8) Cognitive Behavioural Approach 1

Question 1

What does behaviourism focus on?

Answer 1

• focuses on changing behaviours you can see

Question 2

How does the behavioural approach view psychological distress

Answer 2

Psychological distress viewed as learned patterns of behaviour

Question 3

Who came up with Classical Conditioning

Answer 3

Ivan Pavlov

Question 4

What is the principle of classical conditioning?

Answer 4

You can train an association between stimuli and response

Question 5

Describe Pavlov’s experiment

Answer 5

• had an UCS (stimulus that elicits specific reflexive response)
• UCS = food
• reflexive response = salivating
• UCR = salivation
• CS = previously neutral stimulus (bell)
• UCS + NS –> UCR
• overtime UCS and NS become associated with one another
• CS –> CR
• the ringing of the bell (CS) would elicit salivation (CR)

Question 6

How was conditioning applied to Humans? Explain with reference to Little Albert.

Answer 6

• Little Albert had no fear of rats or other furry animals before experiment
• Little Albert was conditioned into fearing the rat
• Done by being introduced to rat
• Loud noise then made behind Albert
  -Startling Albert, eliciting fear response
• Overtime, when introduced to rat, Albert would show fear

Question 7

Who came up with operant conditioning?

Answer 7

B.F. Skinner

Question 8

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 8

Learning via reinforcement and punishment

Question 9

What are the two types of reinforcement?

Answer 9

• positive reinforcement
• negative reinforcement

Question 10

Define positive reinforcement

Answer 10

something positive is gained, encouraging repetition of behaviour

Question 11

Define negative reinforcement

Answer 11

something negative is taken away/avoided, encouraging repetition of behaviour

Question 12

According to the behavioural view, how does conditioning cause phobias?

Answer 12

Classical conditioning may lead to phobia through learning a fear response to a specific stimuli

Question 13

According to the behavioural view, how does reinforcement maintain phobias?

Answer 13

• phobias maintained through negative reinforcement
• this is done because we learn to avoid conditioned stimulus (stimulus to triggers the phobic response)
• through avoiding stimulus, we avoid feelings of fear and anxiety

Question 14

How is does behaviourism explain the maintenance of OCD?

Answer 14

• during fearful situation, individual may engage in behaviour that causes anxiety to disappear
• association is learnt that that behaviour relieves fear
• leading to compulsive behaviour
• classical conditioning explains the association of relieving of anxiety and behaviour
• negative reinforcement explains the maintenance of OCD

Question 15

Who came up with social learning theory?

Answer 15

Albert Bandura

Question 16

What does SLT focus on?

Answer 16

importance of observational learning and perceived self-efficacy

Question 17

What is the meaning of self-efficacy?

Answer 17

refers to an individual’s belief in their capacity to execute behaviours necessary to produce specific performance accomplishments

Question 18

What does Bandura’s SLT begin to introduce?

Answer 18

• introduce role of society into relationship between person and their behaviour
• according to this theory, phobias can be learnt through childhood to parents

Question 19

What are the goals of behavioural therapy?

Answer 19

• target symptoms and behaviours rather than underlying causes
• emphasis on observable behaviours
• symptoms target of treatment

Question 20

What are the characteristics of behavioural therapy?

Answer 20

• time limited
• clients actively involved in process
• 3 main stages of therapy

Question 21

Outline the 3 main stages of behavioural therapy

Answer 21

1. behavioural assessment
2. treatment phase
3. assessment

Question 22

What does behavioural assessment involve?
(ABC model)

Answer 22

• client will discuss issue at hand using ABC model
  A - antecedents (what triggers behaviour)
  B - behaviour (behaviour that wants to be changed)
  C - consequence (what happens when they react this way)

Question 23

What does treatment phase involve?

Answer 23

• client will decide on goals for therapy
• client will agree on method used in session
• method used will be supported by empirical evidence and scientific support

Question 24

What does assessment involve?

Answer 24

• periodic assessments throughout treatment
• this is to check on progress towards goals that were set
  -evaluate if treatment is having effect

Question 25

How are the different types of interventions grouped?

Answer 25

grouped according to the approach that they follow

Question 26

What are types of intervention according to classical conditioning?

Answer 26

• systematic desensitisation
• exposure therapy (graded/flooding)
• aversion therapy

Question 27

What are types of intervention according to operant conditioning?

Answer 27

• reinforcement interventions (e.g.: token economy)

Question 28

What are types of intervention according to SLT?

Answer 28

• modelling

Question 29

Explain systematic desensitisation

Answer 29

• unlearning the association between the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response
• idea that one response inhibits another response
• e.g.: you cannot feel both anxious and calm at the same time
• Idea that relaxation will inhibit fear

Question 30

What are the steps involved with systematic desensitisation?

Answer 30

1. Relaxation training
   - Teaching of muscle relaxation techniques
   - Practiced with no exposure to the feared stimuli
2. Constructing a hierarchy
   - Client constructs a hierarchy of their fears
   - Hierarchy begins with something that would provoke low anxiety and would work up to most anxiety provoking situation they could imagine
   - Hierarchy is subjective as it is created by client

Question 31

What is graded exposure?

Answer 31

• Involves confronting the feared objects but in a safe space
• In vivo (real life contact with the feared stimulus until fear response subsides)
• Anxiety can be self-managed or with the help of a therapist
• Uses the same hierarchy as systematic desensitisation, gradually working way up the hierarchy

Question 32

What is flooding?

Answer 32

• Start with the most feared scenario
• Can be done directly or by vividly imagining scenario
• Exposed to fear situation until the anxiety reduces and your acclimatized to it

Question 33

What is aversion therapy?

Answer 33

• Target stimulus is paired with aversive stimulus
• Person learns to associated the target with an unpleasant outcome

Question 34

What are reinforcement interventions and Token Economies?

Answer 34

• Token economy that is based on operant conditioning
• Person given a token when displaying desired behaviour
• Positive reinforcement increases the frequency of desired behavior and reduces undesired behavior
• Token can then be exchanged for something meaningful to individual

Question 35

What is modelling?

Answer 35

• Therapist will model an appropriate behaviour and the client will learn from this
• This uses the hierarchy created by client (least feared to most feared)
• Rather than client going through the hierarchy, client observes the therapist complete the first stage without anxiety
• Client will then imitate this behaviour

Question 36

What are some positives in support of behavioural therapy?

Answer 36

• there is evidence to support behavioural therapy can work for disorders such as anxiety, OCD, phobias

Question 37

What are some negative in contrast to behavioural therapy?

Answer 37

• less useful in understanding other disorders such as depression
• behavioural approach doesn’t consider the internal cognitive progresses. Behaviourism only focuses on external, learning from the environment. It does not consider anything going on internally.