Aversion therapy- Behaviorist therapy

Question 1

Aim of aversion therapy

Answer 1

• cause individuals to develop an intense dislike or feelings of disgust towards a particular stimulus

Question 2

What phobias can it be used to treat?

Answer 2

• drug and alcohol abuse
• deviant sexual behavior
• compulsive nail biting
• gambling
• smoking

Question 3

What can it be used to treat?

Answer 3

a variety of phobias

Question 4

How does it work?

Answer 4

The client is continuously presented with an aversive stimulus at the same time that they’re engaging in the undesirable behavior

Question 5

4 key steps to the therapy:

Answer 5

1- medical examination
2- educate patient on how it works
3- obtain valid consent
4- completed when the process of classical conditioning has been successful

Question 6

What is the process of teaching a patient to associate their addictions with dislike or unpleasant named as?

Answer 6

counter-conditioning

Question 7

when it Antabuse used?

Answer 7

to treat those with alcoholism

Question 8

How does antabuse work?

Answer 8

Impacts the way in which alcohol is broken down

Question 9

How does antabuse impact the way in which alcohol is broken down?

Answer 9

• stops the enzyme ‘acetaldenhyde dehydrogenase’ so that it can no longer break down alcohol and cause a build up of acetalydehyde in the body

Question 10

What does antabuse cause

Answer 10

unpleasant symptoms such as sweating, headaches, heart palpitations and vomiting if client intakes alcohol

Question 11

How long does it take for the symptoms of antabuse to work?

Answer 11

20 minutes

Question 12

How long does the effects of antabuse last?

Answer 12

a number of hours

Question 13

2 positives of this therapy

Answer 13

• smith et al. (1997)
• covert sensitisation

Question 14

2 weaknesses of this therapy

Answer 14

• ethical issues
• can’t be used on all conditions

Question 15

smith et al. 1997- positive

Answer 15

• used antabuse on 249 patients who had an alcohol addiction
• found that they had a higher abstinence rates after one year than those who had undertaken counselling alone

Question 16

ethical issues- negative

Answer 16

• up until 2006, it was used in the US and the UK to treat homosexuals
• causes stress, humiliation, pain and anxiety
• punishment has too much control over the patient, brainwashing them into the treatment

Question 17

covert sensation- positive

Answer 17

• verbally encourages individuals to imagine scenarios which get progressively worse
• more ethical (don’t actually experience the negative consequences)
• shows that it doesn’t have to include drugs
• more available to people

Question 18

How isn’t it appropriate for all conditions?- Weakness

Answer 18

• only found to be effective for a number of different phobias
• can’t be generalized to all conditions
• Once the aversive stimulus has stopped, many people will easily start engaging in the unwanted behavior again

Question 19

What assumption is it linked to?

Answer 19

• conditioning assumption

Question 20

How does it involve principles of opeant conditioning?

Answer 20

• it includes the negative reinforcement of the aversive stimuli

Question 21

What is the name of the enzyme which breaks down alcohol?

Answer 21

acetaldehyde dehydrogenase