AVERSION THERAPY + COVERT SENSATION

aversion therapy

a behavioural intervention that works on principles of classical conditioning

aim is to decrease or eliminate undesirable behaviours associated with addiction by associating them with unpleasant or uncomfortable sensations

procedure

an individual learns to associate the aversive stimulus (eg. UCS foul smell, electric mild shock, nauseous feeling) with an action they had previously enjoyed (eg. NS drinking, smoking)

the behaviour becomes associated with unpleasant stimulus, it will begin to decrease in frequency

asked to engage in the addictive behaviour while at the same time being exposed to something unpleasant

the pleasurable association with the addictive substance is then broken and replaced with a negative association

antabuse

antabuse UCS --> Vomiting UCR

Alcohol NS + antabuse UCS --> vomiting UCR

alcohol CS --> vomiting CR

research support

compared emetic (vomiting) drug aversion therapy and electric shock aversion therapy

20 male alcoholics assigned to one of three groups, including a control group

Cannon and Baker 1981 - looked into the effectiveness of aversion therapy into resting alcoholism

emetic drug therapy to be effective in reducing alcoholism, however the electric shock aversion therapy was not effective

suggest aversion therapy can be effective, although it does depend on the unconditioned stimulus used

individual differences

in contrast to the idea that we all have the capacity to be classically conditioned

the fact there is individual differences means that aversion therapy is effective with some people but not others

Danaher 1977 shows that aversion therapy does not work for everyone

therefore has limited usefulness

covert sensitisation

based on classical conditioning

very similar to aversion therapy but with one major difference, the unpleasant stimulus is only imagined by the individual

assumes that the behaviour was learned and can therefore be unlearned

procedure

relaxation techniques = patient taught to relax using techniques such as breathing exercises. encourage a calm state, removing agitation, enable to concentration

verbal aversion therapy = the unpleasant feelings are imagined, these become associated with the drug or behaviour

therapist encourages the client to go into details so they can mentally picture the situation

ashem and donner 1968

40% patients receiving covert sensitisation for alcohol addiction were still abstinent 6 months after treatment, whereas none of the control group remained alcohol free

research support found covert sensitisation effective in treating addiction to alcohol

ethical

the negative consequences never actually happen to the client, they are imagined

therefore the therapist is not compromised and there are no physical risks posed to the patient

this treatment does not have many of the ethical problems that other behavioural therapies such as aversion therapy have