Prateeksha had an irrational fear of lizards and spiders. Her fear was so intense that she would not step into a room if she saw them on the wall even at a distance. Prateeksha's parents were concerned about her condition and wanted it to be treated. Which technique would best treat her phobia?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Systematic desensitisation
Option (1) Negative reinforcement — Incorrect. Negative reinforcement strengthens responses that help one get rid of, avoid or escape a painful stimulus, such as putting on woollen clothes to avoid the cold. Prateeksha already avoids rooms with lizards; strengthening escape would not remove her fear.
Option (2) Token economy — Incorrect. In a token economy a person gets a token every time a wanted behaviour occurs, to be exchanged later for a reward. It builds wanted behaviour but does nothing to reduce intense fear.
Option (3) Systematic desensitisation — Correct. Wolpe introduced this technique for phobias or irrational fears. The therapist and client prepare a hierarchy of fear-provoking situations, from a lizard seen far away up to one close by; the client is relaxed and imagines the least frightening one, moving up only while staying relaxed. Relaxation and anxiety cannot exist together, so she gets systematically desensitised to the fear.
Option (4) Aversive conditioning — Incorrect. Aversive conditioning is the repeated pairing of an undesired response with an unpleasant consequence, such as a mild electric shock paired with the smell of alcohol for an alcoholic. It is used to stop an unwanted habit; it would only add more fear to Prateeksha’s fear.
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. The therapist relaxes the client and asks the client to think about the least anxiety-provoking situation. Box 5.2 gives details of relaxation procedures. The client is asked to stop thinking of the fearful situation if the slightest tension is felt. 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.…” |