Topic 21: Habit Reversal Procedures

Question 1

Habit Reversal

Answer 1

a procedure for treating habit disorders

its component procedures include awareness training, competing response training, social support, generalization strategies, and motivational strategies

research has shown that awareness training and competing response training are the most crucial components for treatment effectiveness

Question 2

Habit Disorder

Answer 2

a repetitive behavior that is distressing to the person

habit disorder include nervous habits, motor, and vocal tics, and stuttering

Question 3

Habit Behaviors

Answer 3

a repetitive behavior in one of three categories: nervous habits, tics, and stuttering

Question 4

Nervous Habit

Answer 4

repetitive, maladaptive behaviors that are most likely to occur when a person experiences heightened tension

nervous habits do not typically serve any social function for the individual

Question 5

Motor Tics

Answer 5

repetitive, jerking movements of a particualr muscle group in the body

Question 6

Vocal Tic

Answer 6

a repetitive vocal sound or word uttered by an individual that does not serve any communicative function

Question 7

Tourette’s Disorder

Answer 7

a tic disorder involving multiple motor and vocal tics that have occurred for at least one year

Question 8

Stuttering

Answer 8

a speech disfluency in which the individual repeats words or syllables, prolongs a word or sound, and/or block on a word (makes no sound for a period of time when trying to say a word)

Question 9

Awareness Training

Answer 9

a component of the habit reversal procedure in which the person is taught to identify each instance of a particular habit as it occurs

Question 10

Competing Response

Answer 10

an alternative behavior that occurs in place of another target behavior

typically, the competing response is physically incompatible with the target behavior, so its occurrence competes with the occurrence of the target behavior

Question 11

Competing Response Training

Answer 11

a component of the habit reversal procedure in which the client is taught to engage in a competing response contingent on the occurrence of the habit behavior or contingent on the urge to engage in the habit behavior

Question 12

Social Support

Answer 12

a component of the habit reversal procedure in which a significant other praises the client for correct use of the competing response and prompts the client to use the competing response when the habit behavior occurs

in general, social support occurs when significant others are involved in implementing contingencies in the natural environment to help a person reach a self-management goal

Question 13

Motivation Strategy

Answer 13

part of the habit reversal procedure used to increase the likelihood that the client will use the competing response outside the treatment sessions to control the habit

Question 14

Regulated Breathing

Answer 14

the competing response that is used in the habit reversal treatment for stuttering

Question 15

Diaphragmatic Breathing

Answer 15

a type of relaxation exercise in which one engages in slow, rhythmic breathing, using the diaphragm muscle to pull air deep into the lungs

Question 16

What are habits?

Answer 16

(bad) habits are repetitive or stereotyped behaviors (persistent postural, gestural, or verbal responses) that serve no useful purpose and tend to be an annoyance

occur automatically/subconsciously

are cued by aspects of the performance context (i.e. environment, preceding actions)

are learned though a process of repetition, so that they are stored in procedural memory

involve the striatum of the basal ganglia, which is associated with voluntary motor control and procedural learning

are often maintained by automatic reinforcement

Question 17

What is procedural memory?

Answer 17

memory subsystem that supports minimally conscious control of skilled action

Question 18

What conditions allow a behavior to be characterized as a disorder?

Answer 18

is distressing to the person

occurs with sufficient frequency or intensity to cause the person to seek treatment

has adverse physical or social effects on the person

Question 19

What are nervous ahbits?

Answer 19

repetitive, manipulative behaviors that are assumed to occur when a person experiences heightened nervous tension

e.g. fingernail biting, teeth grinding, thumb sucking

also called body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB)

originally believed to reduce nervous tension or anxiety; are known to be induced by boredom, frustration, or stress, or serve as self-stimulation

are associated with perfectionism (which causes frustration and stress)

Question 20

What are motor tics?

Answer 20

repetitive, jerking movement of the body

e.g. facial tics, head jerking

may be due to increased muscle tension

a certain movement may produce relief to injured area, but tic persists even after injury has healed

Question 21

What are vocal tics?

