Textbook Chapter 13 Flashcards
chapter 13 topic
the behavioural/social learning approach
list of topics examined by behaviourist perspective
attitude change
language acquisition
psychotherapy
student-teacher interactions
problem solving
gender roles
job satisfaction
behavioural accounts of personality have gone through a slow but steady transition over the years…
EARLY behaviourists: limited descriptions to OBSERVABLE behaviours
LATER: social learning theorists expanded scope of approach to NON-OBSERVABLE concepts
^ thoughts, values, expectancies, individual perceptions
^ also recognizes people can learn through watching/hearing someone else
MORE RECENTLY: more COGNITIVE explanations of behaviour
why is line between behavioural and cognitive psychology blurring?
because recently behavioural psychologists have come to consider cognitive explanations for behaviour
“cognitive-behavioural” therapists
1913 John B Watson article
“psychology as the behaviourist views it”
article signaled the beginning of a new movement called BEHAVIOURISM
John B Watson’s arguments behind behaviourism
wanted to redefine psychology and implement behaviourism
argued that if psychology wanted to be a SCIENCE, psychologists ought to stop examining mental states
researchers who examined consciousness, mind, thoughts were not engaging in LEGITIMATE SCIENTIFIC STUDY
^ only the OBSERVABLE was reasonable subject for science
John B Watson life dates
1878-1958
John B Watson background
grew up in South Carolina
he was a FIGHTER and a BUILDER
aggressive in school, but also a master carpenter
lack of enthusiasm for contemporary standards and his uni experience
philosophy at Uni of Chicago
then switched to psychology, studied rat behaviours
joined faculty at John Hopkins Uni = began quest to put behavioural approach into place
surprisingly warmly received
elected president of the APA
suddenly divorced his wife of 17 years and married Rosalie Rayer (research assistant who he conducted the Little Albert experiments with)
scandal - forced him out of John Hopkins and into business world
pivoted to advertising
Watson’s answer for the appropriate subject matter for psychology
OVERT behaviour
that which can be observed, predicted and eventually controlled by scientists
what did Watson think shouldn’t be explored by psych?
emotions, thoughts, expectancies, values, reasoning, insight, the unconscious
unless they could be defined in the terms of observable behaviours
what did Watson consider thinking to be?
“subvocal speech”
thinking was simply a variant of verbal behaviour
at the same time that Watson was advancing behaviourism, other scientists were…
beginning to study the BASIC PROCESSES OF CONDITIONING (learning)
Watson embraced these principles as key to understanding human behaviour
these researchers focused on PREDICTING OVERT BEHAVIOURS without introducing inner mental states to explain their findings
classical conditioning
Ivan Pavlov demonstrated that animals could be made to respond to stimuli in their environment
by pairing these stimuli with events that already elicited a response
operant conditioning
Edward Thorndike
found that animals were less likely to repeat behaviours that met with negative consequences than were animals given no punishment
what is personality, to Watson?
it’s the “end product of our habit systems”
over life course, we’re conditioned to respond to certain stimuli in more/less predictable ways
because each of us has unique history of experiences that shaped characteristic responses to stimuli, each adult has a different personality
Watson’s most outrageous claim
that given enough control over the environment, psychologists could mold a child into whatever kind of adult they wanted
regardless of child’s inherited abilities, intelligence or ancestry
who extended Watson’s work?
BF Skinner
BF Skinner’s brand of behaviourism
radical behaviourism
took less extreme position that Watson advocated
didn’t deny existence of thoughts and inner experiences
rather, challenged extent to which we’re able to observe inner causes of our own behaviour
BF Skinner life dates
1904-1990
BF Skinner background
born in Pennsylvania
grew up in ‘warm and stable home’ and then went to study english
wanted to be a professional writer
turned to psychology
went to Harvard to study it
eventually taught there
then wrote a novel
unwavering critic of those who introduce non-observable concepts to explain human behaviour
BF Skinner quote
“If I am right about human behaviour, an individual is only the way in which a species and a culture produce more of a species and a culture”
how did Skinner describe happiness?
