marlier.proBehavior Therapy Core Concepts
October 11, 2003
Behavior Therapy Core Concepts
Behavior therapies differ from other psychotherapies by some characteristics: the focus is on the present causes of the trouble behavior rather that on the unconscious causes; the lasting modification of behavior is a major criteria of therapy success; treatment procedures are described objectively and are reproducible by other therapists for patients with similar problems. A behavior therapist will deem that a maladapted behavior (a phobia, for instance) was learnt is certain situations and then maintained by environment contingencies. He will then attempt to replace the maladapted behavior by the behavior which is desired by the patient, though a new learning process. The therapist may use numerous techniques which he will chose according to his patient and the results published for similar disorders.
Classical Conditioning
At the beginnings was Pavlov's dog. Classical conditioning theory stems from Pavlov experiments with dogs. This concept consists of the contingent association of two stimuli. By repetitively coupling a neutral stimulus which does not trigger any behavioral response with an unconditional stimulus which automatically triggers an unconditional response, always the same, and by later removing the unconditional stimulus, the neutral stimulus alone will trigger an identical reaction. It will then be names conditional stimulus triggering a conditional response. As an example of this mechanism is the placebo effect: the patient receives a medication and is told that the medication alleviates his pain (which may be true). Then he unknowingly receives a placebo instead of the medication. The placebo has a good chance of being as effective as the original medication. In the context of classical conditioning, extinction occurs when the acquired behavior is no longer reinforced by the association of the unconditional stimulus to the conditional stimulus.
Operant Conditioning
The concept of operant conditioning was developed by Skinner working with rats and pigeons. It is a process of behavior modification resulting from the contingent association of a behavior and a stimulus. A certain behavior leads to or is followed by certain events. Positive reinforcement increases the frequency of a given behavior as a consequence of the subsequent addition of a stimulus (almost 50 years ago, when I was a very little girl at the sisters' school, the best pupil of the week would receive as a decoration a golden medal to be worn during the following week); negative reinforcement increases the frequency of a given behavior as a consequence of the subsequent removal of a stimulus (if I exercise on a regular basis, I'll stop gaining weight); positive punition decreases the frequency of a behavior as a consequence of the subsequent addition of a stimulus (the child who does something stupid is given a spank) ; negative punition decreases the frequency of a behavior as a consequence of the subsequent removal of a stimulus (the teenager who fails at school is deprived from pocket money).
The fundamental assumption here is that behavior is a function of its consequences. The treatment procedures aim at altering the relationships between behaviors and their consequences by reinforcement, punishment (“the carrot and the stick” method), extinction (of the unwanted behavior), stimulus control, token economy, praise, systematic desensitivation. For instance, systematic desensitivation can be used to treat specific phobias like Fear of Flying: the goal is to associate a state of relaxation with usually stressful situations in imagination while feeling less and less anxiety (a kind of Mithridatization).
Discrimination Learning and Social-cognitive Learning
Reinforcements are not the sole determinants of behavior. According to social-cognitive learning theory, the most important prerequisite for behavior change is the patient's sense of self-efficacy: the conviction that he is capable of successfully behaving in such a way as to produce the desired outcome. Self-regulation derives from social-cognitive learning theory. It includes what is commonly named “will-power”. It can be critical in many behaviors such as dieting, engaging in regular exercise, quitting smoking, managing stress. Discrimination learning is the process which make people behave differently in different situations. It explains the flexibility of human behavior. A patient might not smoke at home in a familiar relaxed environment but might smoke a lot at work in an office with a difficult boss, a compulsion which obliges her to go out of the office several times a day to smoke outdoors and does improve neither her health, nor her relationships with her boss.
Conclusion
Another developing area is behavioral medicine which tries to create and maintain behaviors good for health and also treats pathologies such as headaches, tics, chronic pain by means of relaxation and biofeedback. During the last years, behavior therapies have also adopted cognitive views which do not deal only with the observable behavior, but also with the ideas which the individual has about himself and his environment. Cognitive behavior therapy treats depression with an efficiency which has been compared to tricyclic anti-depression medications.
