Theories Flashcards
Behavioral Theory (Skinner)
Based on operant conditioning
Law of Effect
Whatever gets reinforced, the reinforcement will increase the probability of the action being done again
Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)
What are the antecedents of the behavior, consequences, and determine the function of misbehavior
Behavior Modification Plan (BIP)
ex) student keeps calling out when raising his hand and continues to do so even when teachers says to stop because she/he is giving them attention
Will not work with cases that are governed by different theories
Psychodynamic Theory
Dynamics within your personality which interact together produce certain behaviors
When there is a role of conflict there is resulting anxiety; i.e a child is angry at his parents but depends on them. People also defend themselves using their defenses, which is unconscious
Intervention - Counseling, providing safe place, promise confidentiality, and explore. Goal is to listen
Neurobiological Theory
Neuroscience is helping us understand the connection between brain and behavior
Intervention
Psychiatric consultation
Medical consultation
Neurological consultation
Emphasis on ADHD, Tourettes, Neurotransmitters involved in bipolar disorder, schizophrenia
Must rule out medical problems and medications, and visual and auditory tests
Cognitive Therapy (Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis)
Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis
Based on an information processing model which means we are constantly processing information and constantly interpreting events
Cognitive theory merged with cognitive behavior theory
Explains that when a person depressed, the depression affects perception, and perception reinforces the depression (Event A made me feel C feelings - not true. Situation does not cause your feelings because Event A PLUS interpretation leads to C feelings)
All or nothing, overgeneralization, personalization, mind reading, jumping to conclusions
Changes behavior; start to acts in ways that support depression; “I’m even more depressed”
Can’t change the reality but can change the interpretation
Treatment becomes Cognitive Restructuring
Have student do something that counteracts their negative cognitions
Cognitive restructuring
Identify distortion
Hold it up to truth (“is that really true that XYZ?”)
Identify by beliefs
Attributions
Happens over time; universal; over the place
Martin Seligman - took depression from neurobiology and turned it towards attribution theory; is depression learned helplessness?
Internal (I’m a dummy and that’s why I didn’t do well)
External (It’s the professor’s fault I got a bad grade)
Goal is to change attributions
Beliefs
People act based on certain beliefs
ex) I think people like me, person doesn’t like me, emotion is based on belief that everyone has to like me
Existential Psychoanalytic Theory (Rollo May)
Rollo May
Said that a symptom, any symptom that you see represents a person’s way of being in the world
I.e. Anger=what does it represent? It’s a key to understanding a person’s world
Social Learning Theory (Albert Bandura)
Albert Bandura
Shocked everybody in the behavioral world because Skinner said you must have a behavior
Based on observational learning
Considers where the child learned behavior from; the parents, friends, etc.
Intervention
Parent training and education
Interview parents and explore what is going on, help set guidelines
Systems Theory
Family Therapy
Targets everybody in the system; goal is to get balance between all the parts of the system to get towards a goal (student, parent, teacher, school psychologist, etc); everybody who impacts on that particular child is responsible for change; each member needs to change
Reciprocal determination
A - when X talks in class and teacher says stop it, the way the teacher responds to the child determines what the child does next, what the child does next determines the teacher’s response
A’s behavior affects B’s behavior and vice versa; A’s B’s
Intervention
Change the response to the behavior then watch to see what happens
If you want to change the kid’s response, you have to change the teacher’s response to the behavior; if you change teacher’s behavior then kid will act differently
- Essence of family therapy; instead of talking to kid about behavior problems individually they bring the family in and watch interactions
Traits Theory
Traits are a stable disposition over time and place
