Behavior Therapy Flashcards
Operant conditioning
assumes behavior is controlled by the environment
reinforcement and punishment
reinforcement
meant to increase the likelihood of behavior
punishment
meant to decrease the likelihood of behavior
what theory does operant conditioning embody?
S-R theory (stimulus in environment causes a response from the organism)
classical conditioning
a neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response through repeated pairing with another stimulus
ex. Pavlov’s dog, pairing bell (neutral) with food (conditioned) for salivation (response)
Bell and Pad treatment for bed-wetting
wake up when wet bed, meant to teach children to be woken up when they feel the need to pee
theory of personality for BT
behavior is explained in terms of variables in the environment
how does the theory of personality of BT differ from other theories?
behaviorist’s aren’t worried with what’s happening in the brain but what is happening in the environment
3 things involved with theory of personality in BT
learning
situational cues
- what is happening immediately in front of you, not past but present!
temperament
- biologically predisposition to certain modes of responding
- cannot change this! but can change how temperament is expressed
positive reinforcement
giving something to cause behavior to increase
negative reinforcement
taking something away to make behavior more likely
common examples of this is procrastination
- by not completing your work, you are taking away your fear and anxiety associated with it which makes you more likely to repeat this behavior
positive punishment
giving something (aversive usually) to decrease likelihood of behavior
negative punishment
take away (usually something that is wanted) to decrease likelihood of behavior
ex. take away a toy when a child misbehaves
ex. speeding ticket: taking away money (to pay ticket) to decrease the likelihood of you speeding again
operant conditioning: discrimination learning
behavior learned in context/environment that doesn’t generalize to another one
ex. well sleep trained in home environment, but not well trained in another environment
operant conditioning: generalization
when behavior occurs beyond context/environment it was acquired (good for adaptive behaviors but bad for maladaptive ones)
ex. Little Albert was conditioned for a white, fluffy rabbit but generalized this fear for anything white and fluffy
vicarious learning/observational learning (other types of operant conditioning)
occurs when we witness behavior and reinforce/punish in someone else
ex. peer gets in trouble for talking when not supposed, makes you not talk
Rule-governed behavior/instructional learning (other types of operant conditioning)
learn about environment contingencies without observing experience
ex. You probably haven’t seen someone get hit by a car, rather been told to avoid/learn to avoid it/look both ways before crossing street
how can operant conditioning be a source of distress?
maladaptive learned behaviors
adaptive learned behaviors do not generalize
maladaptive learned behaviors
procrastination
- negative reinforcement, learned
tantrums
- response to these/to stop will be done through reinforcement (ex. tantrum in target = toy), will increase behavior/be reinforced
classical conditioning as a source of distress
conditioning can give rise to maladapting behaviors
develop maladaptive habits
maintain maladaptive behaviors through cues in the environment
- ex. smokers smoke in car, causing car to be neutral stimulus that becomes a conditioned one to smoke
theory of psychotherapy for BT
change behavior by manipulating environment with adaptive learning process
goals of behavior therapy
change behavior!
correct maladaptive learning experiences and introduce adaptive learning
therapeutic style for BT
directive and transparent
- step-by-step instructions accompanied by clear rationale/so client knows why they are being asked to do certain things
therapeutic relationship
- not emphasized in traditional behaviorism but now known to bolster motivation
extinction (classical conditioning)
breaking pair between neutral and conditioned stimulus
exposure (with response prevention) (classical conditioning)
expose to stimulus and prevent response from taking place
ex. coffee = smoking, try to have coffee without smoking
extinction (operant conditioning)
what happens when you stop reinforcing behavior
ex. stop comforting child when they are crying
shaping (operant conditioning)
don’t expect to receive exact behavior right away but shape it overtime with steps
stimulus control (classical conditioning)
control stimuli in environment to not allow response to take place/change stimuli
ex. smoke sitting in same spot and drinking the same coffee, therapist will ask you to change setting (mug, location, type of coffee, etc.)
ex. smoking in car, therapist will ask you to detail your car so it doesn’t smell like smoke and take another route to work so you aren’t mindlessly driving
desired behavior can be handled with –>
unwanted behavior can be handled with –>
reinforcement
punishment or no reinforcement
which is better: reinforcement or punishment
reinforcement!! punishment works poorly for changing behavior
treatment structure for BT
treatment sessions
course of treatment
- planned from start, explicit goal is for them to leave therapy
after treatment
- client learns lasting skills to maintain behavior change long term (become their own therapist!)
