Psychology Aqa Questions

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Practise Exam Questions 1. Describe Systematic Desensitisation [6] Systematic Desensitisation (SD) was developed by Wolpe during the 1950s; it is a type of behavioural therapy based upon classical conditioning. The aim of the SD is to use reverse conditioning to replace an unwanted behaviour (fear) with a relaxation response to the conditional stimulus to desensitise the phobia. This is done by forming a hierarchy of fear, involving the conditioned stimulus (e.g. a spider), that are ranked from least fearful to most fearful. The patient works their way up starting at the least unpleasant and practicing their relaxation technique as they go such as deep breathing and mild hypnosis. When they feel comfortable with this they move on to the next stage in the hierarchy. The procedure can be carried out in two ways, the first being in vitro where the client imagines exposure to the stimulus or in vivo where the client is actually exposed to the stimulus. 2. Outline and discuss the therapy used by the Behavioural Approach [12] The therapy used by the Behavioural Approach is Systematic Desensitisation developed by Wolpe during the 1950s. The aim of the SD is to use reverse conditioning to replace an unwanted behaviour (fear) with a relaxation response to the conditional stimulus to desensitise the phobia. Because fear and relaxation are incompatible, the feelings of fear gradually subside. This is done by forming a hierarchy of fear, involving the conditioned stimulus (e.g. a spider), that are ranked from least fearful to most fearful. The patient works their way up starting at the least unpleasant and practicing their relaxation technique as they go such as deep breathing and mild hypnosis. When they feel comfortable with this they move on to the next stage in the hierarchy. Systematic Desensitisation is a
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