Behavior Modification
● What is behavior?
○ Action
■ Simple or complex
○ Overt (you can see it)
○ Covert (can’t directly see it, ex: thoughts)
■ Must be inferred from overt responses
■ Ex: I am angry so I am going to hit my sister
○ Behavioral excess
■ Too much behavior of a particular type
○ Behavioral deficits
■ Too little behavior of a particular type
● Behavior is hard to define
● What is not a behavior?
○ Descriptions of personality traits
■ Ex: diabolical (she’s crazy)
○ Diagnostic labels
■ Ex: not schizophrenic (she’s psychotic)
○ Outcomes of behavior
■ Ex: change in weight (she looks like she hasn't slept in days)
● Are these behaviors?
○ Thinking: covert behavior
○ Self esteem: no
○ Smoking: overt behavior
○ Procrastination: yes, hard to define, both covert and overt
○ Disrespect: yes, hard to define
○ Being “gifted”: diagnostic label
● Origins of behavior
○ Hereditary factors
■ Some behaviors based on inherited characteristics
○ Learning
■ Some behavior develops as a result of learning
● Learning
○ Relatively permanent change in behavior resulting from experience
○ We know they learned something when we see a change in behavior
○ Processes include:
■ Classical conditioning (aka: respondent/Pavlovian)
■ Operant conditioning (aka: instrumental)
■ Modeling
● Classical Conditioning
, ○ Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
■ Physiologist interested in role of salivation
○ The process:
■ Stimulus (bell) gains ability to elicit a response (salivation) through
associations with a stimulus (meat powder) that already elicits a response
● You can only classically condition involuntary responses
● Ex: startle response, blinking, lactation, anxiety
● Most of the time they have a heavy biological component
● Pavlov’s dogs
○ Before learning…
■ What is the response to food/bell?
○ After learning…
■ What is the response to food/bell?
○ How did that learning take place?
■ Association between the two, anticipation
● Terminology
○ Before learning (conditioning)
■ Food: unconditioned stimulus (US)
■ Bell: neutral stimulus (NS)
■ Salivation: unconditioned response (UR)
○ After learning (conditioning)
■ Bell: conditioned stimulus (CS)
■ Salivation: conditioned response (CR)
● What’s happening?
○ School for many years, frequently saved anxiety work for Sunday afternoon
○ Now, no school, but anxiety on Sunday afternoon
■ Sunday afternoon before grad school: NS
■ Sunday afternoon during: UR
■ Paired with work: US
■ After pairing
● Anxiety: CR
● Sunday: CS
● Operant conditioning (learning)
○ Voluntary response followed by a consequence
○ Consequence determines likelihood of response happening in the future
○ Antecedent, behavior, and consequences define behavioral situation
■ Antecedent
● Sets the occasion for the behavior
■ Behavior
● What organism does
■ Consequence
, ● Influence future occurrence of the behavior
○ Add some antecedents designed to encourage a behavior
■ Ex: sticky note, leave your homework out to see it
○ Add a consequence or reward to encourage
■ Ex: smoothie
○ Examples:
■ Text: A
■ Look at phone: B
■ See text: C
● Cat meows: A
● Feed cat: B
● Cat stops meowing: C
Classical Operant
Response Involuntary Voluntary
Acquisition CS->UCS Association with
consequence
● Scenario: as a young child Jason had to visit the doctors office frequently for very
uncomfortable medical procedures, which always made his heart rate increase. As
an adult, whenever Jason enters a doctor’s office, his heart begins to race, and be
buries his head in his hands which helps calms him.
○ Classical conditioning
■ Behavior: heart rate increase (involuntary reflex)
■ UCS: unlearned, uncomfortable procedure
■ CS: entering doc’s office
■ UCR: heart rate increase
■ CR: heart rate increase to doc’s office
○ Operant conditioning
■ Behavior: buries head in hands
■ A: increased heart rate
■ B: buries head in hands
■ C: feels better
● Modeling
○ Learning through observation of others
○ Bandura showed modeling influenced aggression
■ Bobo doll
○ Modeling influenced by observation of consequences
○ Modeling can:
■ Initiate behavior (clapping)
, ■ Teach new task (cooking)
■ Influence response rate (drinking)
■ Teach emotional response (anger, fear) (mom with football)
● One Related Orientation
○ Cognitive behavioral modification (Ellis, Beck)
■ Explains maladaptive behavior in terms of dysfunctional thinking
● Defining characteristics of behavior modification
○ Focus on behavior
■ Avoids labels and diagnostic systems
■ Focus of behavioral deficits and excess
○ Learning and the environment
■ Behavior changes result of learning
■ Changing antecedents and consequences can lead to change
○ Scientific orientation
■ Methods and rationale can be describes precisely
■ Use empirically validated therapy techniques
■ Techniques rooted in learning research
■ Therapy outcomes evaluated objectively
● Quantifying something objectively
○ Practical, applied methods to change behavior
■ Participants take active role in treatment
■ Techniques often applied by people in everyday life
● Specifying and Assessing what we want to change
● What is a behavioral assessment?
