Behaviourist Therapy Flashcards
What is the therapy used in the behaviourist?
Aversion therapy.
What does aversion therapy aim to do?
Cause individuals to develop an intense dislike or feeling of disgust to create an aversion towards a particular stimulus.
What is aversion therapy used to treat?
Addictions such as drug and alcohol abuse, smoking ,gambling etc.
What are the main components of aversion therapy?
Classical conditioning.
Covert sensitisation.
Operant conditioning.
New developments.
What does classical conditioning aim to do in aversion therapy?
To pair the unwanted behaviour with an unpleasant stimulus, to reduce the behaviour.
E.g. pairing alcohol with a nausea inducing drug.
What is covert sensitisation?
Patient must imagine negative and unpleasant scenarios when doing the unwanted behaviour.
e.g. imagining being homeless when gambling.
What does operant conditioning do in relation to aversion therapy?
The patient tends to avoid future contact with the stimulus after classical conditioning, meaning that negative reinforcement is now motivating the individual to avoid the situation.
What are new developments in aversion therapy?
New found drugs to help with aversion therapy, when mixed with undesirable behaviour creates unpleasant effects.
e.g. tryptophan metabolites that stop the breakdown of alcohol causing sickness.
Apply the assumption that ‘humans are born like a blank slate’ to aversion therapy.
This assumption says that if humans are born a blank slate we can learn and change our behaviours depending upon our environment and we can ‘unlearn’ this behaviour through aversion therapy.
