Behavior Therapy Flashcards
It is the clinical application of behavioral principles, which have theoretical and experimental roots extending back hundreds of years.
Behavior therapy
He was a physiologist who studies the digestive systems of dogs and came across a remarkable phenomenon while working, which was ultimately labeled “classical conditioning”.
Ivan Pavlov
In the early 1900s, he fervently argued that the lessons learned from Pavlov’s dogs applied to human behavior as well and that, as a result, psychology should refrain from focusing on the inner workings of the mind and should instead examine the ways conditioning shapes behavior.
John Watson
This law stated that all organisms pay attention to the consequences (or effects) of their actions. Actions that are followed by pleasurable consequences are more likely to recur, whereas actions that are followed by unpleasant consequences are less likely to recur
Law of effect
They were the proponents of the second essential type of conditioning– the operant conditioning.
Edward Lee Thorndike and B.F. Skinner
The primary goal of behavior therapy is ____________________
observable behavior change
Behavioral therapists take the stance that the study of human behavior, whether normal or abnormal, should be _______________
scientific
Which step of the scientific method are these:
- Assessing client behavior via observation, interview, or testing
- Defining a target behavior
- Establishing a baseline level of target behavior
Observing a phenomenon
Which step of the scientific method are these:
- Functionally analyzing target behavior to determine the factors that cause or influence it
- Establishing specific behavioral goals for treatment
- Planning interventions to alter behavior in preferred manner
Developing hypotheses to explain the phenomenon
Which step of the scientific method is this:
- Implementing interventions as planned
Testing the hypotheses through experimentation
Which step of the scientific method are these:
- Collecting data on changes in the target behavior
- Comparing data collected during or after treatment to baseline data
- Comparing data to goals
Observing the outcome of the tests
Which step of the scientific method are these:
- Modifying treatment plan as suggested by observed outcomes
- Restarting scientific process with revised hypotheses
Revising the hypotheses
Behavioral therapists reject _______________ such as this—that is, they reject the notion that we can simply look inside the mind and attain an objective, accurate assessment of change.
introspection
Behavioral therapists focus on outward demonstrations of change in clients—_____________________ rather than ______________________________—as indicators of client change.
overt behavior, covert mental processes
What are the two types of conditioning?
- Classical conditioning
- Operant conditioning
It is the type of conditioning exemplified by Pavlov’s dog studies
Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is a rather ___________ type of learning.
passive
It occurs when the conditioned response is evoked by stimuli that are similar to, but not an exact match for, the conditioned stimulus.
Generalization
It occurs when the conditioned response is not evoked by such a stimulus
Discrimination
It occurs when the organism “operates” on the environment, notices the consequences of the behavior, and incorporates those consequences into decisions regarding future behavior
Operant conditioning
“the basic principle of the operant approach is that behavior is a function of its __________”
consequences
What are the techniques based on classical conditioning?
- Exposure therapy
- Systematic Desensitization
- Assertiveness Training
What are the techniques based on operant conditioning?
- Contingency management
- Extinction
- Token Economies
- Shaping
- Behavioral Activation
- Observational Learning (Modeling)
What are the alternatives to behavior therapy?
- Behavioral Consultation
- Parent Training
- Teacher Training
It is the clinical psychologist’s version of “facing your fears.”
Exposure therapy
According to the behavioral therapist, they are best understood as the result of classical conditioning: A particular stimulus becomes paired with an aversive outcome.
Phobias
When the client is repeatedly “_____________” to the feared object and the expected aversive outcome does not take place, the client no longer experiences the fear response, which is a more appropriate and rational way to react to such harmless stimuli
exposed
The gradual approach in exposure therapy, which is often called _____________, and it requires the client and therapist to collaboratively create an anxiety hierarchy in which they list about 10 stimuli that might induce fear.
graded exposure
These are most commonly used with clients who have phobias and other anxiety disorders, as well as PTSD
Exposure therapies
One particular application of exposure therapy, called _______________________, has received substantial empirical support for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, making it the clear treatment of choice for the disorder
exposure and response prevention
It involves graded exposure to the obsessive thoughts (e.g., “My hands are filthy—I must wash them”) or the situations that elicit such thoughts while simultaneously preventing the client’s typical response (e.g., hand washing), which brings temporary relief but has come to interfere with the client’s daily life
exposure and response prevention
It is a treatment also used primarily for phobias and other anxiety disorders, is quite similar to exposure therapy, but rather than simply breaking the association between the feared object and the aversive feeling, it involves re-pairing (or counterconditioning) the feared object with a new response that is incompatible with anxiety.
