Behavioral Models

Behaviorism

• Emerged mid-20th century (1940s-50s).

• Key figures:

  • JB Watson and Rosalie Rayner: Fear conditioning experiments with "Little Albert."

  • Rejected introspection (examining one's own thoughts/emotions).

  • Advocated for focusing on observable and measurable behavior.

  • Believed learning played a key role in developing both normal and abnormal behavior.

  • Pavlov: Classical conditioning experiments influenced behaviorism.

  • Skinner: Operant conditioning theory.

Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)

• Pavlov's dog experiment:

  • Unconditioned stimulus (palatable food) leads to unconditioned response (salivation).

  • Neutral stimulus (bell) initially elicits no response.

  • During conditioning: Food presentation paired with bell sound, leading to salivation.

  • After conditioning: Bell sound alone provokes salivation.

Operant Conditioning (Skinner)

• Also called instrumental conditioning.

• Understanding behavior involves examining:

  • Antecedents: What happens before the behavior (triggers/causes).

  • Consequences: What happens after the behavior.

• Consequences influence the likelihood of the behavior being repeated.

• Key concepts:

  • Reinforcers: Environmental responses that increase the probability of a behavior.

  • Punishment: Designed to weaken or eliminate a behavior.

  • Extinction: Suppressing a behavior by removing reinforcers.

    • Example: Ignoring a child's tantrum in public to remove attention (reinforcer).

• Discriminative stimulus: External events that signal specific consequences for certain behaviors.

  • Skinner box experiments: Rats learn to associate lever presses (behavior) with food pellets or shocks (consequences) based on cues like blue or red lights (discriminative stimuli).

Application in Therapy

• Classical conditioning techniques:

  • Systematic desensitization: Combines deep relaxation with gradual exposure to feared stimuli to reduce phobic responses.

  • Aversion therapy: Associates unwanted behavior (e.g., alcohol addiction) with an unpleasant stimulus (e.g., medication-induced vomiting) to reduce the behavior.

  • Exposure therapy: Confronting feared situations or stimuli to reduce anxiety by staying in the situation until anxiety decreases and the feared consequence does not occur.

• Operant conditioning techniques:

  • Positive reinforcement: Encouraging desired behaviors.

  • Extinction: Removing reinforcers for undesired behaviors.

  • Token economies: Rewarding desired behaviors with tokens that can be exchanged for rewards.

    • Example: Classroom token system where students earn points for good behavior, which they can trade for rewards.

  • Behavioral activation: Encourages engagement in activities to increase feelings of pleasure and mastery for individuals with depression.

Pros and Cons of the Behavioral Model

• Pros:

  • Measurable and observable behaviors.

  • Supported by laboratory research.

  • Useful techniques in child development (e.g., Triple P).

• Cons:

  • Lack of definitive evidence that abnormal behavior always stems from improper conditioning.

  • Simplistic: May not account for individual differences, cultural backgrounds, or cognitive appraisal of situations.

  • Overemphasis on learning and environmental factors, while neglecting cognition.

Cognitive Behavioral Models

• Emerged in the 1960s-70s, gained prominence in the 1980s.

• Addresses the limitations of behaviorism by incorporating cognition.

• Antecedent - Belief - Consequence: The "B" (behavior) is now a belief about the antecedent or event, which influences the consequence (behavior and emotions).

ABC Model Example

• Demonstration:

  • Antecedent: Roller coaster ride.

  • Belief (Father): "I'm going to die."

  • Belief (Daughter): "This is so exciting!"

  • Consequence (Father): Fear, physiological arousal (heart racing).

  • Consequence (Daughter): Excitement, joy, physiological arousal (heart racing).

Cognitive Principles

• Emotional reactions and behavior are strongly influenced by cognitions (thoughts, beliefs, interpretations, images, memories).

• Changing cognitions can influence feelings and behaviors.

Pioneers of Cognitive Theory

• Aaron (Tim) Beck: Developed a list of common cognitive distortions.

• Albert Ellis: Rational emotional behavior therapy (REBT) and irrational beliefs.

Irrational Beliefs (Ellis)

• Examples:

  • "I must be loved/liked by everyone important to me."

  • "I must be completely competent and perfect in every way."

• REBT challenges these extreme beliefs.

Cognitive Distortions (Beck)

• Arbitrary inference: Drawing conclusions without evidence.

  • Example: Assuming disinterest means unattractiveness.

• Catastrophizing: Exaggerating the potential negative consequences of events.

  • Example: Imagining a disastrous chain of events from feeling unsafe on a ride.

• Dichotomous (black and white) thinking: Viewing situations in extreme, all-or-nothing terms.

  • Example: Seeing everything as either perfect or terrible with no middle ground.

Pros and Cons of the Cognitive Model

• Pros:

  • Empirical studies on information processing and beliefs.

  • Can modify beliefs.

  • Complements behavioral strategies (CBT).

• Cons:

  • Mechanism of cognitions in psychopathology is unclear.

  • Specific belief systems don't always align perfectly with specific disorders.

  • Limited evidence that adding cognitive therapy to behavior therapy significantly enhances effects.

Wave Cognitive Behavioral Therapies

• Wave (Behaviorism): Learning theories and therapies.

• Wave (Original CBT): Identifying and modifying unhelpful thought patterns.

• Wave : Focuses on observing and accepting thoughts and emotions without changing them; changing the relationship with unpleasant thoughts/situations/emotions.

  • Techniques: Acceptance and mindfulness.

Examples of Wave Therapies

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT; Marsha Linehan): Focuses on emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.

• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR; John Kabat-Zinn): Uses mindful meditation to reduce stress.

• Schema-Focused Therapy (Jeffrey Young, Arnoud Arntz):

  • Uses a CBT framework with psychodynamic, attachment, and experiential techniques.

Mindfulness

• John Kabat-Zinn's definition: "The awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment."

• Psychological problems arise when dwelling on thoughts about the future or past.

Mindfulness-Based Therapies

• MBSR: Chronic pain and stress-related illnesses.

• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT; Segal, Williams, Teasdale): Relapse prevention for depression.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Uses acceptance and mindfulness to promote psychological flexibility.

• Cognition and language can trigger emotional pain and problematic behaviors.

• Goal: Psychological flexibility, aligning behavior with chosen values.

Hexaflex Model

• Model that captures and promotes psychological flexibility.

• Components:

  • Contact with the present moment.

  • Changing or persisting in behavior in the service of chosen values.

Pros and Cons of Emerging Treatments

• Benefits:

  • Orthodox CBT isn't effective for everyone.

  • Wave approaches provide alternative options.

• Weaknesses:

  • Newer, less evidence than CBT.

  • Theoretical mechanisms may not be responsible.

Models of Psychological Disorders

Combined Model: Diathesis-Stress

• Combines multiple perspectives.

• Diathesis: Genes, biological characteristics, psychological traits.

• Stress: Environmental stressors, adversity, trauma, family disruption.

• Interaction of diathesis and stress determines risk for developing mental disorders.