Stimuli bombards the mind of the individual throughout the day, and the mind translates the information into knowledge in a seemingly effortless manner. Multiple human sensory input vies for the individual’s attention simultaneously (Matlin, 1998). The process humans use to gather and interpret stimuli registered by their senses incorporates previous knowledge, attention, and pattern recognition (Robinson & Robinson, 2008). The concept of the orienting response (OR) and habituation enables an analysis of the factors of habituation and perceptual learning. An examination of other effects of stimulus exposure further facilitates an understanding of perceptual learning. Finally, an exploration of how the therapists can use simple stimulus in the treatment of phobias strengthens knowledge of simple stimulus. Although the process may occur unnoticed by the individual, stimulus repetitions can reduce or increase the individual’s perception of stimuli lessening the need for perceptual attentiveness and decreasing response time. Orienting Response Stimuli and response to stimuli are the basis for gathering information. Living beings use their senses to take in, organize, make sense of, and respond to the stimuli around them. The OR is a reaction to a new or surprising stimulus. It may be as simple as an investigative look in the direction of a noise or as dramatic as flight. Both physiological and behavioral types of responses occur, including a flinch, eye twitch, or other demonstration of arousal as dictated by the novelty, intensity, and situation relating to the stimulus. The novel or intense stimulus produces dramatic OR (Terry, 2009). Habituation When an individual repeatedly experiences the same stimulus, the stimulus is less and... ... middle of paper ... ...ology: Applying the science of the mind (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. Rothbaum, B., Hodges, L., Watson, B., Kassler, G. and Opdyke, D. Vir- tual reality exposure therapy in the treatment of fear of flying: A case re- port. Beh. Res. Ther. 34, 5-6 (May/Jun. 1996), 477–481. Spiering, B., & Ashby, F. (2008). Initial training with difficult items facilitates information integration, but not rule-based category learning. Psychological Science, 19(11), 1169-1177. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02219.x Strickland, D., Hodges, L., North, M. & Weghorst, S. (1997, August). Overcoming phobias by virtual exposure. Communications of the ACM, 40(8), 34-39. Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/citation.cfm?id=257881 Terry, W. S. (2009). Learning and memory: Basic principles, processes, and procedures (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn Bacon.
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Show MoreNonassociative learning refers to a change in the magnitude of a response following the repeated exposure to a particular stimulus. More often than not, nonassociative learning is divided into three forms: habituation, dishabituation, and sensitization and explained through a dual process view in which one process yields habituation to a stimulus, and yet another, separate, process causes both dishabituation and sensitization. Emilie A. Marcus, Thomas G. Nolen, Catharine H. Rankin, and Thomas J. Carew (1988) challenged this perspective by suggesting that dishabituation and sensitization, as well as inhibition, can stand independent and be dissociated in adult and juvenile Aplysia.
Preparedness theory of phobia is a concept developed to explain why specific connections to objects are learned...
Bernstein, D.A., Penner, L.A., Clarke-Stewart, A., & Roy E.J. (2008). Psychology (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
... that he may have read online. This nearly resulted in his death. This phobia proves to be the worst phobia that doctors face, when trying to convince a patient that everything on the internet is not necessarily true, and that the patients should come to them for better advice. An individual who is severely affected by a phobia would have an increase in heart rate, which could lead to a variety of other ailments, such as, fainting, seizures, nausea and even sweating. For those who have the fear of any sort of medical treatment in an extreme manor, there are specific coping treatments that could be taken. Psychological treatments are the treatment of choice, especially when dealing with this type of fear for medical procedure. One such treatment is, Exposure based treatment for instance – the exposure of the patient to the feared object without any necessary danger.