how does treatment structure in BT differ from other theories?
will take place in real-world environment settings since BT believes the environment controls behavior, so you need environment to change behavior
will differ in time, time-limited sessions as goal is to leave therapy ASAP (similar to REBT)
behavioral excess in BT
behaviors that we would like to decrease or eliminate
maladaptive behaviors
behavioral deficits in BT
behaviors not taking place/not frequent enough, need to introduce or increase them
adaptive behaviors
3 characteristics in behavioral assessment
identify target behaviors to be treated
consider information sources
functional analysis
ABC in functional analysis vs ABC in REBT
FA:
A: antecedent
B: behavior
C: consequence
REBT:
A: activating event
B: belief
C: consequence
methods of psychotherapy for BT
set treatment goals
- specific, measurable in terms of behavior
select appropriate treatment
- based on functional analysis
develop treatment contract
- literally a piece of paper that lays all that therapy will entail (ex. expectations/what is expected of client, if you miss 3 sessions you will no longer be a patient)
- maintains transparency in relationship
reinforcement based procedures in BT
differential reinforcement
token economy
contingency management
differential reinforcement in BT
unwanted behavior is extinct (no reinforcement for this behavior) and at the same time identify wanted behavior to take its place and reinforce wanted behavior
ex. toddler lays down, walk away and if they use their words then positively reinforce this
token economy with BT
positive reinforcement
someone receives tokens (ex. stickers, marbles, etc.), these tokens themselves isn’t reinforcing but if after 10 marbles = gift card
what you turn tokens in for = direct reinforcement
contingency management for BT
direct reinforcement, skipping token stage in token economy
ex. deal with difficult client, after you can treat yourself with favorite mint
ex. substance abuse: pay people $ when they have clean screen for substance
punishment based procedures
aversive conditioning
- give punishment in response to behavior, make punishment more aversive than behavior
ex. substance abuse ex. given meds that make you ill if you have alcohol
less effective
exposure-based treatment for BT
gold-standard for fear and anxiety based disorder
in-vivo
- exposure to feared stimuli in real life (homework is given)
imaginal
- exposure through imaginary images, thinking about feared situation
interoceptive
- exposure of feared bodily experiences, have them exposed to you
in-vivo and imaginal treatment combined =
hierarchical
imagined = low on hierarchy
ex. thinking of a spider then
seeing a spider then
vacuuming a spider then
killing a spider with tissue then
letting spider be
interoceptive treatment example
panic attack while driving, gradually work up to driving again and educate client of how this wasn’t probably the main cause
what do therapists do before exposure based treatment?
do whatever they are asking the client to do first, part of transparency and trust in relationship
response prevention
safety behaviors undermine exposure
help avoid exposure
ex. dissociating/not fully feeling fear, therapist will talk to client about what is happening and make them talk back to her to fully live in the moment
how do we stimulus control in BT
control
- control stimuli in the environment
extinguish
- extinguish stimuli with inappropriate control
develop
- develop adaptive conditioning
stimulus control for insomnia (example)
extinguish inappropriate conditioning
- bed used only for sleep and sex
- if you can’t sleep get out of bed
condition appropriate stimuli
- set consistent sleep/wake times
- avoid napping
- establish consistent bed-time routine
relaxation training helps trigger the …
parasympathetic nervous system
with:
diaphragmatic breathing, guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation
more recent conceptualizations in BT have begun to acknowledge …
cognition
poor treatment compliance in BT is associated with…
worse outcomes
what can BT be used for
anxiety disorders
depression
substance-use disorders
schizophrenia
evidence base for BT: BT is considered as the “_____ ________” for phobia and anxiety
gold standard
core principles are assumed transcend …
cultures
what can vary from culture to culture in BT?
contingencies
culture can affect what 3 things
therapeutic relationship
client perceptions
treatment engagement
therapists must what (in regards to culture in BT)
think about culture as environment
learn about culture through a variety of sources
be aware of own biases and patient’s reaction
