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.
205 exam-style questions on Edexcel A Level Psychology Content, covering Main features of classical conditioning, Pavlov (1927) salivation in dogs, Main features of operant conditioning, Properties of reinforcement, Behaviour modification and shaping, Main features of social learning theory, Social learning stages, Bandura (1961, 1963) Bobo doll experiments, Bandura (1965) vicarious reinforcement, Learning theories and phobias, Treatments for phobias, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.