Virtual reality can be used to help people face their fears. The University of Oxford used virtual reality to help patients overcome a fear of heights (Mathieson, 2017, p. 19). A virtual environment was created where the patients were standing at the edge of a balcony looking down and a virtual guide was giving them instructions (Mathieson, 2017, p. 19). Using virtual reality in this way allows people to face their fears in a safe environment. By placing them in a virtual environment, it allows them to encounter a virtual copy of what they fear most which will hopefully give them encouragement to face the real thing at some point in the near
Coon, D. & Mitterer, J. (2013) Introduction to Psychology Belmont CA. : Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Retrieved May 07, 2014
Behaviourism is defined by google as “the theory that human and animal behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, without appeal to thoughts or feelings, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behaviour patterns.” It relies on the positive and negative reinforcement of behaviour giving the individual an underlying psychological condition towards a certain trait. In the study of phobias of individuals (2003), we see how the constant exposure or conditioning is a method of overcoming the psychological issue. These can later be incorporated into a hierarchy for exposure practices, by gradually eliminating reliance on safety strategies as the study progresses (Antony,M 2003). The constant exposure ...
Exposure therapy in people for the fear of socializing can involve a hierarchy including these ...
Booth, Richard; Rachman, S. (1992). The reduction of claustrophobia. Behavior Research & Therapy, 30(3), 207-221 Botella, C, Banos; R.M. Perpina; C. Villa; H. Alcaniz; M. Rey; A. (1998) Virtual Reality treatment of claustrophobia. Behavior Research & Therapy, 36(2) 239-246. Harris, Lynn M; Robinson; John Menzies; Ross G. (1999) Evidence for fear of Suffocation as components of claustrophobia. Behavior Research & Therapy, 37(2), 155-159 Shafran, R; Booth, R; Rachman, S. (1993). The reduction of claustrophobia. Behavior Research& Therapy 31(5), 75-85
“Aversion therapy uses the behavioral approach principles that new behavior can be 'learnt ' in order to overcome addictions, obsessions or, violent behavior (Behavioral Psychology 2015).” In simple terms, the basis of Aversion Therapy is to be able to get rid of a habit or behavior that one wishes to no longer have. This is done by learning how to associate pain, discomfort, or suffering with said behavior or habit one would like to get rid of. Some very common examples of habits that one would seek to get rid of are smoking, violence, alcoholism, gambling, over eating, pornography, and many other undesirable habits one might have. (Behavioral Psychology 2015)
Rizzo, A. (2005). Virtual reality exposure therapy. University of Southern California Institute of Creative Technologies. Retrieved from http://ict.usc.edu/prototypes/pts/
Olson, M. H. & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2013). An introduction to theories of learning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
VR exposure therapy, (VRET), is used to alleviate anxiety and stress in participants. It helps with stopping irrational fears. VRET gives people another world to explore and release their tensions in. This world can be a way for this individual to do things that they can never dream of doing in the real world. The continued progress of this therapy finds many people being calm and stress free while in their virtual world.
The research about the sense of presence in virtual environments leads to Mel Slater and his experiments with presence. In his research called Being there together (2013) he refers to studies about exposure therapy using virtual reality to fight against arachnophobia (Rothbaum et. al., 1995). Slater states that any of immersive virtual environments would not be possible without presence. Slater works with virtual reality since the 90s
Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) is also often paired with systematic desensitization. CBT is focused on regaining control of reactions to stress and stimuli, ultimately reducing the feeling of helplessness (Palazzolo, 2014). One specific case of Psychotherapeutic Treatment for Aquaphobia takes a closer look at the break down of how systematic desensitization would be applied. Initially, the patient would be given information on their phobia, making it seem as unthreatening as possible and by showing them that they are not alone, as this disorder is common and that there is a cognitive approach to treat their condition. You first explain to the patient step by step the therapy that is going to take place. You ask them to carefully watch themselves throughout each situation and take notice at what parts they find challenging or lead them to avoidance. It is also suggested that the patients rates her anxiety during those situations on a scale from 1-10. The duration of this therapy would be approximately 13 sessions, meeting once a week for 30-45 minutes. The first three sessions are centered around their life and story of their disability, the diagnosis and the analysis of the disorder while working out a review of each sessions and what their ultimate goal