Habit Reversal Procedures

Question 1

Habit reversal procedures

Answer 1

are used to decrease the frequency of undesirable habit behaviours

Question 2

Awareness training

Answer 2

steps taken to identify the tic or habit,

Question 3

Competing response

Answer 3

a behaviour incompatible with the habit behaviour. Typically, something that is not easily identified by others and the person engages in it for about 1 – 3 mins

Question 4

Motivation strategy

Answer 4

increases the likelihood that the client will use the competing response outside the treatment session to control the habit

Question 5

3 Types of habit behaviours

Answer 5

nervous habits, motor tics and stuttering

Question 6

Nervous Habits:

Answer 6

nail biting, hair twirling, tapping a pencil., chewing on pen or pencil, cracking knuckles, and other repetitive, manipulative behaviours that are believed to occur when the person experiences heightened tension. Believed to diminish that tension, does not serve any social function

Question 7

Motor tics

Answer 7

repetitive, jerking movements of a particular muscle group in the body. Believed to be associated with heightened muscle tension, sometimes related to an injury that increases tension in those muscles

Question 8

Vocal tic

Answer 8

repetitive vocal sound that does not serve a social function. Throat clearing, coughing,

Question 9

Tourette’s disorder

Answer 9

is a tic disorder involving multiple motor and vocal tics. Believed to be caused by a complex interaction of genetic and neurobiological factors, as well as environmental events

Question 10

Habit Behaviour

Answer 10

• a repetitive behaviour in one of three categories:
  1. Nervous habits
  2. Tics and Tourette’s Disorder
• Motor tics
• Vocal Tics
• Tourette’s Disorder
  3. Stuttering

Question 11

Nervous Habits

Answer 11

• repetitive and/or manipulative behaviors that are most likely to occur when a person experiences heightened tension
• nail biting, hair pulling, oral habits, thumb sucking, bruxism
• Not typically social/environmentally reinforced
• have natural physiological reinforcers
• Usually harmless unless taken to extremes

Question 12

-Motor tics:

Answer 12

repetitive jerking movements of a particular muscle group in the body

Question 13

-Vocal Tics:

Answer 13

repetitive vocal sounds or word uttered by a person that serves no communitive function

Question 14

Tourette’s disorder:

Answer 14

a tic disorder involving multiple motor and vocal tics that have occurred for at least 1 year

Question 15

-stuttering:

Answer 15

a speech disfluency in which the individual repeats words of syllables, prolongs a word or sound, and/or halts on a word

Question 16

-When is a habit just a behaviour and when is a habit a disorder?

Answer 16

• when it occurs excessively with great frequency, intensity, or duration
• excessive to the point where the person engaging in the behaviour finds it unreasonable
• when it causes physical damage to the person
• hair loss, damage to nails or teeth
• When it causes chronic distress, social stigma, or embarrassment to the individual

Question 17

Habit reversal Procedures

-Essence of “habit reversal” procedures:

Answer 17

1. Awareness training
   - teach discrimination (i.e., detection) of the habit and its antecedents
2. Competing Response Training
   - prompt and reinforce an incompatible response in anticipation of the habit behaviour
   - should be social inconspicuous

Question 18

Examples of Competing Responses

Answer 18

• Motor tics:
• lightly tense muscles involved in the tic when holding body parts still
• Vocal tics
• slow deep breathing though the nose and mouth closed
• Nail biting and hair pulling
• hands on lap or in pockets, hand grasping object, hands under arms
• For stuttering
• diaphragmatically breathing with slight exhale before speaking (regulated breathing)

Question 19

Incorporating Social Support

-Social support

Answer 19

• parent, spouse, friend, or significant other is involved in treatment
• examples:
• parent prompts child to use the competing response (guidance if necessary)
• parent socially reinforced their child for absence of the habit behaviour and for correct use of the competing response
• Possible social reinforcers
• praises, hugs, kisses smiles, high-fives

Question 20

Competing Response’s Function

-Why does the competing response help?

Answer 20

• has an inhibitory function when the competing response is incompatible with the habit
• head shaking cannot occur when tensing neck muscles
• can have a punishing function
• a form of contingent exercise

Question 21

Incorporating Other Treatment Procedures

-habit reversal by itself may be ineffective for…

Answer 21

• very young children
• people with intellectual disabilities
• Other procedure may need to be incorporated
• DRO
• response cost
• response blocking
• self-monitoring
• goal setting

Question 22

body focused behavior problems

Answer 22

nail-biting, skin picking, skin biting, skin scratching, and mothy biting