as a “by-product of operant reinforcement”
^ the things that bring happiness are the ones that reinforce us”
Skinner and free will and dignity
to Skinner, it is time we moved beyond the ILLUSION of PERSONAL FREEDOM and the so-called dignity we award ourselves for our actions
we DON’T FREELY CHOOSE to do something as the result of inner moral decisions
we simply RESPOND TO ENVIRONMENTAL DEMANDS
DIGNITY and MORALITY are ILLUSIONS: because they’re under the control of external contingencies
how do traditional behaviourists explain causes of behaviour?
in terms LEARNING and EXPERIENCE aka CONDITIONING
behaviourists and genetics
don’t deny the influence of genetics
but downplay its importance relative to conditioning
classical conditioning
begins with stimulus-response (SR) association
ie. want to eat when smell chocolate
ie. become nervous when on a high object
UCS: unconditioned stimulus
- meat powder in Pavlov’s experiment (causes response without conditioning)
UCR: unconditioned response
- salivation in Pavlov
then pair the UCS with a CS (new, conditioned stimulus)
- bell in Pavlov
eventually, the CS will come to elicit the response (CR) all by itself
second-order conditioning
when you use the new SR association to condition yet another SR association
process of building one conditioned SR association on another
ie. pair green light with Pavlov’s bell tone - soon the dogs would start to salivate when the green light came on
because stimuli we experience are often inadvertently paired with other aspects of environment…
probably aren’t aware of many SR associations that influence behaviour
research suggests that food, clothing, friend preferences can be determined this way
limitations of classical conditioning
- for SR association to persist, the UCS and CS must be paired occasionally or otherwise reinforced
^ extinction
- two events presented together won’t always produce an association
^ certain stimuli are easily associable, while others prove fairly impossible
extinction
gradual disappearance of the conditioned SR association
happens when the UCS and CS fail to continue to be paired together
BF Skinner quote on happiness
“happiness is a byproduct of operant reinforcement. the things which make us happy are the things which reinforce us”
how did Thorndike examine operant conditioning?
put stray cats into “puzzle boxes”
to escape box and obtain piece of fish, hungry cats had to engage in particular actions
before long, learned what they had to do to get their reward
through the cat experiments, Thorndike formulated the…
law of effect
law of effect
behaviours are more likely to be repeated if they lead to satisfying consequences
operant conditioning begins with…
behaviours the organism emits spontaneously
if one of these behaviours if always reinforced, its frequency will increase
operant conditioning
concerns the effect certain kinds of consequences have on frequency of behaviour
REINFORCEMENT: consequence that increases the frequency of a behaviour that precedes it
PUNISHMENT: one that decreases frequency of preceding behaviour
whether a consequence is reinforcing or punishing depends on…
the PERSON and the SITUATION
ie. if you’re hungry, strawberry ice cream is prob reinforcing. but if you are cold or don’t like ice cream, it’s prob punishing
2 basic strategies for increasing the frequency of a behaviour
- positive reinforcement
- negative reinforcement
positive reinforcement
increases behaviour frequency
through presenting a reward
negative reinforcement
increases behaviour frequency
through REMOVING SMTG UNPLEASANT when behaviour occurs
ie. rats learn to turn off an electric shock by pulling a string will quickly learn to pull the string
2 basic strategies for decreasing undesired behaviours
- extinction
- punishment
extinction
strategy used to decrease behaviours
cease reinforcement and thereby allow behaviour to extinguish
punishment
strategy used to eliminate unwanted behaviours
frequency of behaviour lowers when it’s followed by an AVERSIVE STIMULUS
(like an electric shock or removal of a positive stimulus)
limits to punishment’s effectiveness
- DOESN’T TEACH appropriate behaviours (can only decrease freq of undesired ones)
- to be effective, must be delivered IMMEDIATELY and CONSISTENTLY
^ should be intense and administered each time behaviour occurs
- can have NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS
^ ie. child who’s punished for hitting toy against window may stop playing with toys altogether
- aversive feelings of punishment may be ASSOCIATED with PERSON DOING THE PUNISHING
- undesirable behaviours may be learned through MODELLING
^ children who are spanked may learn that aggression is okay as long as you’re bigger and stronger
- creates negative emotions like FEAR and ANXIETY
what’s the worst choice for seeking to change problem behaviours?
punishment
because of the 6 side effects
shaping can fix what problem encountered by operant conditioning?
