Behaviourist Therapy - Aversion Therapy

Question 1

What are the aims of aversion therapy?

Answer 1

Designed to cause an intense dislike or feeling of disgust to a particular stimulus

Question 2

What can aversion therapy be used to treat?

Answer 2

• Drug and alcohol addiction and/or abuse
• Compulsive nail biting
• Gambling
• Smoking

Question 3

What are the 4 main components of aversion therapy?

Answer 3

• Classical conditioning
• Covert sensitisation
• Operant conditioning
• New developments

Question 4

How does aversion therapy link to classical conditioning?

Answer 4

• The aversive stimulus (e.g. a shock) is a UCS
• The UCS produces a UCR (e.g. an avoidance)
• When the UCS is paired with the undesired behaviour, (e.g. smoking), the behaviour leads to the same consequence
• When the shock is repeatedly paired with the smoking, the client starts to engage less in smoking

Question 5

What is covert sensitisation in aversion therapy?

Answer 5

The patient imagines unwanted scenarios that could happen to them if they continue engaging in the unwanted behaviour

Question 6

How does aversion therapy link to operant conditioning?

Answer 6

Once classical conditioning has made the association, the client tends to avoid future contact with the stimulus. This is negative reinforcement which motivates the client to continue avoiding the situation

Question 7

What are the new developments in aversion therapy?

Answer 7

Scientists have found drugs that help with aversion therapy. Tryptophan metabolites can stop alcohol from breaking down, causing an unpleasant taste, and when the patient avoids alcohol, the drug can make the patient feel tranquil and relaxed

Question 8

How can aversion therapy be applied to the behaviourist assumptions?

Answer 8

It links to the assumption that behaviour is learnt through conditioning and that humans are born as a blank slate

Question 9

What themes can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of aversion therapy?

Answer 9

• Research to support
• Patient dropout
• Treating the symptom not the cause
• Effects may not be long term

Question 10

What research supports aversion therapy?

Answer 10

Smith et al (1997) found that alcoholics treated with aversion therapy had higher abstinence rates than those who were treated by counselling alone

Question 11

How does patient dropout impact the evaluation of aversion therapy?

Answer 11

Bancroft (1992) found that up to 50% of patients either refuse treatment or dropout of the programme. Therefore only willing patients participate in the therapy

Question 12

How does treating the symptom and not the cause impact the evaluation of aversion therapy?

Answer 12

A patient could have successfully undergone the therapy and lost the addiction to one drug, but may pick up of another drug as the underlying reasons for being addicted are still there

Question 13

How does the effect not being long-term impact the evaluation of aversion therapy?
What’s an example?

Answer 13

The aversive stimuli are no longer present after the therapy course has been completed. For example, Pavlov’s dogs disassociated the bell with food after a couple days of not being reinforced

Question 14

What are ethical issues with aversion therapy?

Answer 14

• The treatment of homosexuality
• The therapist’s control

Question 15

What are the different methods that can be used to create unpleasant associations?

Answer 15

• Emetic methods
• Electrical methods
• Imaginal methods
• Sensory methods
• Pharmacological methods

Question 16

What is the emetic method of creating an unpleasant association?

Answer 16

Giving medication that induces vomiting. Also known as chemically induced nausea

Question 17

What is the electrical method of creating an unpleasant association?

Answer 17

Instantly applying an electric shock after the undesirable behaviour

Question 18

What is the imaginal method of creating an unpleasant association?

Answer 18

Using visualisation to ask patients to imagine engaging in problematic behaviour followed by an extremely unpleasant consequence

Question 19

What is the sensory method of creating an unpleasant association?

Answer 19

Using the senses to trigger an uncomfortable physical or emotional response. For example, taking something that tastes bad or smells bad

Question 20

What is the pharmacological method of creating an unpleasant association?

Answer 20

Prescription medicine for mental health, weight loss or smoking

Question 21

EQ - Evaluate the effectiveness of either systematic desensitisation OR aversion therapy. (8)

Answer 21

• The competence of the therapist can have an effect on the success of therapy.
• Ineffective therapy because it treats symptoms but not the cause.
• Issues of symptom substitution.
• High dropout rate so can be difficult to assess effectiveness.
• Research to support effectiveness (Smith et al (1997))
• Research to refute effectiveness (Bancroft (1992))

Question 22

EQ - Analyse the strengths of the behaviourist approach. (10)

Answer 22

• Scientific.
• Deterministic.
• Focus on here and now.
• Successful applications.
• Reductionist.
• Nurture.
• Individual differences.
• Successful therapies.
• Use of non-human animals.

Question 23

EQ - Describe the main components of systematic desensitisation OR aversion therapy. (10)

Answer 23

• Assumptions e.g. use of classical conditioning.
• Covert sensitisation.
• Use of Antabuse.
• Role of operant conditioning.
• Examples from Component three e.g. rapid smoking.
• Examples from research.
• Role of the therapist.

Question 24

EQ - ‘Behaviourist therapies are effective in treating mental illness.’
With reference to the above statement, discuss the effectiveness of the therapy (10)

Answer 24

• Only tackles symptoms, not cause.
• Ineffective for most behaviour; only works in the short term.
• Research to support and/or refute effectiveness.
• Dropout rates.
• Comparison to the effectiveness of other therapies.

Question 25

EQ - Evaluate either systematic desensitisation OR aversion therapy. (10)

Answer 25

- Effectiveness of therapy e.g. length of treatment, long term effects, dropout rates. - Ethical issues of therapy e.g. social control, levels of anxiety, pace of the therapy for the patient, issues of valid consent. - Use of scientific methods that can be observed and measured. - Individual differences of patients. - Research to support or refute the therapy.

Question 26

EQ - Dr Singh is a psychologist who favours the behaviourist approach. Explain why he would consider aversion therapy OR systematic desensitisation as a suitable treatment for his clients. (5)

Answer 26

- Behaviour is a learnt response so can therefore be unlearnt using behaviourist techniques. - Classical conditioning to replace a fear response say in phobias with a relaxation response. - Operant conditioning to reward desirable behaviours and extinguish undesirable behaviours. - Research evidence that supports the effectiveness of this. - Research on non-human animals can be extrapolated to human animals as all learn in the same way.