Final answer:
Behavior therapists use Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy to help individuals overcome a fear of flying by exposing them to a controlled virtual environment simulating the flying experience, which can progressively desensitize them to their phobia. The correct option is option (B).
Step-by-step explanation:
Behavior therapists have commonly used Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) to help people overcome a fear of flying. This technique involves the use of computer-generated environments to simulate the experience of flying.
The simulated experience can be adjusted and controlled to progressively desensitize individuals to their fear, known as exposure therapy. While other techniques exist, such as aversive conditioning and transference, they are not as commonly used for this specific phobia. The double-blind procedure is a scientific experimental method, not a therapeutic technique.
Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy has been shown to be an effective tool for treating not only the fear of flying but also other anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Research by Gerardi, Cukor, Difede, Rizzo, & Rothbaum shows that VRET can be used to alter the anxious responses typically associated with the feared stimuli by allowing the patient to face their fear in a controlled, virtual environment.