a behaviour dan only be reinforced after it is emitted
if there are barriers to enacting a behaviour (ie. because it’s foreign/new/hard) then it can’t be reinforced
shaping
successive approximations of the desired behaviour are reinforced
ie. instead of jumping straight into getting a patient to participate in art therapy everyday… reward them first for getting out of bed on time, and then for sitting with other patients, and then for entering the art therapy room… and so on
shaping is particularly useful when teaching…
complex behaviours
ie. like reading - start first by reinforcing learning letters, then words, then sentences
stimulus generalization
helps explain why personality characteristics generalize across situations
when a response is generalized from the original stimulus to new stimuli
means that not every situation requires learning a new response
discriminate
happens if responses to certain types of stimuli are not reward
ie. pigeon is rewarded for picking at red stimuli, but not for orange ones
ie. polite child will learn to discriminate between people who are friendly and people who aren’t
ie. a tennis player will learn to make fine discriminations between those actions that lead to reinforcement (ie. winning a shot)
what happened regarding traditional behaviourism in the 1950s/1960s?
enthusiasm began to wane
psychologists question assertion that all human learning is result of classical or operant conditioning
idea that behaviourism was too limited in the scope of its subject matter
thus began the transition to SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
quote on questioning traditional behaviourism that began in the 1950s/60s
“the prospects for survival would be slim indeed if one could learn only from the consequences of trial and error”
“one does not teach children to swim, adolescents to drive automobiles, and novice medical students to perform surgery by having them discover the requisite behaviour from the consequences of their successes and failures”
question asked about internal behaviours by those who wanted to extend behaviourism
why couldn’t internal events like thoughts and attitudes be conditioned the same way as overt behaviours?
one key concept introduced by social learning theorists
notion of BEHAVIOUR-ENVIRONMENT-BEHAVIOUR INTERACTIONS
behaviour-environment-behaviour interactions
not only does the environment influence our behaviour
but that behaviour then determines the kind of environment we find ourselves in
which can then influence behaviour
ie. the way people treat you (environment) is often result of how you act (behaviour) and how you act is partly result of how people treat you (environment)
social learning theorists point out that people often provide…
their own reinforcers
it’s rewarding to live up to your internal standards/to reach a personal goal even if no one else knows about it
Julian Rotter
one of the most influential social learning theorists
what does Rotter argue?
cause of human behaviours are far MORE COMPLEX than those of lower animals
he introduced several “unobservable” concepts to account for human behaviour and personality
what is key to predicting your response in a given situation?
each response option’s BEHAVIOUR POTENTIAL
behaviour potential
the likelihood that a given behaviour will occur in a particular situation
each possible response has a diff behaviour potential
what is each behaviour potential determined by?
- expectancy
- reinforcement value
expectancy
one of the things that determines a behaviour potential
estimates of what results will come from a certain behaviour/what you expect to happen
we base our expectancies largely on how things turned out other times we were in this situation
expectancy examples
ie. if you always do well after studying all night, you’ll develop an expectancy of receiving the reward again
ie. if you never enjoy yourself playing softball, the expectancy of being rewarded again is slim
Rotter and behaviourists both agree that… BUT
agree that we’re more likely to engage in a behaviour if it’s been reinforced
but Rotter and behaviourists DISAGREE on HOW TO EXPLAIN the behaviour
- behaviourists say that operant conditioning association or habit has been STRENGTHENED by an earlier experience
- Rotter argues that the MORE OFTEN people are reinforced for a certain behaviour, the STRONGER THEIR EXPECTANCY that the behaviour will be reinforced in the future
Rotter: what about situations we encounter for the first time?
