The Behaviourist model and Treatments

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The Behaviourist model and Treatments
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The Behavioural Model

• Basic Philosophy
• That which has been learned can be unlearned.
• Learning occurring through a process of classical
  or operant conditioning
• Classical conditioning is learning via
  association
• Operant conditioning is learning via
  reinforcement.
• Stimulus and response
• Social Learning theory an extension of
  behaviourism, believes that we learn by modelling
  and coping the behaviours we witness around us.

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The Behavioural Model

• At birth we are born with a tabula rasa (like a
  blank sheet) and consequently all behaviour is
  learned in same way.
• For behaviorists Abnormal behaviour is the
  consequence of abnormal learning from the
  environment.

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The Behavioral Model

• There is no difference, in the learning, between
  normal and abnormal behaviours they are learned
  in the same ways. This is by-
• Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning
• Social learning
• This is carried out via Stimulus and response
  training.

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Treatments

• Behaviour Therapy
• and
• Behaviour Modification

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Behavioural Therapy

• Based on principles of Classical Conditioning
• CC involves automatic reflexive responses or
  feelings (UCR)
• Most common UCR to situations of danger is
  fear/anxiety
• Through association can lead to fear of specific
  thing/situation
• Anxiety disorder, e.g. phobia
• Aim of Behavioural Therapy is to remove the
  association between fear and the object/situation

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Technique 1Systematic Desensitisation (Wolfe,
1958)

• Counter Conditioning
• replacing fear response with an alternative and
  harmless response.
• Functional analysis
• construct a hierarchy of fearful situations
• Relaxation training
• The client is then trained in methods of
  relaxation
• Graduated exposure
• The client is then brought gradually into contact
  with the phobic stimulus, following the
  hierarchy.

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Technique 2Flooding

• Aim to remove the learned association between
  the stimulus and response
• Procedure
• Inescapable exposure to the feared object or
  situation
• Lasts until the fear response disappears.
• Assumes that very high levels of fear/anxiety
  cannot be sustained and will eventually fall.
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vW2nK_qmvJ7A

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Technique 3Aversion Therapy

• Previous two techniques focus on removal of an
  undesirable association.
• This one aims to create an undesirable
  association!
• The aim is to remove from the individual any
  undesirable habits by pairing them with an
  unpleasant stimulus.

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Evaluation of Behavioural Therapies

• Focus on symptoms, not deeper underlying causes
  of behaviour.
• Systematic desensitisation can be extremely
  effective in treatment of simple phobias
• (60-90 success rate, Barlow et al, 2002)
• Ethical issues in flooding and aversion therapy.
  Intense fear and anxiety. Even systematic
  desensitisation causes client to visualise or
  experience feared situations.
• Needs careful monitoring to ensure no long term
  ill-effects.
• Ignores any genetic or biological factors in
  psychological disorders.

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Behaviour Modification

• Based on principles of Operant Conditioning.
• Attempt to change voluntary controlled behaviour,
  rather than reflexive behaviours involved in
  classical conditioning.

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Treatment 1Token Economy

• Increasing desired behaviour by positive
  reinforcement.
• Mostly used in institutions, e.g. psychiatric
  hospitals.
• Aim is to reduce levels of anti social behaviour
• Tokens given as reward for improved behaviour.
• Tokens can be exchanged for sweets, cigarettes
  etc.

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Treatment 2Social Learning Theory

• Cognitive element (not just Stimulus Response)
• Observation, vicarious reinforcement etc play a
  role.
• Modelling
• the patient observes others (the model(s)) in
  the presence of the phobic stimulus who are
  responding with relaxation rather that fear to
  the phobic stimulus. 
• In this way, the patient is encouraged to imitate
  the model(s) and thereby relieve their phobia.

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Evaluation of Behaviour Modification

• Token Economy can improve behaviour/reduce anti
  social behaviour
• But, is this replicated once patient back in
  community?
• Reductionist approach to complex behaviour,
  seeing people as stimulus-response machines.
• SLT takes more complex view of human behaviour,
  including cognitive processes of observation and
  imitation.
• Ignores any genetic or biological factors in
  psychological disorders.