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Paige has an intense fear of bees. To help relieve her of this phobia, her therapist helps her to start associating bees with pleasant things, like a feeling of relaxation. For example, he has her make a buzzing sound while relaxing. This technique is known as:

a. Exposure therapy
b. Cognitive distortion
c. Interpersonal therapy
d. Counterconditioning

User Parminder
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Final answer:

The therapist's technique to make Paige start associating bees with relaxation is known as counterconditioning, which is used to replace an unwanted fear response with a desired relaxation response.

Step-by-step explanation:

The technique Paige's therapist is using to help her associate bees with pleasant things like a feeling of relaxation is known as counterconditioning. Counterconditioning is a form of therapy that involves the conditioning of an unwanted behavior or response to a stimulus into a wanted behavior or response by the association of positive actions with the stimulus. This is commonly used in treating phobias, where a person learns to replace the fear response to a phobia with a relaxation response, as in the case of Paige's fear of bees. The therapist's method of having Paige make a buzzing sound while relaxing is indeed a practical example of counterconditioning.

Classical conditioning experiments, such as the case study of Little Albert conducted by Watson and his graduate student, illustrate how fears can be artificially induced through conditioning. It highlights the role of certain elements in the process: an unconditioned stimulus (UCS), conditioned stimulus (CS), unconditioned response (UCR), and conditioned response (CR). Similarly, in counterconditioning, a new positive response is being conditioned to replace the unwanted fear response.

User Chikako
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