Psychopathology Aversion Therapy In 'Droogs'

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This 1971 film involves a careless and merciless individual who undergoes a questionably ethical treatment to improve his unacceptable behaviors in society. In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct aversion but it does not go as planned (IMDb, n.d.). The main character, Alex, has a horrific violence, yes is an aesthetically calculated fact of his existence; his charisma makes his treatment seem more negatively abusive than positively therapeutic (Rotten Tomatoes, 2018). The film analyzes the behaviors of Alex and his “Droogs” as they make very irrational decisions without carefully considering the consequences. In other words, the gang demonstrates multiple signs and symptoms of either Psychopathology …show more content…

Aversion therapy is a treatment method in which a person is conditioned to dislike a certain stimulus due to repeated pairing with an unpleasant stimulus (Good Therapy, 2017). Alex undergoes this form of therapy when he is strapped into a chair with his eyes being held open against his will. He is exposed to films demonstrating scenes of sexual assault, violence, and coercion by particular leaders. Alex does not have the option to leave the chair or blink as one of the experimenters continuously puts eye drops in his eyes. Prior to the films, Alex is injected with a medication that causes a response of nausea and sickness. The film presents the conundrum faced by society as it contemplates treatments that attempt to improve society by limiting personal freedom with injections such as Depo-Pro-vera (Wedding & Niemic, 2014). Furthermore, Alex is exposed to films that contain many of his unacceptable behaviors and relates the feeling of nausea to the films or particular …show more content…

Before the study begins the researcher must outline to the participants what the research is about, and then ask their consent to take part (McLeod, 2007). Alex was only granted an opportunity to reduce his prison sentence by participating in an experiment. However, he was completely unaware of what the procedures consisted of and only realized each event as he went along with the process. Participants must be given information relating to procedures involved in the research, benefits of the research, and all foreseeable risks and discomforts to the individual (McLeod, 2007). The only information that Alex was given was that the experiment was going to make him better, shorten his sentence, and involve him watching films. He was surprised and off-guard once he realized he had to be strapped into a chair or administered a needle of the drug because none of this pertinent information was mentioned to

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