John Wolpe concluded that since much of our behavior is learned, there was no reason why it could not be unlearned. He first experimented with cats by giving them mild electric shocks accompanied by specific sounds and visual stimuli. Eventually the pairing created a feeling of fear. By gradually exposing the cats to the same sounds with food, the cats gradually unlearned their fear. Wolpe went on to show that therapy could be combined with other empirical methods.
Modern desensitization techniques include relaxation techniques in stressful situations until the patient/client is able to handle the fear underlying the stressful object or situation. If a person is afraid of dogs, he may be asked to look at a picture of a dog, pet a puppy, and eventually pet a large dog. Virtual reality has been used to give a person the feeling of actually being in the situation that causes the stress such as fear of flying.
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