Introduction
The theory of classical conditioning explains how ordinary things may become the reasons for people’s negative emotions, fears, and stress. In this case, they substantially impact the quality of life and limit day-to-day activities. This paper addresses Michael, who developed PTSD or an individual phobia based on the connection between a negative experience and a seemingly unrelated object. In addition, it demonstrates how the problem should be assessed and what behavioral plan may be suggested for its solution.
Case Study
The case study under analysis refers to Michael, a 23-year-old Black man who is currently in the transition program to acquire skills for subsequent employment after serving his sentence for robbery. Michael generally wants to work as a shop assistant, cashier, or delivery man. As he started his criminal history at 16 years old, having multiple delinquencies of different severity, his educational opportunities affected by incarcerations were substantially limited.
In addition, Michael was diagnosed with severe anxiety disorders, and without proper mental health assistance in prison, his condition deteriorated. Among various manifestations, one was particularly disturbing – Michael starts to cry whenever he sees a man in a red Hawaiian shirt. His emotional reaction is considerably strong, and it takes a lot of time for the man to calm down and continue his activities. Therefore, this issue should be addressed as soon as possible, considering that Michael’s desired occupations presuppose numerous interactions with people daily, and it will be impossible to control the occurrence of a stimulus that promotes an individual’s undesirable behavior.
Analysis
First, to develop a comprehensive behavior plan, it is essential to analyze Michael’s case based on observation and therapeutic counseling. Thus, an observable undesirable behavior demonstrated by an individual is an uncontrollable emotional reaction of crying without apparent reasons. Therefore, the target behavior of interest is the elimination of this reaction. The management of undesirable behavior will be organized through the implementation of particular techniques within the framework of an individualized plan and
Desired outcomes will be evaluated based on the frequency of emotional reactions in the future.
The simple observation of Michael’s emotional reaction and the circumstances of its occurrence shows that a red Hawaiian shirt on men may be regarded as a stimulus for his undesirable behavior. At the same time, men’s appearance and age, along with other colors of a shirt, do not determine the presence or intensity of this reaction. Michael starts to cry whenever he sees any man in this type of clothes of a particular color. Considering the specificity of a stimulus and the individual’s response, it was essential to search for potential connections in his past with the help of narrative therapy. Michael was asked to tell about his childhood and remember the most emotional moments of that period.
After several sessions, it was found out that Michael was raised in a dysfunctional family – both of his parents were alcohol- and substance-addicted. However, while his mother was predominantly ignorant of him being under the influence of drugs, his father was highly aggressive. In particular, one detail attracted the attention of a therapist – Michael’s father frequently wore a red Hawaiian shirt, whether it was his favorite one or the men did not pay attention to his look. Nevertheless, Michael vividly described his fear, anxiety, and hopelessness when he saw his father returning from a bar in this shirt and knew that he would search for him to beat.
Through the analysis of Michael’s recollections, it became evident that a young man has developed a particular individual phobia or even a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that may be explained through the theory of classical conditioning. It relates to automatic or unconscious learning as creating a conditioned response based on associations between unconditioned and neutral stimuli (Rehman et al., 2022). In the case of Michael, his father’s aggression and physical abuse was a conditioned stimulus that led to the boy’s conditioned response – crying. At the same time, a red Hawaiian shirt is a neutral stimulus as it cannot be generally regarded as a reason for emotional distress. However, for Michael, a shirt worn by his father started to be associated with violence, fear, and hopelessness – in other words, a neutral stimulus became a conditioned one.
Behavior Plan
In general, it is necessary to destroy the association between a conditioned stimulus and a conditioned response to replace Michael’s undesirable behavior with an appropriate one within the framework of the absence of a highly emotional reaction. In this case, exposure therapy may be regarded as the most suitable option for Michael’s behavior plan. The rationale for the choice of this type of cognitive behavioral therapy is determined by the fact that “in vivo, exposure appeared to be the most efficacious intervention for a wide variety of phobias, and a few studies obtained a response rate of 80 to 90%” (Thng et al., 2020, p. 3).
The exposure therapy aims to provide improvement in the areas of self-efficacy, emotional processing, habituation, and extinction through the application of several steps. First, Michael will explain that his reaction is determined by a neutral stimulus that became conditioned due to its association with negative emotions from his past. All in all, it is essential to create the man’s realistic beliefs related to his fear and motivate him for its reduction through coordinated and individual practice.
The next step will be in vivo exposure to a conditioned stimulus to develop habituation and minimize the reaction. However, it will be gradual for more efficient outcomes – for instance, Michael will be shown a shirt, Hawaiian patterns, and red color independently and in different combinations with other objects before combining them. In this case, the man will receive an opportunity to get used to the main characteristics of a thing that evokes his emotions (McLean et al., 2022).
Finally, the last step of therapy is the replacement of negative experiences with positive ones to create new conditioning. In other words, developing new associations to reduce undesirable behavior is necessary. In this case, it is essential to assess Michael’s valuable items and people and connect them with a conditioned stimulus. For example, his friends may wear Hawaiian shirts and spend time together supporting the man with nice words. Considering a weakened response due to the second step, the creation of new associations may break a link between a piece of clothes and violence-related feelings from childhood to avoid an emotional reaction. In this case, a conditioned stimulus will become a neutral one, or it will be paired with another experience.
Conclusion
The process of the development of desired behavior requires time and effort. Michael has PTSD or an individual phobia based on negative experiences from the past linked with a neutral stimulus that transformed into a conditioned one. A proposed intervention is exposure therapy, which presupposes emotional processing, habituation, and the creation of new associations. The plan’s efficiency will be determined and evaluated based on Michael’s changed response and the frequency of undesirable behavior’s occurrence.
References
McLean, C. P., Levy, H. C., Miller, M. L., & Tolin, D. F. (2022). Exposure therapy for PTSD: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 91(102115), 1-10. Web.
Rehman, I., Mahabadi, N., Sanvictores, T., & Rehman, C. I. (2022). Classical conditioning. StatPearls Publishing. Web.
Thng, C. E., Lim-Ashworth, N. S., Poh, B. Z., & Lim, C. G. (2020). Recent developments in the intervention of specific phobia among adults: A rapid review. F1000 Research, 9, 1-16. Web.