Wolpe introduced _______ technique for treating phobia or irrational fears.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Systematic Desensitisation
Option (1) Token economy — Incorrect. In a token economy a person gets a token every time a wanted behaviour occurs, and the tokens are exchanged for a reward. It builds up wanted behaviour; it does not remove a fear.
Option (2) Systematic Desensitisation — Correct. Systematic desensitisation is a technique introduced by Wolpe for treating phobias or irrational fears. The therapist and the client prepare a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking situations, the therapist relaxes the client and asks her or him to think of the least frightening one, and over the sessions the client imagines more severe ones while staying relaxed, until the fear is overcome.
Option (3) Classical Conditioning — Incorrect. Classical conditioning is the learning principle in which a response comes to be linked with a stimulus through repeated association. Behaviour therapies are built on such principles, but it is not the name of the technique Wolpe introduced.
Option (4) Positive reinforcement — Incorrect. Positive reinforcement gives a pleasant consequence after a wanted behaviour so that it occurs more often, as a favourite dish for homework done on time. It is used for behaviour that occurs rarely, not for irrational fears.
NCERT (2025-26): “Behaviour Therapy … Systematic desensitisation is a technique introduced by Wolpe for treating phobias or irrational fears. The client is interviewed to elicit fear provoking situations and together with the client, the therapist prepares a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking stimuli with the least anxiety-provoking stimuli at the bottom of the hierarchy.…” “Behaviour Therapy … Over sessions, the client is able to imagine more severe fear -provoking situations while maintaining the relaxation. The client gets systematically desensitised to the fear. The principle of reciprocal inhibition operates here. This principle states that the presence of two mutually opposing forces at the same time, inhibits the weaker force. Thus, the relaxation response is first built up and mildly anxiety-provoking scene is imagined, and the anxiety is overcome by the relaxation.…” |