BA

Question 1

Behaviourists assume that the way an individual behaves is determined by the _____ they are in. That is, they regard all behaviour as a response to a ______.

Answer 1

Behaviourists assume that the way an individual behaves is determined by the environment they are in. That is, they regard all behaviour as a response to a stimulus.

Question 2

Behaviourists believe it is unnecessary to speculate about internal _____ processes when trying to predict an individual’s behavioural response.

Answer 2

Behaviourists believe it is unnecessary to speculate about internal mental processes when trying to predict an individual’s behavioural response.

Question 3

Behaviourists assume that behaviours are learned in one of two ways:

1. Learning by association, also known as classical conditioning (___ & _____, 1920).
2. Learning through rewards and punishments, also known as operant conditioning (Skinner, _____)- BA is based on operant conditioning.

Answer 3

Behaviourists assume that behaviours are learned in one of two ways:

1. Learning by association, also known as classical conditioning (Watson & Rayner, 1920).
2. Learning through rewards and punishments, also known as operant conditioning (Skinner 1935)- BA is based on operant conditioning.

Question 4

List 3 critiques of behaviourism.

Answer 4

1. No attention paid to cognition or emotion.
2. Deterministic- what about free will?
3. Reductionist- reduces the complexity of human behaviour to a simple idea of stimulus-response.

Question 5

List the 6 steps of BA.

Answer 5

1. Rationale
2. List RPN activities
3. Make a hierarchy
4. Plan a BA diary
5. Implementation
6. Review

Question 6

Who argued that in the cases of elderly patients and patients with chronic health problems, it might not always be appropriate to try and reinstate old activities?

Answer 6

Richards et al (2010) argued that it might not always be appropriate to try and reinstate old activities.

Question 7

Ideally, there will be a ballance of RPN activities at each ____ in the hierarchy (____ et al, 2010).

Answer 7

Ideally there will be a ballance of RPN activities at each grade in the hierarchy (Richards et al, 2010).

Question 8

Who conducted a RCT which compared the relative efficacy of BA vs. PS as treatments for major depression?

Answer 8

Hopko et al (2011) conducted a RCT which compared the relative effectiveness of BA vs. PS as treatments for major depression.

Question 9

Hopko et al (2011) compared the relative effectiveness of BA vs. PS as treatments for major depression. Describe the sample in this study.

Answer 9

Breast cancer patients
Also diagnosed with MD
n =80

Question 10

Explain the method of Hopko et al (2011).

Answer 10

• Randomly assigned to BA group or PS group
• Members of both groups underwent 8 individual sessions
• Outcome measures: depression, anxiety, quality of life, social support, medical outcomes

Question 11

What were the findings of Hopko et al (2011)?

Answer 11

• Statistically significant improvements were found between pre and post treatment on all outcome measures, in both groups.
• In both groups, approximately 75% of patients exhibited clinical improvement in terms of their depression symptoms.
• Across both groups, gains were maintained at a 12 month follow up, however there was evidence to suggest gains were maintained the longest in the BA group.

Question 12

Provide 2 critical points in relation to the BA/PS study by Hopko et al (2011).

Answer 12

Critique 1: Only depression was measured at follow up, not anxiety. Given the comorbidity between depression and anxiety it is possible anxiety returned. Especially problematic given the is minimal evidence to suggest that BA is an effective treatment for anxiety (e.g. Jackupcak et al, 2006).
Critique 2: No control group.

Question 13

Who argues there is limited evidence to suggest that BA is an effective treatment for anxiety?

Answer 13

Jackupcak et al (2006) argue that there is limited evidence to suggest that BA is an effective treatment for anxiety.

Question 14

One study found that therapeutic compliance with the principles of BA (e.g. graded), directly predicted clinical improvement. However no relationship was found between the number of activities undertaken and clinical improvement. So, it’s not about the amount you do, it is about the manner in which you do it. What is the citation for this study?

Answer 14

Ryba et al (2014).

Question 15

Provide 2 critical points of the study by Ryba (2014).

Answer 15

Critique 1: Sample was only 23.

Critique 2: Sample bias- females with breast cancer- results lack generalisability?

Question 16

Dimidjan et al (2006) compared BA, medication and CBT as treatments for depression. What did they find?

Answer 16

BA and medication had comparable outcomes. Both outperformed CBT.

Question 17

CHALLENGE 1: Patient doesn’t complete homework.

What is the solution?

Answer 17

SOLUTION: Use COM-B as a preventative step and COM-B/problem-solving if disengagement occurs.

Question 18

CHALLENGE 2: Patient does not want to undertake avoided activities.
What is the solution?

Answer 18

SOLUTION: Ask patient to recount rationale and their understanding of the link between avoidance and low mood.

Question 19

CHALLENGE 3: Patient has difficulty distinguishing between routine and necessary activities e.g. shopping and eating.
What is the solution?

Answer 19

Explain to the patient there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ and not to get too hung up on this. As a general rule though, routine activities won’t have serious consequences if we neglect to do them in the medium term, whereas necessary activities do.

Question 20

CHALLENGE 4: Patient places a necessary activity, which requires immediate attention, at the top of a hierarchy.
What is the solution?

Answer 20

SOLUTION: Use COM-B and problem-solving to ensure that this dealt with straight away, even though this defies the principles of BA- this is the one instance where activities needn’t be graded.