Julian Seeks Professional Help for His Fear of Spiders

Multiple Choice

Julian seeks professional help for his fear of spiders. In stages, his therapist shows him pictures, movies, and models of spiders; then a real dead spider, a small live spider in a jar, several live spiders in a jar, and finally a live spider loose in the room. At each stage, the therapist made sure that Julian was fully relaxed. This technique is known as ________.

A) aversive conditioning
B) stepwise regression
C) transactional therapy
D) systematic desensitization