rely on GENERALIZED EXPECTANCIES in these situations
generalized expectancies
beliefs we hold about HOW OFTEN our actions TYPICALLY lead to reinforcements or punishments (Rotter)
each of us can be placed along a CONTINUUM called LOCUS OF CONTROL
locus of control
continuum that applies to generalized expectancies
each of us can be placed somewhere on this continuum
ONE END: individuals with an extreme INTERNAL ORIENTATION
^ believe that most of what happens to them is because of their OWN ACTIONS/ATTRIBUTES
OTHER END: individuals with an extreme EXTERNAL ORIENTATION
^ believe that much of what happens to them is result of forces OUTSIDE THEIR CONTROL (ie. chance, powerful others)
reinforcement value
one of Rotter’s ideas of what determines a behaviour potential
degree to which we PREFER one reinforcer over another
- varies from situation to situation
ie. if we’re lonely, social contact holds higher reinforcement value than when we aren’t
- each of us have reinforcers we consistently value more than others
ie. placing job over family/recreation - “driven personalities”
Rotter’s basic formula for predicting behaviour
behaviour potential = expectancy + reinforcement value
Julian Rotter life dates
1916-2014
Julian Rotter background
read Adler and Freud when he was in elementary school
loved psychology
but majored in chemistry because “there was no profession of psychology that I knew of”
but then he started going Adler’s lectures and they became close
re-invigorated interest in psych
studied under Kurt Lewin at Uni of Iowa
got his PhD
served as psychologist in army and air force during WWII
then became a pro academic psychologist at Ohio State
whose work best illustrates the evolution from traditional behavioural views of personality to more cognitive approaches?
Albert Bandura
Bandura rejects…
behaviourists’ depiction of human beings as PASSIVE RECIPIENTS of whatever stimuli life throws their way
people possess other capacities that are distinctly human
by reducing process through which people grow and change to the way a rat learns to press a bar, struct behaviourists OVERLOOK some of the MOST IMPORTANT CAUSES of human behaviour
social-cognitive theory is named what it is because…
because its a move away from strict behaviourism
and effort to address the overlooked causes of behaviour which generally involved THINKING and SYMBOLIC PROCESSING OF INFO
new twist added by Bandura to question of if behaviour is determined by internal or external forces
argues for BOTH internal and external causes of behaviour
but behaviour isn’t determined exclusively by either or by a simple combo
concept of RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM
reciprocal determinism
external determinants of behaviour (rewards/punishments) and internal determinants (beliefs, thoughts, expectations) are part of SYSTEM of INTERACTING INFLUENCES
they affect not only behaviour but the various parts of the system to
EACH PART OF THE SYSTEM (behaviours, external factors, internal factors) INFLUENCES EACH OF THE OTHER PARTS
reciprocal determinism example
(refresher: each part of system - behaviours, internal and external factors - influences each of the other parts)
- someone you don’t like asks you to play racquetball
^ internal expectation makes you want to say no - but they offer to buy you a new, nice racket
^ external inducement may be powerful enough for you to agree - and then you have a really great game
^ behaviour reinforces positivity
the behaviour has changed your internal expectations, which will affect future behaviour, and so on…
model of traditional behaviourism versus reciprocal determinism
traditional behaviourism: unidirectional relationship between external stimulus and reinforcers
reciprocal determinism: bidirectional arrows between behaviour, external factors and internal factors
reciprocal determinism: internal factors
thoughts, beliefs, expectations
reciprocal determinism: external factors
rewards and punishments
how can we predict which of the reciprocal determinism components is going to influence which other part?
depends on the strength of the variables
at times, environmental forces are most powerful, while at others internal forces dominate
ie. both high and low self esteem people will flee a burning building - so environmental factors can override individual factors in certain circumstances
Bandura’s features unique to humans that must be appreciated to understand personality
- use SYMBOLS and FORETHOUGHT as guides for future action
^ instead of pure trial and error, we imagine possible outcomes, calculate probabilities, set goals, develop strategies
^ all in our minds, without engaging in random actions/waiting to see which will be rewarded or punished
- most behaviour is performed in the ABSNCE of EXTERNAL REINFORCEMENTS/PUNISHMENTS
^ daily actions are controlled by SELF-REGULATION
^ we work towards SELF-IMPOSED GOALS with internal rewards
^ also use SELF-PUNISHMENTS
