BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION THEORIES

1. BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION THEORIES

2. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Bolded • CBT is a psychological treatment that addresses the interactions between how we think, feel and behave. • The development and administration of CBT have been closely guided by research. • Evidence now supports the effectiveness of CBT for many common mental disorders. • CBT is a process of teaching, coaching, and reinforcing positive behaviours. • CBT helps people to identify cognitive patterns or thoughts and emotions that are linked with behaviours.

3. 1) Classical Conditioning– Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpoLxEN54ho

4. Background • Russian physiologist/scientist (Learning Theorist) • His initial focus was on the physiology of digestion, which led him to create a science of conditioned reflexes. • Pavlov paid special attention to the phenomenon of “psychic secretion”, which is caused by food stimuli at a distance from the animal.

5. Key Terms • Conditioning– behavioral process whereby a response becomes more frequent or more predictable in a given environment as a result of reinforcement - typically being a stimulus or reward for a desired response

6. What is a Stimulus? • Something that elicits a response • That which can evoke a response or has an influence on a system to act. • Examples? • Smells • Words • Actions • Noises • Memories

7. Pavlov • Rang bell before feeding dogs & soon dogs began to salivate at sound of bell alone • The dogs had been conditioned to salivate in response to the new stimulus (bell)

8. Copy the chart in your notebook:

9. Key Terms: Into your chart Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) • Unconditionally, naturally, and automatically triggers a response • For example, when you smell one of your favorite foods, you may immediately feel very hungry. In this example, the smell of the food is the unconditioned stimulus. Unconditioned Response (UCR) • The unlearned response that occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned stimulus • In the example, the feeling of hunger in response to the smell of food is the unconditioned response.

10. Into your chart Neutral Stimulus (NS) • A stimulus that is not connected or associated with the unconditioned stimulus, but is paired with the UCS to create meaning and conditioning • Neutral Stimulus (NS) always becomes the Conditioned Stimulus (CS) • Example: Whistle – see example below for CS Conditioned Stimulus (CS) • Previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response. • Suppose that when you smelled your favorite food, you also heard the sound of a whistle. While the whistle is unrelated to the smell of the food, if the sound of the whistle was paired multiple times with the smell, the sound would eventually trigger the conditioned response. In this case, the sound of the whistle is the conditioned stimulus. Conditioned Response (CR) • The conditioned response is the learned response to the previously neutral stimulus. • The conditioned response would be feeling hungry when you heard the sound of the whistle.

11. Pavlov’s Example: Into your chart (Not Conditioned): • UCS = food UCR = salivation (Process of Conditioning): • UCS (food) + NS (bell) UCR = salivation (Conditioned): • NS becomes CS, therefore, • CS = bell CR = salivation

13. As you just learned, repeatedly pairing a CS with a UCS will produce a CR. However… After conditioning has taken place, repeatedly presenting the CS without the UCS will make the CR weaker and eventually make it disappear causing... Extinction

14. Classical Conditioning • Ivan Pavlov’s term to describe the theory that animals could be trained in a particular way to respond to a given stimulus • Can be connected to how humans learn as well…

15. John B. Watson: Early Classical Conditioning with Humans John B. Watson further extended Pavlov’s work and applied it to human beings. In 1921, Watson studied Albert, an 11 month old infant child. The goal of the study was to condition Albert to become afraid of a white rat by pairing the white rat with a very loud, jarring noise.  At first, Albert showed no sign of fear when he was presented with rats, but once the rat was repeatedly paired with the loud noise, Albert developed a fear of rats. It could be said that the loud noise induced fear. The implications of Watson’s experiment suggested that classical conditioning could cause some phobias in humans.

16. Remember Baby Albert? • Classical Conditioning was also proven by behavioural psychologist JohnWatson in 1920. • He put an 11-month old boy, Albert, in a room with a white rat. As Albert approached the rat, Watson would make loud noises with a metal bar (NS). • He soon learned to associate the rat (and any other rat, as well as the colour white) with fear. (CS-CR) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBfnXACsOI&feature=related

17. Fun Examples of Classical Conditioning with Humans • The Office - Pavlov's dog on Vimeo • Pavlov’s Bar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEDxRCa_wfc • What are the UCR and UCS in each example? • What is the NS in each example? • What are the CS and CR in each example?

