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The goal of the therapy is for the individual to learn how to cope with and overcome their fear in each level of an exposure hierarchy. The process of systematic desensitization occurs in three steps. The first step is to identify the hierarchy of fears. The second step is to learn relaxation or coping techniques.
The least anxiety-provoking situations are ordered at the bottom of the hierarchy while the most anxiety-provoking situations are at the top. Exposure hierarchies typically consist of 10-15 items and will guide the client’s exposure practices. [1] An abbreviated example of an exposure hierarchy is pictured in Image 1.
In fear conditioning, the main circuits that are involved are the sensory areas that process the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli, certain regions of the amygdala that undergo plasticity (or long-term potentiation) during learning, and the regions that bear an effect on the expression of specific conditioned responses. These pathways ...
Reciprocal inhibition is based on the idea that two opposing mental states cannot coexist and is used as both a psychological and biological mechanism. [13] The theory that "two opposing states cannot occur simultaneously" i.e. relaxation methods that are involved with desensitization inhibit feelings of anxiety that come with being exposed to phobic stimuli. [13]
using flooding therapy, which exposes the patient to feared stimuli starting at the most feared item in a fear hierarchy. [13] [14] There are several types of exposure procedures. in vivo or "real life." [15] This type exposes the patient to actual fear-inducing situations. For example, if someone fears public speaking, the person may be asked ...
Pavlovian fear conditioning is a behavioral paradigm in which organisms learn to predict aversive events. [1] It is a form of learning in which an aversive stimulus (e.g. an electrical shock) is associated with a particular neutral context (e.g., a room) or neutral stimulus (e.g., a tone), resulting in the expression of fear responses to the originally neutral stimulus or context.
Other animals have alternative self-protection methods. Some species of cold-blooded animals change color swiftly to camouflage themselves. [ 49 ] These responses are triggered by the sympathetic nervous system , but, in order to fit the model of fight or flight, the idea of flight must be broadened to include escaping capture either in a ...
The animal that survives is the animal that already knows what to fear and how to avoid this threat. An example in humans is the reaction to the sight of a snake, many jump backwards before cognitively realizing what they are jumping away from, and in some cases, it is a stick rather than a snake.