Behaviourist - Therapy Flashcards
what is addiction
compulsive, chronic, physiological, harmful needs which cause anxiety and withdrawals
main components of aversion therapy
1) the client undergoes a medical examination and health check to ensure they are fit, well, and able to proceed with the therapy
2) the therapist then works with the client, educating them on how the therapy will work and what they can expect throughout the therapeutic process
3) the final step involves the therapist obtaining valid consent from the client to proceed with at. the client must demonstrate they understand what the therapy will involve and confirm they consent and agree to proceed with it
how can we use the principles of classical conditioning to treat addiction?
a naturally unpleasant stimulus (ucs) - a negative response (ucr)
a naturally unpleasant stimulus (ucr) + addictive behaviour (ns) - a negative response (ucr)
addictive behaviour (cs) - a negative response (cr)
aversion therapy for alcoholism
antabuse - throwing up
antabuse + alcohol - throwing up
alcohol - throwing up
aversion therapy for nicotine addiction
shock - pain
shock + nicotine - pain
nicotine - pain
covert sensitisation
unique type of aversion therapy that differs from traditional therapy by getting patients to imagine the negative consequences rather than experiencing them in real life
operant conditioning and negative reinforcement
the avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus means that patients are unlikely to repeat the negative behaviour. e.g. a phone addict will start to feel anxious if they even see a phone so they avoid them to avoid that negative feeling
tryptophan metabolites
prevent alcohol from being properly converted in the body. they turn into a chemical that causes unpleasant side effects (nausea, hot flushes)
what do tryptophan metabolites reward
abstinence by inducing feelings of well-being (Badawy 1999)
how do tryptophan metabolites combine the best of reward and punishment
negative reinforcement
blank slate - apply to aversion therapy
all behaviour is learned from the environment
unlearning learned behaviour to reduce/avoid undesirable behaviour
behaviour learnt through conditioning - apply to aversion therapy
stimulus = response
- classical conditioning - learn by association
- operant conditioning - learn by consequence
condition the patient to associate the undesired behaviour with something unpleasant
use of positive reinforcement (rewards) for abstinence from undesirable behaviour
humans and animals learn through similar ways - apply to aversion therapy
make generalisations
generalise from one undesirable stimulus to another
aversion therapy is effective - miller (1979)
discovered counselling is just as affective as aversion therapy
aversion therapy is effective - smith et al. (1997)
alcoholics treated with aversion therapy had higher abstinence rates after one year than people who only went to counselling
aversion therapy is effective - smith (1988)
52% of 300 smokes smith greatest with shocks stayed abstinent after one year
aversion therapy may not be effective - bancroft (1992)
up to 50% of patients either refuse treatment or drop out of aversion therapy, which make it difficult if only willing people partake
aversion therapy may not be effective - are the effects long term?
long term affects of aversion therapy are questionable
in office, appear to recover - outside when punishment is gone they don’t stick
conditioned response extinguished when cs not paired with ucs
aversion therapy may not be affective - symptom substitution
behaviourist approach believe maladaptive behaviour is the disorder and there are no underlying causes to be treated
one consequence - symptoms may be removed (original) but new symptoms appear in a different form
because underlying cause hasn’t been identified
aversion is unethical because (1)
the client is often exposed to noxious substances such as antabuse, which results in extremely unpleasant side effects such as sickness and headaches
aversion is ethical because (1)
causes both physical and psychological harm, which are major ethical issues, but nevertheless the physical harm from nausea - inducing drugs and electric shocks may not be as damaging in the long term as addiction itself
aversion is unethical because (2)
in 1962, billy clegg-hill died after he underwent aversion therapy to cure his homosexuality. he died from a coma and convulsions caused by apomorphine
aversion is ethical because (2)
use of covert sensitisation (milder form of therapy)
aversion is unethical because (3)
do patients understand what is involved in aversion therapy? electric shocks = high control over patients - social control 50%