18. 2)Operant Conditioning – BF Skinner (1904 – 1990) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUwCgFSb6Nk

19. Background – • American behavioural psychologist (Learning Theorist) • Conducted learning experiments on rats and pigeons, believed results could be applied to human behaviour • His experiments helped him develop his theory of operant conditioning • Learning can be programmed by whatever consequence follows a particular behaviour

20. Operant Conditioning Only bolded information • B.F. Skinner’s term for the learning theory that uses praise and punishment to teach new or appropriate skills and behaviours or to extinguish undesirable ones • Learn to behave in a certain manner through operating on a person’s need to avoid pain and seek pleasure • Humans can learn through praise or punishment

21. Key Terms: Reinforcement and Punishment Reinforcement Consequences increase the probability of the behavior– want the positive behaviour to continue • Tangibles: food, drink • Favorite activities: visiting family, watching TV, dancing, listening to music, singing • Attention: positive/negative verbals, physical contact • Social reinforcers: praise, positive feedback Punishment Consequences decrease the probability of the behavior – want to discourage negative behaviour • Verbal reprimand • Time out • Removing a privilege

22. Reinforcement • POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT increasesbehavior by the addition of a desirable event when the behavior occurs. • Praise • Edibles • Money • NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT increasesbehavior by the removalof an aversive event when the behavior occurs. • Excuse from chores • Escape from a crowd • Stops pain

23. Punishment • POSITIVE PUNISHMENT decreasesbehavior by the addition of an aversive event when the behavior occurs. • Verbal reprimand • Increased work • NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT decreasesbehavior by removing a desirable event. • Time out • Removing Privileges • Fines

24. In Summary… Optional

25. Skinner in Action • Skinner’s Experiment – Pigeon Conditioning • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjlrHA • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGazyH6fQQ4 • Skinner today • Operant Conditioning – YouTube – Big Bang Theory • Rick Mercer: Behaviour Modification – YouTube

26. Operant Conditioning Key Term: Schedules of Reinforcement – Schedules of reinforcement are an important component of the learning process. When and how often we reinforce a behavior can have a dramatic impact on the strength and rate of the response.

27. Continuous Reinforcement • In continuous reinforcement, the desired behavior is reinforced every single timeit occurs. • Generally, this schedule is best used during the initial stages of learning in order to create a strong association between the behavior and the response. • Ex: Toilet Training a Child – giving a treat each time they use the potty

28. Partial Reinforcement • In partial reinforcement, the response is reinforced only part of the time. • Learned behaviors are acquired more slowly with partial reinforcement, but the response is more resistant to extinction – behaviour will last longer.

29. Key Terms: • Interval – based on amount of time (i.e. seconds, minutes, days…) that the reinforcement occurs • Ratio– based on number of times one does a behaviour • Fixed– reinforcement happens after the same amount of time elapses (i.e. every 10 minutes or every 10th behaviour) • Variable – occurs at random/unpredictable time periods or amount of times an individual accomplishes a behaviour (1, 3, 4, 7, 12 minutes or behaviours) • Now let’s put them together…

30. 4 schedules of partial reinforcement: • Fixed-ratio schedules - are those where a response is reinforced only after a specified number of responses. • Variable-ratio schedules - occur when a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses. • Fixed-interval schedules - are those where the first response is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has elapsed. • Variable-interval schedules - occur when a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed.

31. Fixed ratio schedule (FR)- delivers reinforcement after every (n)th response • Example: Rat reinforced with food after every 5 bar-presses in a Skinner box – FR5 • Example: Used car dealer gets a $1000 bonus for each 10 cars sold on the lot – FR10 • Variable ratio schedule (VR) – a reinforcement schedule in which the number of responses necessary to produce reinforcement varies from trial to trial. • A VR schedule of VR4 means that if one averaged the number of reinforcers, every fourth desired response was reinforced. • Example: VR4 = first pellet delivered on 2 bar presses, second pellet delivered on 6 bar presses, third pellet 4 bar presses (2 + 6 + 4 = 12, 12÷3 (# of trials)= 25% or 1 in 4 chance of receiving pellet) • Example: slot machines (because, though the chance of someone of hitting the jackpot is constant/always present, the number of lever presses needed to hit the jackpot is variable)

32. Fixed interval (FI) – reinforced after every (n)thamount of time • Example: FI15 = rat is reinforced for the first bar press after 15 seconds passes since the last reinforcement • Variable interval (VI) – reinforced on an average every (n)thamount of time. The 'n' is an average. • Example: checking your e-mail or pop quizzes • Example: Going fishing—you might catch a fish after 10 minutes, then have to wait an hour, then have to wait 18 minutes – (you catch 3 fish, 1 after 35 minutes, 1 after 60 minutes, and 1 after 75 minutes. Average is 35+60+75 = 170 ÷ 3 = 56.6 Therefore, the VI value is 56.6 minutes.