^ means that Bandura challenges behaviourist notion that if there’s an external reward, people will do just about anything
self-regulation (Bandura)
Bandura argues most behaviour is performed in absence of external reinforcements/punishments
daily actions are controlled by SELF-REGULATION
- we work towards self-imposed goals with INTERNAL REWARDS
^ rewards come from feelings of accomplishment and self-worth
- self-regulation also includes SELF-PUNISHMENT
^ when we fail to maintain personal standards, often degrade/feel bad about ourselves
ie. may chastise yourself for being rude to stranger or not sticking to your diet, even when no one else seemed to notice
Bandura - because most of our behaviour is result of self-regulation, challenges behaviourist assumption that…
challenges assumption that people will perform just about any action if the environmental contingencies are altered appropriately
“anyone who attempted to change a pacifist into an aggressor or a devout religionist into an atheist would quickly come to appreciate the existence of personal source of behavioural control”
social cognitive learning theory’s most important contribution to understanding human behaviour & personality
concept of VICARIOUS or OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
in addition to classical and operant conditioning, we can learn by OBSERVING or READING or JUST HEARING about other people’s actions
vicarious/observational learning
we can learn by observing, reading or just hearing about other people’s actions
many behaviours are TOO COMPLEX to be learned through SLOW PROCESS of reinforcement and punishment
ie. don’t teach pilots to fly by putting them in the cockpit and reinforcing correct behaviours and punishing incorrect ones
ie. children would never learn to talk if separately reinforced for every utterance they made
observational learning: Bandura makes distinction between…
LEARNING and PERFORMANCE
behaviours learned through observation need not be performed
^ this clashes with traditional behaviourists, who maintain we CANNOT LEARN smtg WITHOUT ACTUALLY ENGAGING in that behaviour
example of distinction between learning and performance
in context of observational learning
ie. you’ve seen people shoot a pistol in movies, and probably know how it works, without having actually done this yourself
why do we perform some of the behaviours we learn through observation but not others?
lies in our EXPECTATIONS about the consequences
ie. do you believe the action will be rewarded or punished? (internally or externally)
these expectations come from observing others - models
Bandura exhibited learning-performance distinction in what experiment?
Bobo doll study
Bobo doll study SETUP
nursery school kids watched TV program where adult model performed 4 novel aggressive acts on adult-size Bobo doll
^ pushed it on its side, sat on it, punched it, said “pow, right in the nose, boom”
^ then pommeled it on head with mallet, kicked it about the room, threw things at it
children saw one of three endings to the film:
- saw another adult REWARD the aggressor with soft drinks, candy, praise
- saw model SPANKED and warned not to act aggressively again
- given NO INFO about CONSEQUENCES of the behaviour
then, children were left alone for 10 mins of free play time, with experimenter watching them - which of the acts would they perform SPONTANEOUSLY?
then, each child was offered JUICE and TOYS for each of the aggressive acts they could perform for the EXPERIMENTER - has they LEARNED the responses from watching the model?
Bobo doll study results
nearly all the kids could perform the behaviour WHEN ASLED
but whether they chose to perform the behaviour when left alone DEPENDED ON CONSEQUENCES they EXPECTED
^ although all the children had LEARNED how to act aggressively, the ones who had SEEN THE MODEL REWARDED were significantly MORE LIEKLY to perform the behaviours than those who had seen the model punished
appeal of behaviourism
it’s simple - presents a rational model of human nature
can make sense of behaviours ie. employees work hard when properly reinforced, children stop fighting when aggressive behaviour is punished
also presents ways to change/improve behaviours
John B Watson was the first to demonstrate how…
seemingly ‘ABNORMAL’ behaviours are created through NORMAL conditioning procedures
used classical conditioning to create fear of white rates in 11 month old baby, Little Albert
what appeared to be an abnormal fear of white rats in infant could be explained by the PAST CONDITIONING of the child
Little Albert study
Watson - display of how abnormal behaviours can follow from “normal” conditioning
- began with stimulus-response association between a LOUD NOISE and FEAR found in most infants
^ whenever Watson would make the loud noise, Albert would cry/show fear
- next Watson showed Albert a white rat each time the loud noise played
- Albert soon responded to the white rat with fear responses (crying, crawling away)
why do phobias not become extinct on their own?
