Behavior Therapy

Behavior therapy is an

action oriented therapy

Four areas of development

classical conditioning

operant conditioning

social learning approach

cognitive behavior therapy

Classical conditioning

Turn neutral stimulus into a reaction-inducing stimulus

Operant conditioning

Reinforcement and punishment in response to actions

Developed due to the limitation of classical where it only related to reflexes and not voluntary behaviorsS

Social learning approach

We learn by observing others, what is acceptable/safe/good and unacceptable/unsafe/bad

Orient behavior based on what is observed

Cognitive behavior therapy

brings to light the connections between behaviors and thought patterns

historical context of behavior therapy

Can not measure Freud’s ideas

• Too subjective, ex. everyone has their own dreams

Psychology criticized as not been a science since it is unreliable and unscientific

The rise of behaviorism as a reaction

1913 and beyond

Creating measurable outcomes in psychology

Animal experiments

• John B. Watson

  • Said only observable behavior should be studied, not thoughts and emotions

  • Little Albert

    • Behaviors could be taught

B.F. skinner and operant conditioning

Father of operant conditioning

Focused on voluntary behavior of rats

Basic experiments of behavior therapy

Experiment based clinical procedures

Current problems

Observation or self-monitoring

Action-oriented and educational

Change happens without exploring root cause

Behavior therapist’s function

A-B-C

Antecedent

• Trigger event, stimulus of behavior

Behavior

• The internal, automatic interpretations of the situation

Consequences

• Resulting feelings and actions

Behavior therapy application

Reinforcement

Extinction

Punishment

Systematic desensitization

Evidence based therapy used under classical conditioning

Create a fear hierarchy

Teach relaxation techniques

Gradually increase exposure to feared items

80-90% success rate

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)

Exposure-based therapy

Imaginal flooding

Cognitive restructuring

Rhythmic eye movements to treat traumatic stress disorders