Mary Cover Jones is best known for her work in which area?

• A. Discovering systematic desensitization
• B. Creating mental maps of cognition
• C. Demonstrating operant conditioning in children
• D. Pioneering counterconditioning to cure fear in children

Answer: (D)

The key idea is using counterconditioning to change an emotional reaction by pairing the feared object with something positive, so fear is replaced with a relaxed or pleasant response. Mary Cover Jones demonstrated this with her rabbit study, where a child who feared rabbits was gradually exposed to the rabbit while a highly enjoyable experience (like food or play) was paired with the sight of the rabbit. Over time, the fear diminished because the rabbit became associated with positive feelings instead of danger. This approach—creating a positive association to counteract fear—is what Jones is best known for. It’s different from later systematic desensitization, which adds relaxation techniques to a gradual exposure, and it predates the broader development of cognitive or operant theories.