Systemic desensitization
Most often, the new response in systematic desensitization that replaces and blocks the fear response is ____________
relaxation
The first step of systematic desensitization is _____________, in which the behavior therapist teaches the client progressive relaxation techniques in which various muscles are systematically tensed and relaxed.
relaxation training
It is a specific application of classical conditioning that targets clients’ social anxieties. It is best suited for people whose timid, apprehensive, or ineffectual social behavior has a negative impact on their lives.
Assertiveness training
The exposure in assertiveness training comes in the form of facing ________________
interpersonal fears
These are if-then statements that, according to behavioral therapists, govern our behavior
Contingencies
If the goal is to change behavior, a powerful way to do so is to change the contingencies controlling it. Behavior therapists call this process __________________________
contingency management
The consequences of a behavior—the words that complete the “then . . .” phrase in our contingencies—can be categorized as either ________________ or _______________.
reinforcements, punishments
It is defined as any consequence that makes a behavior more likely to recur in the future.
Reinforcement
It is defined as any consequence that makes a behavior less likely to recur in the future.
Punishment
“getting something good” (such as food)
Positive reinforcement
“losing something bad” (such as pain)
Negative reinforcement
“getting something bad”
Positive punishment
“losing something good”
Negative punishment
Behavior therapists use both reinforcement and punishment during contingency management, but for most clinical situations, _____________ is generally preferred
reinforcement
It represents an example of the clinical use of punishment, in which an unwanted behavior (say, drinking alcohol) brings about an aversive stimulus (nausea or electric shock)
Aversion therapy
In the context of contingency management, _______________ refers to the removal of an expected reinforcement that results in a decrease in the frequency of a behavior
extinction
It predictably occurs immediately after the removal of the reinforcement and is an important aspect if extinction-based therapies
extinction burst
It is a setting in which clients earn tokens for participating in predetermined target behaviors
Token Economy
These are used most often in settings such as inpatient units, correctional facilities, and other sites where clients’ behavior is under ongoing surveillance by supervisory staff. Their strength is their versatility across clients.
Token economies
A potential limitation of token economies involves _________________. It refers to the application of a learned contingency to similar behaviors or situations
generalization
It involves reinforcing successive approximations of the target behavior. It is a technique in which the behavior therapist reinforces “baby steps” toward the desired behavior
Shaping
It is a form of behavior therapy, initially designed to treat depression, that has received significant attention and empirical support in recent years. It is based on the simple yet profound notion that in the day-to-day lives of depressed people, there is a shortage of positive reinforcement. So its goal is to increase the frequency of behaviors that are positively reinforcing to the client.
Behavioral Activation
It is a method of planning and encouraging activities that bring pleasure and preclude depression
behavioral activation
Much of what we learn comes from contingencies we see applied to other people. This phenomenon is known as ___________________ but has also been called modeling and social learning.
observational learning
It is a technique in which the client observes a demonstration of the desired behavior and is given chances to imitate it
observational learning
Observational learning strategy wherein the client simply mimics the modeled behavior
Imitation
Observational learning strategy wherein the client observes not only the modeled behavior but also the model receiving consequences for that modeled behavior.
Vicarious Learning
The__________ is a person who spends significant time in the natural setting with the client and who has some control over the contingencies that govern the client’s behavior.
consultee
It is an indirect way for a behavior therapist to modify a client’s behavior. It differs from direct clinical services in that there are always three parties involved: the client, the consultee, and the consultant (therapist)
Behavioral consultation
It is a stage in behavioral consultation in which the roles and responsibilities of all parties are established.
Initiation of the consulting relationship
It is a stage in behavioral consultation in which the target behavior is defined, usually through questions involving who, what, where, and when the behavior problem occurs. Baseline and goals are also determined
Problem identification
It is a stage in behavioral consultation n which the therapist identifies the reinforcement contingency that is maintaining the current behavior
Problem analysis
It is a stage in behavioral consultation in which the consultee carries out the intervention as recommended by the consultant
Problem analysis
It is a stage in behavioral consultation in which the consultant and consultee measure the client’s progress from baseline and toward goals
Plan evaluation
It is a specific form of behavioral consultation in which parents seek help with problematic behaviors of their children
Parent training
Unlike child psychotherapy or family psychotherapy, ________________ involves an arrangement in which the consultant (behavior therapist) may never meet the child directly
parent training
It is quite similar to parent training, but the emphasis is on behaviors that take place at school. Many of these problem behaviors are interpersonal or disruptive in nature, but others are academic and involve refusal to complete assignments and similar task-related behaviors
Teacher training
As a baseline measure at the outset of therapy, at various points during the
therapy to evaluate changes from session to session, and at the end of therapy as a final assessment of change
Empirical Data
involves visualizing the feared object
Imaginal exposure
involves directly seeing, hearing, and touching the feared object
In vivo exposure
Exposure that happens all at once
Flooding or implosion