Answer 21

repetitive nonspeech vocal sound that does not convey information or serve a social function

e.g. excessive throat-clearing, or uttered sounds

Question 22

What is Tourette’s?

Answer 22

includes multiple motor tics and at least one vocal tic

only a small minority of those with Tourette’s utter obscenities, socially inappropriate or derogatory remarks

caused by interaction of genetic and environmental factors

often presents with other comorbid factors, such as ADHD or OCD

typically not treated with medication, but with behavioral therapies

Question 23

What is stuttering?

Answer 23

speech dysfluency in which a person repeats syllables or words, prolong the length of a syllable or word, or experiences blocking (inability to produce the sound)

many behavioral therapeutic treatments exist, including breathing exercises, fluency shaping, and stuttering modification therapy

Question 24

What are habit reversal procedures?

Answer 24

an approach for decreasing a behavior that does not concentrate on providing or withdrawing reinforcers and is implemented by the target person, usually under the supervision of a behavior analyst or other therapist

Question 25

What is habit reversal training?

Answer 25

comprised of two main components: awareness training and competing response training

competing response both prevents the target behavior and provides an alternative behavior

competing response may serve as punisher when it is performed after the target behavior

usually, the response is unobtrusive

may also apply social support and motivation strategy

Question 26

What is awareness training?

Answer 26

person is taught to describe the problem behavior, and the to watch for it and notice when it occurs (or is about to occur)

Question 27

What is competing response training?

Answer 27

person is taught to perform a behavior that is incompatible with the target behavior

Question 28

What is social support?

Answer 28

family members or friends who spend significant time with the target person: point out when the target behavior occurs, prompt the use of a competing behavior, and reinforce the competing response or a desirable behavior

Question 29

What is motivation strategy?

Answer 29

behavior analyst works with client to determine situations and antecedents for the target behavior, as well as consequences

includes review of the drawback of the behavior

may include self-administered consequences

used to increase compliance with competing response

Question 30

What are the steps of applying habit-reversal training?

Answer 30

1. client learns to describe and identify the problem behavior
2. client learns and practices a behavior that is incompatible with or competes with the problem behavior
3. for motivation, client reviews adverse effects of the disorder, records and graphs the behavior, and has someone provide reinforcement for engaging in the treatment

Question 31

What is generalization training?

Answer 31

practice focuses on how to control tics in everyday situations

first, person practices tic-control procedures in session until done correctly

covert rehearsal: person imagines common and tic-eliciting situations and then performs the tic-control exercise

finally, the person tries controlling tics in real-world situations

Question 32

What is aversion therapy?

Answer 32

a form of respondent conditioning which involved the repeated pairing of a troublesome reinforcer with an aversive event

has been applied to alcoholism, cigarette smoking, nail-biting, substance abuse, homosexuality, “sexual deviancy”, and pathological gambling

uses aversive stimuli like electric shocks, elastic/rubber bands snapped on the wrist, and covert sensitization (imagined aversion)

therapy often uses symbolic representations (e.g. pictures or videos) to replace the troublesome reinforcer itself

often has a high dropout rate

may work better in conjunction with a behavioral counseling program/behavior therapy

implementation requires special expertise

Question 33

How can alcoholism be treated using aversion therapy?

Answer 33

disulfiram (US) given with alcoholic drinks (NS) interact to cause nausea and other extremely unpleasant reactions (UR)

repeated pairing of alcohol with disulfiram may cause the person to avoid alcohol (CS)

Question 34

What is massed negative practice?

Answer 34

a punishment procedure that requires the person to repeat the undesired target behavior for a predetermined time period contingent on the occurrence of the target behavior

e.g. after a vocal tic, the person would have to force him or herself to make vocal tics for 2 minutes

not the same as competing response, which should prevent the target behavior

evidence indicates that massed negative practice is not as effective as HRT