Behaviourist Therapy

Question 1

Component: Operant conditioning

Answer 1

Employs principals of operant + classical conditioning

Treats addiction e.g. alcohol

Creates association between pleasant stimulus and unpleasant response to so the body no longer wants pleasant stimulus

Negative reinforcement is now in place so patient continues to avoid alcohol

Question 2

Component: Covert Sensitisation

Answer 2

Follows principals of aversion therapy but unpleasant stimulus not actually present.

E.g. alcoholics imagine unpleasant stimulus while drinking

Therapists verbally encourage worse and worse scenarios

Question 3

Component: New developments

Answer 3

Tryptophan metabolites - Drug that makes patient nauseous when mixed with alcohol, then reward no alcohol with relaxed feelings

Prevent alcohol from being converted in body, turning it into nausea inducing chemical

Question 4

Effectiveness: Patient Dropout

Answer 4

Only effective if patient willing to engage in first place

Not good for low motivation patients with depression etc…

50% patient dropout

Question 5

Effectiveness: Symptom Substitution

Answer 5

Fails to treat underlying causes, so new symptoms appear in place of old one

Symptom removed (alcohol addiction), new symptom appear (gambling)

Behaviourist approach believes maladaptive behaviour IS the disorder, so no underlying problems

Question 6

Ethics: Treatment of homosexuality

Answer 6

Until 2006 aversion therapy used to ‘cure’ homosexuality

Men given drugs to feel sick while being shown pictures of other men

Forms negative association between the two to ‘turn them straight’

Question 7

Ethics: Control

Answer 7

Too much control over patient as techniques can involve harsh punishment e.g. electric shocks

However, patients give full informed consent

Also, new developments giving more refined, ethical, approach