Behavior Therapy: Counter Conditioning & Inhibitory Conditioning

Lecture 17

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 inattention, hygeine, lack of assertiveness, etc. Primarily positive reinforcement Relatively simple & straight forward Example: Social interaction in depressed client Reward interactions with people ~

Deceleration Target Behaviors

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

Deceleration Target Behaviors

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

The Dead Person Rule

Never ask someone to do something a dead person can do Dont ask them not to behave Deceleration only Client is asked to do something active Include acceleration behavior Fills behavioral void ~

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

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

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

Mary Cover Jones & Peter

Treatment of phobias Peter fearful of white rabbit Counterconditioning Pairing favorite food & rabbit Exposure therapy Gradually moved rabbit closer Peter watched another child play with rabbit ~

Inhibitory Conditioning

Learning Regulates Behavior

Controls organisms interactions with environment Requires 2 opposing processes e.g., positive & negative feedback excitatory & inhibitory conditioning Excitatory learning CR will likely occur CS+ signals occurrence of US ~

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

Standard Procedure
Some trials: CS+ --- US Other trials: CS+ / CS- --- No US

Example: traffic light CS+ (red) CR? CS- (police officer) / CS+ CR? Respond differently under different circumstances ~

Negative CS-US Contingency

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

Inhibitory Conditioning & Stress

Panic attacks extreme stress

Carter,

Hollon, Carson, & Shelton (1995)

triggered by CS+ for aversive stimuli Panic attack experimentally induced accompanied by trusted friend or alone ~

Inhibitory Conditioning & Stress

Friend acted as CS- for stress stress compared the alone group trusted friend was a safety signal ~