The Science of Phobias & The Famous Case of Button Boy

A phobia is an excessive fear of a seemingly harmless thing. Those affected, go to great lengths to avoid certain situations and if a situation cannot be avoided, they experience severe distress, panic attacks or even fainting. The famous case of Button Boy shows how a single childhood event can create a phobia that is surprisingly complex to treat.

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COLLABORATORS
Script: Jonas Koblin
Artist: Pascal Gaggelli
Voice: Matt Abbott
Coloring: Nalin
Editing: Peera Lertsukittipongsa
Production: Selina Bador
Production Assistant: Bianka
Proofreading: Susan
Sound Design: Miguel Ojeda
Fact-checking : Ludovico Saint Amour di Chanaz

SOUNDTRACKS
Divine Masquerade - Jack Pierce
Nice Toys - Studio Le Bus

DIG DEEPER with these top videos games and resources
Watch this video of Saavedra & Silverman’s work on Button Phobia, by Cambridge A-Levels Psychology
List of all phobias

SOURCES
Case Study: Disgust and a Specific Phobia of Buttons
Saavedra and Silverman Button Phobia Lecture Notes
Phobia, Wikipedia

CLASSROOM EXERCISE

Set up the room in a way that groups of two can sit together.

Let the students pick a phobia from this list, or allow them choose one that they experience themselves.
Each student then writes down the main aspects of their phobia in their own words. What phobia do you have? Does it smell and feel like something? Where do you think it comes from?
Now they go together in pairs and share with each other what they have written. Together they think about ideas for each other on how to overcome the phobia.
Once they are done, let them present the phobia of their partner.
Finally let the students vote on one phobia which they want to explore deeper and research possible treatment protocols.

CHAPTER
00:00 Introduction to phobia
00:33 3 types of phobia
01:11 The button boy case
02:04 Saavedra and Silverman finding
02:54 Behavioral exposure therapy
04:09 Expectancy vs evaluative learning
04:31 Forms of phobia treatment
05:07 Share your experience of phobia
05:32 Ending
03:37 Imagery exposure therapy