Psychology Saavendra and Silverman
Button phobia
• Title:
• Case Study: Disgust and a Speci c Phobia of Buttons.
• Year: 2002
Psychology being investigated
• Evaluate learning is a form of classical conditioning in which a person comes to perceive or
“evaluate” a previously neutral object negatively.
• It does not depend on the individual expecting or being aware of the association between the
neutral object and the negative outcome.
• An individual may negatively evaluate a speci c object or event without anticipating the threat of
an objective contaminant.
• This elicits a feeling of disgust rather than fear.
Background
• Phobia: A persistent and unreasonable fear of an object. The fear is disproportionate to the
danger posed and leads to avoidance of the object.
• Fear: An unpleasant emotion caused by an organism’s defensive response to an imminent
threat.
• Disgust: A feeling of revulsion or disapproval aroused by something unpleasant or o ensive.
• The role of disgust within phobias has received very little attention.
• Disgust could interact with the fear of a phobic stimulus produces, to increase avoidance of that
stimulus.
• Disgust has been hypothesised as concurrent emotion that in interaction with fear may result in
increased avoidance behaviour.
Aims
• To investigate the cause of button phobia in a child.
• To attempt to treat a child’s phobia via targeting both disgust and fear responses.
Procedure
• Research Method: Case study, Observations and Questionnaires
• Quantitative data: Distress ratings and Severity ratings
• Qualitative data: Questions about why the boy found buttons disgusting
• Sample: A 9-year-old Hispanic American boy who was part of the Child Anxiety and Phobia
Program at Florida International University. He came with an avoidance of buttons.
• Sampling Technique: Opportunity Sampling
• The boy and the mother gave informed consent to participate in the assessment and
intervention procedures. Written consent was also provided to public this study.
• The boy met the DSM-IV criteria for a speci c phobia of buttons.
• The phobia began when the boy was 5 years old in kindergarten, during an art project involving
buttons.
• The boy ran out of buttons so was asked to come to the front of the class and take them. When
he reached the bowl, his hand slipped and the buttons in the bowl fell on him. He described this
experience as distressful.
• Duration of the phobia was 4 years.
• He did not express signi cant stressors or events that could be related to the phobia’s onset
during this period.
• Behavioural Exposures
• The child was treated with an exposure-based treatment programme that tackled cognitions
and behaviour.
• The treatment involved the use of contingency management. The mother provided positive
reinforcement if the boy successfully completed the gradual exposure to buttons.
fi fi fi fi ff
Button phobia
• Title:
• Case Study: Disgust and a Speci c Phobia of Buttons.
• Year: 2002
Psychology being investigated
• Evaluate learning is a form of classical conditioning in which a person comes to perceive or
“evaluate” a previously neutral object negatively.
• It does not depend on the individual expecting or being aware of the association between the
neutral object and the negative outcome.
• An individual may negatively evaluate a speci c object or event without anticipating the threat of
an objective contaminant.
• This elicits a feeling of disgust rather than fear.
Background
• Phobia: A persistent and unreasonable fear of an object. The fear is disproportionate to the
danger posed and leads to avoidance of the object.
• Fear: An unpleasant emotion caused by an organism’s defensive response to an imminent
threat.
• Disgust: A feeling of revulsion or disapproval aroused by something unpleasant or o ensive.
• The role of disgust within phobias has received very little attention.
• Disgust could interact with the fear of a phobic stimulus produces, to increase avoidance of that
stimulus.
• Disgust has been hypothesised as concurrent emotion that in interaction with fear may result in
increased avoidance behaviour.
Aims
• To investigate the cause of button phobia in a child.
• To attempt to treat a child’s phobia via targeting both disgust and fear responses.
Procedure
• Research Method: Case study, Observations and Questionnaires
• Quantitative data: Distress ratings and Severity ratings
• Qualitative data: Questions about why the boy found buttons disgusting
• Sample: A 9-year-old Hispanic American boy who was part of the Child Anxiety and Phobia
Program at Florida International University. He came with an avoidance of buttons.
• Sampling Technique: Opportunity Sampling
• The boy and the mother gave informed consent to participate in the assessment and
intervention procedures. Written consent was also provided to public this study.
• The boy met the DSM-IV criteria for a speci c phobia of buttons.
• The phobia began when the boy was 5 years old in kindergarten, during an art project involving
buttons.
• The boy ran out of buttons so was asked to come to the front of the class and take them. When
he reached the bowl, his hand slipped and the buttons in the bowl fell on him. He described this
experience as distressful.
• Duration of the phobia was 4 years.
• He did not express signi cant stressors or events that could be related to the phobia’s onset
during this period.
• Behavioural Exposures
• The child was treated with an exposure-based treatment programme that tackled cognitions
and behaviour.
• The treatment involved the use of contingency management. The mother provided positive
reinforcement if the boy successfully completed the gradual exposure to buttons.
fi fi fi fi ff