because new associations formed through classical conditioning tend to extinguish once the pairing is removed
ANSWER: operant conditioning may take over
ie. 3 year old falls off a tall slide - experiences pain and fear
^ pain and fear re-emerge next time she approaches playground
^ anxiety increases as she gets close to slide
^ turns away from it to reduce her anxiety
ACT OF AVOIDING THE SLIDE HAS BEEN REINFORCED THROUGH NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT
^ if this behaviour is reinforced a few more times, girl could develop a strong fear of slides
^ fear could then be generalized to fear of all high places - phobia
negative reinforcement and phobia
ie. 3 year old falls off a tall slide - experiences pain and fear
^ pain and fear re-emerge next time she approaches playground
^ anxiety increases as she gets close to slide
^ turns away from it to reduce her anxiety
ACT OF AVOIDING THE SLIDE HAS BEEN REINFORCED THROUGH NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT
^ if this behaviour is reinforced a few more times, girl could develop a strong fear of slides
^ fear could then be generalized to fear of all high places - phobia
sometimes previous learning can protect us from developing phobias
ie. little boy who has had many pleasant experiences with dogs is unlikely to develop a fear of the animal when one untrained dog snarls at him and bites him
but contrastingly, a learning history with several small fearful experiences can make a person more vulnerable to developing a phobia when a very traumatic event occurs
behaviourist explanation of problem behaviours in terms of reinforcing the wrong behaviour
socially anxious girl may have found the only escape from the criticism and ridicule she receives at home = to AVOID family contact as much as possible
^ negative reinforcement
and then this behaviour GENERALIZES to other people
a lack of appropriate behaviours is often the result of too little…
reinforcement
ie. a socially anxious woman’s efforts to initiate conversations are never rewarded, causing her to stop trying
therapy procedures based on basic conditioning principles
treating problems through using more appropriate conditioning
procedures differ from traditional therapies in several respects
a) usually last for SEVERAL WEEKS (as compared to perhaps years)
b) focus is on changing a FEW WELL-DEFINED BEHAVIOURS rather than changing the entire personality
c) therapists often unconcerned with discovering WHERE the problem behaviour ORIGINATED
^ goal is simply to REPLACE it with more appropriate set of responses
therapists often use classical conditioning to…
ELIMINATE or REPLACE SR associations that cause clients problems
use physical pairing of objects and reactions, but mental images can be classically conditioned too!
ie. treatment of phobias pairs IMAGES of FEARED OBJECT with a RELAXING RESPONSE
systematic desensitization
often used to treat PHOBIAS
old association between the feared stimulus and the fear response is REPLACED with a NEW ASSOCIATION between the stimulus and relaxation
systematic desensitization for phobia treatment PROCESS
- create list of IMAGINED SCENES ranging from mildly arousing to highly anxiety provoking
ie. fear of heights - begin with footstool, then to flight of stairs, then 8 foot ladder, then in small airplane
- after clients complete RELAXATION TRAINING, they IMAGINE the scenes while they PRACTICE RELAXING
^ one step at a time, they move through each list item until they can imagine the scene without feeling anxious
^ in theory, the fear response is being replaced with a new response: relaxation
2 classical conditioning methods to alter problem behaviours
- systematic desensitization
- aversion therapy
aversion therapy
another example of classical conditioning used to alter problem behaviours
rid clients of UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOURS by PAIRING AVERSIVE IMAGES with the behaviour
ie. client trying to quit smoking - image of cigarette might be paired with images of becoming nauseated and vomiting
process of using operant conditioning to alter behaviours
- IDENTIFY the target behaviour and DEFINE it in operational terms
ie. wanting to change a child who’s “acting immature” - interview parents and teachers to figure out what specifically this means
- determine BASELINE of BEHAVIOUR FREQUENCY
^ can’t determine if you’re reducing frequency if you don’t have this comparison point
- change the CONTINGENCIES
^ if it’s an undesired behaviour, introduce punishment or reduce reinforcement (extinction)
^ if it’s a desired behaviour
- at same time, child should be REINFORCED for handing frustrating situations in APPROPRIATE way
- FREQUENCY of TARGET BEHAVIOUR should be monitored throughout therapy
biofeedback and biofeedback process
another type of operant conditioning used to treat psychological problems
uses special equipment that provides INFO about SOMATIC PROCESSES
ie. woman suffering from ANXIETY might use machine that tells her when she’s TIGHTENING and RELAXING certain facial and back MUSCLES
^ she is OTHERWISE UNAWARE of this reaction
^ after several muscle relaxation sessions with IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK from machine, may LEARN to REDUCE TENSION on her own and thereby OVERCOME ANXIETY
biofeedback in operant conditioning terms - muscle tension example
woman with muscle tension was REINFORCED for producing the response that LOWERED her muscle tension
as indicated by the machine
she soon LEARNED to make the RELAXATION RESPONSE
one of the most common targets of biofeedback treatments
the TENSION HEADACHE
psychologists use ELECTROMYOGRAPHY MONITORS to inform clients about MUSCLE CONSTRICTION that they otherwise may be unaware of
highly EFFECTIVE in reducing frequency, intensity, duration of tension headaches
and relatively QUICK and EFFICIENT
other bodily indicators that may be controlled through biofeedback
blood pressure
heart rate
brain waves
why can some people quit bad habits while others can’t?