Bibliography
A glossary of some terms used in the objective science of behavior: http://web.utk.edu/~wverplan/gt57/glayout.html
Behaviorism, Social Cognitive Theory and Field Theory: Current Theory and Applications: http://home.okstate.edu/homepages.nsf/toc/EPSY5213Reading5a
October 11, 2003
Behavior Therapy Core Concepts
Behavior therapies differ from other psychotherapies by some characteristics: the focus is on the present causes of the trouble behavior rather that on the unconscious causes; the lasting modification of behavior is a major criteria of therapy success; treatment procedures are described objectively and are reproducible by other therapists for patients with similar problems. A behavior therapist will deem that a maladapted behavior (a phobia, for instance) was learnt is certain situations and then maintained by environment contingencies. He will then attempt to replace the maladapted behavior by the behavior which is desired by the patient, though a new learning process. The therapist may use numerous techniques which he will chose according to his patient and the results published for similar disorders.
Classical Conditioning
At the beginnings was Pavlov's dog. Classical conditioning theory stems from Pavlov experiments with dogs. This concept consists of the contingent association of two stimuli. By repetitively coupling a neutral stimulus which does not trigger any behavioral response with an unconditional stimulus which automatically triggers an unconditional response, always the same, and by later removing the unconditional stimulus, the neutral stimulus alone will trigger an identical reaction. It will then be names conditional stimulus triggering a conditional response. As an example of this mechanism is the placebo effect: the patient receives a medication and is told that the medication alleviates his pain (which may be true). Then he unknowingly receives a placebo instead of the medication. The placebo has a good chance of being as effective as the original medication. In the context of classical conditioning, extinction occurs when the acquired behavior is no longer reinforced by the association of the unconditional stimulus to the conditional stimulus.
Operant Conditioning
The concept of operant conditioning was developed by Skinner working with rats and pigeons. It is a process of behavior modification resulting from the contingent association of a behavior and a stimulus. A certain behavior leads to or is followed by certain events. Positive reinforcement increases the frequency of a given behavior as a consequence of the subsequent addition of a stimulus (almost 50 years ago, when I was a very little girl at the sisters' school, the best pupil of the week would receive as a decoration a golden medal to be worn during the following week); negative reinforcement increases the frequency of a given behavior as a consequence of the subsequent removal of a stimulus (if I exercise on a regular basis, I'll stop gaining weight); positive punition decreases the frequency of a behavior as a consequence of the subsequent addition of a stimulus (the child who does something stupid is given a spank) ; negative punition decreases the frequency of a behavior as a consequence of the subsequent removal of a stimulus (the teenager who fails at school is deprived from pocket money).
The fundamental assumption here is that behavior is a function of its consequences. The treatment procedures aim at altering the relationships between behaviors and their consequences by reinforcement, punishment (“the carrot and the stick” method), extinction (of the unwanted behavior), stimulus control, token economy, praise, systematic desensitivation. For instance, systematic desensitivation can be used to treat specific phobias like Fear of Flying: the goal is to associate a state of relaxation with usually stressful situations in imagination while feeling less and less anxiety (a kind of Mithridatization).
Discrimination Learning and Social-cognitive Learning
Reinforcements are not the sole determinants of behavior. According to social-cognitive learning theory, the most important prerequisite for behavior change is the patient's sense of self-efficacy: the conviction that he is capable of successfully behaving in such a way as to produce the desired outcome. Self-regulation derives from social-cognitive learning theory. It includes what is commonly named “will-power”. It can be critical in many behaviors such as dieting, engaging in regular exercise, quitting smoking, managing stress. Discrimination learning is the process which make people behave differently in different situations. It explains the flexibility of human behavior. A patient might not smoke at home in a familiar relaxed environment but might smoke a lot at work in an office with a difficult boss, a compulsion which obliges her to go out of the office several times a day to smoke outdoors and does improve neither her health, nor her relationships with her boss.
Conclusion
Another developing area is behavioral medicine which tries to create and maintain behaviors good for health and also treats pathologies such as headaches, tics, chronic pain by means of relaxation and biofeedback. During the last years, behavior therapies have also adopted cognitive views which do not deal only with the observable behavior, but also with the ideas which the individual has about himself and his environment. Cognitive behavior therapy treats depression with an efficiency which has been compared to tricyclic anti-depression medications.
Bibliography
A glossary of some terms used in the objective science of behavior: http://web.utk.edu/~wverplan/gt57/glayout.html
Behaviorism, Social Cognitive Theory and Field Theory: Current Theory and Applications: http://home.okstate.edu/homepages.nsf/toc/EPSY5213Reading5a
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