Describe a type of conditioning and evaluate its effectiveness when used as part of
modern psychological intervention.
Conditioning is a process where individuals learn from experience and determine the
likelihood of one’s actions. This essay argues that classical conditioning is an effective
psychological treatment method. Classical conditioning, discovered by Ivan Pavlov (1911 ）
states that individuals mentally associate events and stimuli that co-occur together. Thus, if
individuals can learn and form these mental associations, it suggests that they can also
unlearn them. This essay will further discuss the effectiveness of classical conditioning in
psychological modern interventions, including systematic desensitisation, aversion therapy
and flooding.
Firstly, counterconditioning is achieved through systematic desensitisation, where the
individual produces an incompatible response with the undesirable behaviour simultaneously,
hence individuals unlearn the behaviour (Wolpe, 1958; Wynn, 2017) or reduce avoidance
behaviour (Kafes, 2021). For example, using relaxation techniques while being exposed to
fear-provoking stimuli. This therapy consists of three components: (1) producing an
incompatible response; (2) developing a fear or anxiety hierarchy; and (3) individual is
exposed to anxiety or fear-provoking stimuli, following the order of the hierarchy (Ollendick
& King, 1998). A case study by Fodstad et al. (2021) investigated the effectiveness of
systematic desensitisation on a boy, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with
severe problem behaviours, such as physical aggression and self-injury. The study aimed to
increase his tolerance to noise while engaging in relaxation techniques. Being able to elicit a
relaxation response is significantly effective for individuals with intellectual disabilities as it
is associated with lower levels of hyperarousal (Lindsay et al., 1989, 1996; Morrison &
Lindsay, 1997, as cited in Fodstad et al., 2021), thus reducing problematic behaviours.
, Fodstad et. al (2021) found that systematic desensitisation and relaxation techniques resulted
in a significant reduction in total anxiety. Therefore, systematic desensitisation is effective in
reducing anxiety and problematic behaviours in individuals with ASD. This is significant as
the individual was able to generalise and independently use relaxation techniques in
unpredictable real-life situations, thus can control his anxiety and problem behaviours in
social environments (Fodstad et al., 2021). Furthermore, the individual was given various
relaxation techniques, which he could choose from, thus allowing him to self-advocate,
thereby increasing the likelihood of a positive outcome as he is more self-determined (Post et
al., 2017, as cited in Fostad et al.,2021). Furthermore, attempts to increase mundane realism
by replicating the participant’s home or community, further increase external validity.
However, this was a case study involving one participant diagnosed with ASD, who
had severe behavioural problems with noises. Therefore, there is a lack of generalisability to
the wider population. Moreover, there was no follow-up from the participant, so long-term
effects can be questionable. However, Saavedra and Silverman (2002) and Milikin and
Braun-Janzen (2013), used systematic desensitisation with follow-ups and saw better and
positive lifestyle changes in the long term. Furthermore, systematic desensitisation has shown
to be effective even for daily stress, such as students who struggle with mathematics anxiety,
but saw an increase in performance and fall in mathematics anxiety after systematic
desensitisation treatment (Akeb-Urai, Abdul Kadir & Nasir, 2020). Therefore, systematic
desensitisation is effective even when not used in unique cases such as individuals with ASD.
Secondly, similar to systematic desensitisation, aversion therapy reduces undesirable
behaviours, such as inappropriate sexual behaviour, through counterconditioning of aversive
stimuli to create an unpleasant effect associated with undesirable behaviour (Jaqua & Jaqua,