often because of differences in SELF-EFFICACY
the BELEIF that one can do something
some can’t kick habits simply because they believe they cannot
Bandura - people aren’t likely to alter behaviour unless…
they make a CLEAR DECISION to EXPEND NECESSARY EFFORt
distinction between OUCOME expectations and EFFICACY expectations
outcome expectation
extent to which people believe actions will LEAD to a CERTAIN OUTCOME
efficacy expectation
extent to which people believe THEY CAN PERFORM the actions that will BRING ABOUT the particular outcome
difference between being told something can happen and BELIEVING you can make it happen
example of outcome and efficacy expectations - studying
- may hold OUTCOME EXPECTATION that if you devote several hours to studying each night and abandon social life on weekends, you’ll get GOOD GRADES this term
- however, may also hold the EFFICACY EXPECTATION that you’re INCAPABLE of such devoted work and sacrifice
Bandura - which of the 2 expectations are better predictors of behaviour?
EFFICACY expectation
ie. students are unlikely to work hard for good grades if they don’t think it’s possible
where do efficacy expectations come from?
four sources
- enactive mastery experiences
- vicarious experiences
- verbal persuasion
- physiological and affective states
enactive mastery experiences
source of efficacy expectations that can change behaviour
SUCCESSFUL attempts to achieve outcome in the PAST
ie. sky divers suddenly struck with fear tell themselves they’ve done this many times before without incident
enactive mastery experiences - history of failures…
can lead to LOW efficacy expectations
ie. people with fear of heights who have never been able to climb a ladder without coming back down in a fit of anxiety will probably conclude they can’t perform this behaviour
vicarious experiences
not as powerful as actual performances, but can also alter efficacy expectations
seeing OTHER PEOPLE perform a behaviour WITHOUT ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES can lead us to believe we can do it too
“if they can do it, so can I”
verbal persuasion
a less effective way of altering efficacy expectations
ie. telling someone whose reluctant to stand up to their boss “you can do it”
expectation will be easily crushed if actual performance isn’t met with expected result
physiological and affective states
another way to change efficacy expectations
ie. woman who gets anxious approaching men may find her HEART BEATS and PALMS SWEAT when she picks up the phone to ask a guy on a date
^ if she INTERPRET these physiological responses as signs of anxiety, may DECIDE SHE’S TOO NERVOUS to go through with it
^ BUT if she notices HOW CALM she is before dialing, she may DECIDE she’s MORE COURAGEOUS than she realized
guided mastery
therapists arrange the situation so that the client is ALMOST GUARANTEED a SUCCESSFUL experience
treatment is broken into SMALL STEPS that can be accomplished with only SLIGHT INCREASE in client’s effort
with each successful experience, client behaviours and beliefs strengthen
only difference between systematic desensitization and guided mastery
BEHAVIOUR PSYCHOLOGISTS explain successful systematic desensitization in terms of REPLACING OLD STIMULUS-RESPONSE bonds with NEW ONES
SOCIAL-COGNITIVE therapists explain that guided mastery CHANGES EFFICACY EXPECTATIONS, leading to change in behaviour
power of self-efficacy goes far beyond eliminating fears and bad habits…
play role in OVERCOMING WIDE VARIETY of PSYCH PROBLEMS
- childhood depression
- PTSD
- test anxiety
- phobias
- excessive bereavement
- academic achievement
- job performance
- exercise program persistence
- weight loss
- romantic relationships
- heart attack rehabilitation
behaviourist therapy - where other therapists see the behaviour as a sign…
sign of some UNDERLYING CONFLICT…
for behaviour therapists, the BEHAVIOUR IS THE PROBLEM
therefore, OBJECTIVE and RELIABLE assessment of behaviour is crucial
^ must determine behaviour FREQUENCY and check about the events SURROUNDING the behaviour
ie. does person smoke alone or with other people? do tantrums happen at a certain time of day?
