reducing addiction: behavioural interventions Flashcards
behavioural interventions definition
any treatment based on behaviourist principles of learning such as classical conditioning and operant conditioning
aversion therapy definition
behavioural treatment based on classical conditioning. a maladaptive behaviour is paired with an unpleasant stimulus such as a painful electric shock. eventually the behaviour is associated with pain without the shock being used
covert sensitisation definition
a form of aversion therapy based on classical conditioning. A client imagines an unpleasant stimulus and associated this with a maladaptive behaviour (in contrast with aversion therapy where the unpleasant stimulus is actually experienced)
what is aversion therapy
behavioural intervention based on classical conditioning
what is the principle of aversion therapy
an addiction can develop through repeated associations between a substance/behaviour and the pleasurable state of arousal caused by it. therefore it follows that an addiction can be reduced by exploiting the same conditioning process, but by associating the substance/behaviour with an unpleasant state (counterconditioning)
how does aversion therapy work for alcohol addiction
used extensively in treating alcoholism. Client is given an aversive drug such as disulfiram which interferes with the normal bodily processes of metabolising alcohol into harmless chemicals, this means if someone drinks whilst taking disulfiram will experience severe nausea and vomiting (basically an instant hangover)
what is the aim of aversion therapy for alcohol addiction
for client to learn a new association. so in classical conditioning the disulfiram and alcohol separately do not produce nausea/vomiting together but they do. so through association, they become conditioned stimuli producing an expectation of nausea/vomiting which is the conditioned response. the client will soon expect to experience the conditioned response when they drink which is usually enough to prevent drinking
what form of aversion therapy has been useful in behavioural addictions such as gambling addiction and those with medical conditions which could be worsened by vomiting
electric shock
do the shocks used in aversion therapy for gambling cause damage
do not cause any permanent damage but are painful
how is aversion therapy for gamblers carried out
the addicted gambler thinks of phrases relate to their gambling behaviour and write them down on cards. some non-gambling related phrases are also included. the client then reads out each card. when they get to a gambling-repeated phrase they are given a two-second electric shock via a device attached to their wrist. The intensity and duration of the shock are preselected by the client (should be painful but not distressing)
why does electric shock aversion therapy for gambling work
after repeated pairings, the pain (unconditioned response) becomes associated with gambling-related behaviours (was the neutral stimulus, now the conditioned stimulus) the clients carvings subside and they stop gambling
what is covert sensitisation based off
classical conditioning
does covert sensitisation occur in vitro or in vivo and why
in vitro as rather than actually experiencing the unpleasant stimulus the client imagines how it would feel
how is covert sensitisation carried out for smoking
-client encouraged to relax
-therapist reads from a script instructing client to imagine themselves in a an aversive situation
-client sees themselves smoking followed by imaging the unpleasant consequences, such as nausea and fear of vomiting
-the more vivid the image the better, so therapist goes into graphic detail about the elements of the imagery including sights, smeels, sounds and physical movements involved
example of covert sensitiation for smoking
imagine smoking cigarettes covered in faeces
