Learning Objectives

• To understand behavioural explanations of OCD

• To know evaluative points for behavioural explanations of OCD

Do Now: what are the symptoms of OCD?

Starter: re-cap – obsessions and compulsions

During his last year at college, John became aware that he was spending more and more time preparing for his classes, but he worked hard and graduated in the top 10% of his class with a degree in accountancy. He accepted a job at a prestigious accounting firm and began work with high hopes for the future. Within weeks, the firm was having second thoughts about John. Given work that should have taken two or three hours, he was going over and over the figures, checking and rechecking, spending a week or more on a task. He knew it was taking too long to get each job done, but he felt compelled to continue checking because he was worried that if he did make a mistake something bad would happen to his family. When his probationary period was over, the company let him go.

Spot the obsessions!Spot the compulsions!

What’s the difference between them?

Introduction….I can fit everything I know about behavioural explanations of

OCD onto a post-it note!

• Reflection questions:

1. How is operant conditioning involved in the explanation of OCD?

2. What is a similarity between the behavioural explanation of phobias and the behavioural explanation of OCD?

3. What did Rachman and Hodgson (1980) find?

4. How could this explanation be linked to a treatment?

Behavioural explanation of OCD – A01

• Operant conditioning explains compulsive acts as learned behaviours which are reinforced through fear reduction.

• Just like with phobias Mowrer’s two process theory of avoidance learning can be applied to OCD

Behavioural explanation of OCD A01• Mowrer’s two process theory of

avoidance learning: two things come to be associated with one another through classical conditioning e.g. fear of contamination of germs with door handles

• The anxiety about whether our hands are contaminated can be reduced by washing

• Washing hands reduces anxiety and is therefore reinforcing

• The response of hand washing will occur the next time anxiety occurs, therefore the continuation of hand washing is maintained through operant conditioning

Behavioural explanation of OCD – A01

• A prediction from avoidance learning is that if someone with OCD is exposed to an object that causes anxious thoughts (e.g. a toilet seat being a cause of contamination) if they are prevented from carrying out their normal compulsion (e.g. handwashing) anxiety levels would rise steeply

• Once allowed to carry out their compulsion anxiety should drop quickly

• This is supported by research from Rachman and Hodgson (1980)

Behavioural explanation of OCD – A02

• Rachman and Hodgson (1980) found that participants with OCD were distressed when exposed to a situation that elicited obsessive thoughts. If they were allowed to carry out their compulsion anxiety levels dropped immediately. If prevented from carrying out their compulsion anxiety levels remained high for longer but subsided eventually

Behavioural explanation of OCD- A02

• Rachman and Hodgson’s experiment led to the development of a successful behavioural treatment

• The patient could be shown how anxiety would eventually reduce naturally over time without the need to carry out the compulsion

Main Activity

• Many examination questions require you to apply your knowledge (A02 marks) to scenario based questions

• Imagine each of the scenarios you have (John from this lesson, Paul and Caroline from last lesson) is proceeded by the following question:

• ‘Use the behavioural explanation of OCD to explain the behaviour of __________. Refer to _________’s case in your answer’ (4 marks)

Model answer: how to apply an explanation to a case study

• ‘The behaviourist approach would say that Isabel’s OCD developed through a two process theory. Firstly, Isabel formed an association through Classical Conditioning between a fear of something bad happening and cleanliness . Her fear of something bad happening is the obsession. She performs her 3 hour showering ritual (the compulsion) to decrease the anxiety associated with this obsession. Therefore the showering becomes a negative reinforcer. When Isabel does it her anxiety is reduced and in this way the OCD is maintained.’

Feedback: let’s hear your perfect

applications to the different case studies.

Plenary: Mark Scheme

• Use the mark scheme to help you to construct a fully detailed essay plan for this explanation of OCD, split your page into A01 and A02

• Learning ObjectivesTo understand behavioural explanations of

OCDTo know evaluative points for behavioural

explanations of OCD