how do therapists obtain accurate info about frequency of target behaviours?
variety of procedures (list from most to least common)
- interview with client
- direct observation
- client self-monitoring
- behavioural rating scales
- interview with client’s significant others
- info from other professionals
- role playing
analogue behavioural observation
used because therapist can’t always be there to observe client behaviour
so therapists CREATE a situation that RESEMBLES real-world setting in which the problem behaviour is likely to occur
ie. stage a dance for clients suffering from acute shyness, ask a couple to enter a discussion that recently sparked a disagreement
sometimes will ROLE PLAY
one way to improve the accuracy of behaviour observation
to have TWO or MORE observers INDEPENDENTLY CODE the SAME BEHAVIOURS
if they agree on how often they count the target behaviour, can be confident the number is fairly accurate
can also VIDEOTAPE the behaviour so that many diff judges can assess
to get around bias in defining behaviours…
(bias: observers may unintentionally see WHAT THEY WANT or EXPECT to see)
to guard against this problem, should DEFINE BEHAVIOURS in a manner that MINIMIZES SUBJECTIVE JUDGMENT
ie. use observers who don’t know what the experimenter expects to find
self-monitoring
sometimes direct observation is too costly and time consuming
so clients can OBSERVE THEMSELVES
^ but clients frequently have DISTORTED IDEA of how often a behaviour occurs
^ and also important to understand the CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING the behaviour
self-monitoring accuracy?
few clients provide accurate info about these variables FROM MEMORY
so, therapists often ask clients to KEEP RECORDS of WHEN and WHERE they engage in certain behaviours
advantage of self-monitoring recording method
often therapeutic in itself to watch your own behaviour
sometimes leads to improvements before the treatment has even started
honesty and self-monitoring
clients may not want to admit they increased their smoking or lost their temper several times in one week
so there are other assessment methods too
observation by others
ie. useful for those unwilling to provide accurate info about themselves
ie. useful for children
ie. useful for those with severe psychological disorders
ie. parents and teachers often record frequency of child’s problem behaviours
ie. nurses and aides do the same for patients
strengths of behavioural/social learning approach
- solid foundation in EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
^ most theorists relied on empirical data when developing and refining their theories
- developed some useful and popular THERAPEUTIC PROCEDURES
- social learning theories and social-cognitive theory ADDED COGNITIVE VARIABLES and expanded range of addressed phenomena
- social learning theories allow us to understand THOUGHTS, EXPECTANCIES and VALUES along with BASIC BEHAVIOUR CONDITIONING principles within ONE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
treatments based on conditioning principles often have several advantages…
over other interventions
- use of BASELINE DATA and OBJECTIVE CRITERIA for determining success or failure
^ other forms of therapy use subjective rating from therapist to determine therapy success/failure
- quite useful for CHILDREN and EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED PATIENTS
- relatively QUICK and EASY to administer
^ more people can benefit at lower cost than they can from psychoanalytic tactics
criticisms of behavioural/social learning approach
- it’s TOO NARROW in its description of human personality
^ esp with the Skinnerian brand of behaviourism - which rejects usefulness of looking at inner feelings/intuition
^ also doesn’t give a lot of time to heredity
- human beings are MORE COMPLEX than LAB ANIMALS used in behaviour research
- may DISTORT the REAL THERAPY ISSUES when they reduce everything to observable behaviours
^ therapy issues can still persist even if certain observable behaviours are reduced
example of how human beings are more complex than lab animals used in behaviour research (behaviourism criticism)
effects of extrinsic reinforcers on intrinsically motivated behaviour
find that PAYING people to engage in a behaviour they ALREADY ENJOY results in REDUCTION of FREQUENCY of the behaviour
seem to REDEFINE the behaviour as WORK instead of PLAY - and therefore LOSE INTEREST UNLESS REWARDED
removal of a positive stimulus
punishment
removal of a negative stimulus
negative reinforcement
