Anxiety is defined as a vague, uneasy feeling of discomfort or dread accompanied by an automatic response. The source of anxiety is often nonspecific or unknown to the individual. It is a feeling of apprehension caused by anticipation of danger and can be a potential signal that warns of impending danger, enabling the individual to take measures to deal with it (Taber’s, 1997). Anxiety disorders are classified as disorders such as panic disorders, agoraphobias, phobias and extreme avoidance of feared objects associated with distress or impairments.
B. F. Skinner (1974) discussed these conditions, stating: It is often said that there is an intrapsychic life of the mind, totally independent of the physical world, in which memories evoke memories, ideas suggest ideas, and so on.” Here are a few examples of the intrapsychic life of motivation and emotion: feelings of frustration can produce a sense of powerlessness or impotence, which in turn leads to apathy or feelings of aggression.
In other words, phobias are a product of anxiety that often stems from traumatic experiences during childhood.
Over the past twenty years, Applied Behavioral Analysis has become a science that studies human behavior. The best definition of this field was given in 1968 by Baer, Wolf, & Risley: “Applied Behavior Analysis is the process of systematically applying interventions based upon the principles of learning theory to improve socially significant behaviors to a meaningful degree and to demonstrate that the interventions employed are responsible for the improvement in behavior. By using this process, I can identify and answer questions related to the case study assigned for this week.
In case number one, we have Marla, a 24-year-old woman who recently graduated from college and began a new job at an advertising firm. She suffers from an extreme fear of social situations. During her time in college, she tended to keep to herself and avoided parties and large gatherings. Now that she is working, it is becoming increasingly difficult for her to avoid social situations as her boss and co-workers expect her to attend office functions and client parties as networking is a large part of the job. Despite being very artistic and creative with several successful ads designed for clients already under her belt, Marla fears that she will lose her job because of the difficulties she is experiencing socially.
Define the target behavior in this case study. The targeted behavior is avoiding large gatherings and parties. This suggests that the behavior may be influenced by an event that did not occur but is still reflected in her memory through her actions.
Describe how respondent behavior is involved in the development of an anxiety problem. Identify the CS and CR in this example.
The conditioned stimuli in this scenario are her boss and co-workers, as well as office functions and gatherings. The condition response is for her to keep to herself and avoid these social situations or parties. Respondent conditioning refers to the effect on behavior that is controlled by antecedent stimuli, while response conditioning involves manipulating antecedent stimuli (Miltenberger, 2007).
Respondent behavior occurs when an unconditional stimulus is presented. A good example of this is when an object becomes stuck in the throat, resulting in an unconditioned response such as a gag reflex. We do not know what causes Marla to feel anxious or fearful around large groups of people. However, we can apply a contingency of positive reinforcement and a systematic desensitization process to address her anxiety.
Discuss the difference between systematic and in-vivo desensitization. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each procedure?
Systematic desensitization is a type of behavioral therapy that aims to remove the fear response associated with phobias or fears. It does this by substituting a relaxation response to the conditional stimuli. In contrast, in-vivo desensitization involves exposing the patient to their fear or phobia in real-life situations.
The advantage of systematic desensitization is that it can be done in a controlled environment, making it safer and less overwhelming for patients. However, it may not be as effective as in-vivo desensitization because patients are not actually facing their fears.
In-vivo desensitization can be more effective because patients are facing their fears head-on. However, it can also be more challenging and overwhelming for some patients due to its real-life nature.
This is accomplished by creating a fear hierarchy that involves ranking the conditioning stimulus from the lowest possible number to the highest, ranging from 1 to 10. The main difference between systematic and in-vivo therapy is that during systematic therapy, clients imagine themselves progressing from the lowest to the highest number while in a state of relaxation. For instance, if someone has a dog phobia, we would begin by placing them at number 10 while relaxing and having the dog at 25 feet away. We will continue with this process of relaxation and counting down until the dog is closer to the client.
If the client starts to feel anxious, we will remind them to relax and try to finish the test. Once the relaxation process is complete, we can perform an in-vivo procedure that exposes the client to phobic stimuli (McLeod, 2008). The advantages and disadvantages of both procedures are as follows: Systematic Desensitization is highly effective when dealing with learned anxiety related to specific objects or situations. However, it is a slow process and not effective in treating serious mental disorders. It only treats symptoms of the disorder and not its underlying cause (McLeod, 2008).
Design a behavior modification procedure for Marla and explain the rationale for your selection. Be sure to include a discussion of the behavior hierarchy, relaxation procedures, and desensitization procedures.
In designing a plan for Marla, I would use both systematic desensitization and in-vivo methods as behavior modification techniques. Given that she works in an office where other people are constantly coming for services, it will be difficult for her to avoid groups of people. Therefore, my first intention would be to show her some relaxation techniques such as meditation, breathing exercises, focusing on muscle relaxation and self-massage.
The second step is to practice small group therapy right in the work area, similar to what Miltenberger shows in the book. Start by slowly increasing the number of people in the group, beginning with one person and then gradually adding more. During these sessions, it’s important to incorporate breathing techniques and relaxation exercises.
One specific ABA-based treatment that can be applied to assist clients with fear and anxiety is the shaping method. Through behavior modification, these techniques can effectively change the way the client behaves or responds under environmental stimuli.
Shaping refers to the reinforcement of behaviors that are close to the desired behavior. During shaping, a hierarchy is created ranging from the least feared to the most feared situation, as in the case of Marla. For example, increasing the number of people in her group so she can become accustomed to it and her anxiety can gradually decrease (Cooper, Heron, Heward, 2007).