33. 3) Albert Bandura – Social Learning Theory (Observational Learning Theory)

34. Social Learning Theory • Albert Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory is based on the idea that: • We learn from our interactions with others in a social context. Separately, by observing the behaviors of others, people develop similar behaviors.

35. Sometimes certain behaviours are best learned through observation and imitation • Social learning can take place even if a considerable amount of time has passed since the behaviour was first observed • Performing an observed behaviour depends on whether we respect or like the model and what consequences the model experiences from performing the behaviour

36. Albert Bandura’s 4 processes : • Attention • Pay attention to behaviour of others • Retention • Store mental representations of what you observe in your memory • Reproduction • Convert your stored memory into action • Including physical capabilities, self-observation of reproduction, accuracy of feedback • Motivation • You must be motivated in order to practise the skill • Have to believe the skill is useful or important to you

37. 4) Trial and Error Extension of Social Learning Theory

38. Trial and Error • It is possible to learn new behaviours or change behaviours through personal experience, or trial and error • Attempt to learn a new behaviour and learn from our mistakes  practicing to reduce error

39. 5) Systematic Desensitization/Exposure Therapy

40. Key Term • Counter-conditioning - a process used in behavioral therapy in which a learned response is replaced by an alternative response that is less disruptive • Learning a new conditioned behaviour to replace an undesirable one

41. Systematic Desensitization • A type of counter-conditioning that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli • Commonly used to treat phobias • Believed you cannot be simultaneously anxious and relaxed therefore if you can repeatedly relax when facing anxiety-provoking stimuli, you can gradually eliminate your anxiety  process is gradual • First create a hierarchy of the anxiety-provoking situation (from least-feared to most-feared)

42. Systematic Desensitization cont’d • Psychologist would use progressive muscle relaxation to train you to relax one muscle at a time • Whenever anxiety is induced, the individual provides a cue to the psychologist who has the individual go back to relaxation • Relaxed state used to desensitize the person to each imagined situation on the hierarchy followed by practice in real-life situations

43. 6) Aversive Conditioning

44. Aversive Conditioning • A type of counter-conditioning that associates an unpleasant state with an unwanted behaviour • Example: nail-biting  paint fingernails with poor-tasting nail polish • Also referred to as aversion therapy, a technique used in behaviour therapy to reduce the appeal of behaviours one wants to eliminate by associating them with physical or psychological discomfort. • In aversive conditioning, the client is exposed to an unpleasant stimulus while engaging in the targeted behaviour, the goal being to create an aversion to it. In adults, aversive conditioning is often used to combat addictions such as smoking or alcoholism. One common method is the administration of a nausea-producing drug... • Often used in combination with other treatment/therapy

45. 7) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

46. Main Ideas - • American psychologist best know for his analysis of human needs • These basic needs, which he organized into a hierarchy, range from basic survival through the need for security, love and esteem • He argues when we have satisfied the need at one level of the hierarchy, rather than become satisfied overall, we tend to move on and try to satisfy the need at the next level • We are able to move up and down the levels – we do not remain at one level consistently once we reach it

47. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

48. Self Actualization • Highest level there is self-actualization - people who are able to dedicate themselves to serving others • There are very few who reach this level, they are secure, loved, and loving individuals who are able to dedicate themselves to serving others, believing that all humans share common bonds – e.g. Mother Teresa

49. 8) ABC Model of Behaviour Modification Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence

50. Key Terms: The A stands for antecedents.  What is going on just before the behavior occurs? The setting, situation, contact that immediately precedes a behavior) The B stands for the behavior. The focus is on behavior which is observable. Observable and objective – not subjective, not an emotion) The C stands for consequences.  The questions are asked:  What was the reaction immediately following the behavior?  How was the behavior reinforced/treated?