in Ethics and One weakness
Strength:
The boy and the mother gave informed consent to participate and publish the results.
No physical harm
Weakness:
Psychological distress
What type of experiment is this? And where was it conducted?
Clinical Case Study it was conducted at Florida International Study
How did his phobia start?
Started showing symptoms of button phobia 4 years prior (at age 5), when he knocked over a bowl of buttons in front of his class and teacher.
What buttons had the highest rating?
Small plastic buttons colored and clear
What is the main conclusion?
Emotions and cognitions relating to disgust are important in the development and maintenance of a phobia
One weakness in Generalizability
Weakness:
Low generalizability, only studies one individual, with one specific phobia
Not representative of the general population.
What was the Research Design? IV and DV?
Case Study Approach
What type of sample is it?
Opportunity Sample
Explain the procedures
What is the conclusion based on the imagery exposure?
Imagery exposure has a long-term effect on reducing distress relating to specific phobias as it tackles negative evaluations.
One strength in Applicability and One weakness
Strength:
Imagery exposure therapy can be used to treat other phobias
Weakness:
May only work on this type of phobia
What was the psychology being investigated?
Role of Disgust in Phobias
Classical Conditioning
How was he diagnosed?
The DSM-IV (4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) was used to diagnose him with button phobia.
Explain the Positive reinforcement therapy
What are the results of the positive reinforcement therapy?
One strength in Validity and One weakness
Strength:
Participant was studied over an extended period
All data comes from the source
6- & 12-month check-up shows long-term effects of therapy
Qualitative and quantitative data
They got rid of his phobia
Weakness:
Subjective as boy created his own hierarchy of disgust
Low mundane realism
What is the background of the study?
Classical conditioning is learning through association. 2 stimuli (neutral and unconditioned) are linked together to produce a new learned response. Some psychologists believe that phobias can be learned and unlearned just like other behaviors.
How were the results of the treatment measured?
Explain the Imagery exposure therapy
What are the results of the imagery exposure therapy?
One strength in Reliability and One weakness.
Strength:
Standardization of ‘feelings thermometer’
Control of extraneous variables
Weakness:
The boy might not have been honest with the self-report (demand characteristics)