Clara has a debilitating fear of crossing bridges (gephyrophobia). She developed this phobia after being trapped in her car on a suspension bridge during a severe windstorm. Since then, she has avoided bridges entirely, taking lengthy detours that add hours to her daily travel. Clara recently tried to overcome her fear by forcing herself to drive across a major high-span bridge during rush hour, but this resulted in a severe panic attack, requiring emergency services to assist her in pulling over.
Clara has just been offered her dream job at a marine biology research facility located on a coastal island. The island is only accessible from the mainland via a long, high-rise bridge. Eager to accept the position and avoid a grueling daily ferry schedule, Clara is considering systematic desensitisation to treat her phobia.
Discuss how systematic desensitisation could be used to help Clara with her fear of bridges.
Practise Edexcel A Level Psychology Content with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 1,059 questions covering Bowlby's work on attachment, Ainsworth and the Strange Situation, Research into deprivation, Research into privation, Research into day care, Cross-cultural research into attachment, Autism, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology, matched to the Edexcel A Level Psychology (9PS0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
