Behavior Therapy Counter Conditioning Inhibitory Conditioning Lesson 16

Behavior Therapy: Counter Conditioning & Inhibitory Conditioning Lesson 16

The Process of Behavior Therapy 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Clarifying the clients problem Formulating initial goals for therapy Designing a target behavior Identifying the maintaining conditions Designing a treatment plan Implementing the treatment plan Evaluating the success of treatment Conducting follow-up assessment ~

Acceleration Target Behaviors Increase behavioral deficits l inattention, hygeine, lack of assertiveness, etc. n Primarily positive reinforcement l Relatively simple & straight forward n Example: Social interaction in depressed client l Reward interactions with people ~ n

Deceleration Target Behaviors Decrease behavioral excessesses l Biting fingernails, staying up too late, criticizing others, etc. n Simple solutions usually incomplete l Punishment behavior l Leaves void l Behavior occuring fo a reason ~ n

Deceleration Target Behaviors Use competing responses l Deceleration for undesirable/maladaptive behavior l Acceleration of desirable/adaptive behavior l Provide way to obtain goal n Example: l Decelerate criticizing l Accelerate praising ~ n

The Dead Person Rule “Never ask someone to do something a dead person can do” l Don’t ask them not to behave l Deceleration only n Client is asked to do something active l Include acceleration behavior l Fills behavioral void ~ n

Deceleration Techniques Differential RFT (DRO & DRI) n Direct Deceleration Therapy l Consequential deceleration l Aversion therapy n Token Economies l Pos RFT & response cost n Exposure therapies l Brief / graduated l Prolonged / intense ~ n

Counter Conditioning Joseph Wolpe (1944) l Reciprocal inhibition n Buzzer sounded when cat was eating l Buzzer (CS) eating l Buzzer sounded when shocked l Buzzer fear n Substitution of competing responses l Worked both ways l Can also replace fear ~ n

Counter Conditioning Pavlovian Conditioning l CERs n Substitution of response l Competing or incompatible l Similar to DRO/DRI (operant) n Example: young woman’s anxiety about attending banquet l Ex-boyfriend & new girlfriend l Imagine banquet with absurd scenes ~ n

Mary Cover Jones & “Peter” Treatment of phobias l Peter fearful of white rabbit n Counterconditioning l Pairing favorite food & rabbit n Exposure therapy l Gradually moved rabbit closer l Peter watched another child play with rabbit ~ n

Inhibitory Conditioning

Learning Regulates Behavior Controls organism’s interactions with environment n Requires 2 opposing processes l e. g. , positive & negative feedback l excitatory & inhibitory conditioning n Excitatory learning l CR will likely occur l CS+ signals occurrence of US ~ n

Inhibitory learning Conditioned Inhibition l Learning to withhold conditional response n CS-: US will not occur l no US for period of time l US must be a significant event n Occurs only if there is an excitatory context ~ n

Standard Procedure Some trials: CS+ --- US n Other trials: CS+ / CS- --- No US n Example: traffic light l CS+ (red) CR? l CS- (police officer) / CS+ CR? n Respond differently under different circumstances ~ n

Negative CS-US Contingency Similar to standard procedure l Some trials: CS+ & US l Other trials: CS- & no US n CS- no response n Example: Traffic light l Red (CS+) – Danger (US) l Green (CS-) – no Danger (no US) ~ n

Inhibitory Conditioning & Stress n Panic attacks extreme stress u. Carter, Hollon, Carson, & Shelton (1995) triggered by CS+ for aversive stimuli n Panic attack experimentally induced l accompanied by trusted friend l or alone ~ l

Inhibitory Conditioning & Stress n Friend acted as CS- for stress l stress compared the alone group l trusted friend was a safety signal ~