● Collection and analysis of data in order to…
○ ID and describe target behavior
■ Specific behavior to be changed
○ Identify causes (antecedents)
○ Guide selection of treatment
○ Evaluate outcome
● Identifying and Defining Behavioral Goals
○ If there is a broad outcome goal (ex: eating healthy) target behavior should be
specific
○ Looks different for different people
○ ID smaller sub goals of more complex behavior
○ Clearly define goals in measurable terms
● Specifying Operant Behaviors
○ Include all behaviors that must be changed
○ Define overt rather than covert behaviors when possible
○ Define more complex behavior as series of smaller steps
■ Task analysis (ex: putting on a coat for a 2 year old)
● What is behavior?
○ Action
■ Simple or complex
○ Overt (you can see it)
○ Covert (can’t directly see it, ex: thoughts)
■ Must be inferred from overt responses
■ Ex: I am angry so I am going to hit my sister
○ Behavioral excess
■ Too much behavior of a particular type
○ Behavioral deficits
■ Too little behavior of a particular type
● Behavior is hard to define
● What is not a behavior?
○ Descriptions of personality traits
■ Ex: diabolical (she’s crazy)
○ Diagnostic labels
■ Ex: not schizophrenic (she’s psychotic)
○ Outcomes of behavior
■ Ex: change in weight (she looks like she hasn't slept in days)
● Are these behaviors?
○ Thinking: covert behavior
○ Self esteem: no
○ Smoking: overt behavior
○ Procrastination: yes, hard to define, both covert and overt
○ Disrespect: yes, hard to define
○ Being “gifted”: diagnostic label
● Origins of behavior
○ Hereditary factors
■ Some behaviors based on inherited characteristics
○ Learning
■ Some behavior develops as a result of learning
● Learning
○ Relatively permanent change in behavior resulting from experience
○ We know they learned something when we see a change in behavior
○ Processes include:
■ Classical conditioning (aka: respondent/Pavlovian)
■ Operant conditioning (aka: instrumental)
■ Modeling
● Classical Conditioning
, ○ Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
■ Physiologist interested in role of salivation
○ The process:
■ Stimulus (bell) gains ability to elicit a response (salivation) through
associations with a stimulus (meat powder) that already elicits a response
● You can only classically condition involuntary responses
● Ex: startle response, blinking, lactation, anxiety
● Most of the time they have a heavy biological component
● Pavlov’s dogs
○ Before learning…
■ What is the response to food/bell?
○ After learning…
■ What is the response to food/bell?
○ How did that learning take place?
■ Association between the two, anticipation
● Terminology
○ Before learning (conditioning)
■ Food: unconditioned stimulus (US)
■ Bell: neutral stimulus (NS)
■ Salivation: unconditioned response (UR)
○ After learning (conditioning)
■ Bell: conditioned stimulus (CS)
■ Salivation: conditioned response (CR)
● What’s happening?
○ School for many years, frequently saved anxiety work for Sunday afternoon
○ Now, no school, but anxiety on Sunday afternoon
■ Sunday afternoon before grad school: NS
■ Sunday afternoon during: UR
■ Paired with work: US
■ After pairing
● Anxiety: CR
● Sunday: CS
● Operant conditioning (learning)
○ Voluntary response followed by a consequence
○ Consequence determines likelihood of response happening in the future
○ Antecedent, behavior, and consequences define behavioral situation
■ Antecedent
● Sets the occasion for the behavior
■ Behavior
● What organism does
■ Consequence
, ● Influence future occurrence of the behavior
○ Add some antecedents designed to encourage a behavior
■ Ex: sticky note, leave your homework out to see it
○ Add a consequence or reward to encourage
■ Ex: smoothie
○ Examples:
■ Text: A
■ Look at phone: B
■ See text: C
● Cat meows: A
● Feed cat: B
● Cat stops meowing: C
Classical Operant
Response Involuntary Voluntary
Acquisition CS->UCS Association with
consequence
● Scenario: as a young child Jason had to visit the doctors office frequently for very
uncomfortable medical procedures, which always made his heart rate increase. As
an adult, whenever Jason enters a doctor’s office, his heart begins to race, and be
buries his head in his hands which helps calms him.
○ Classical conditioning
■ Behavior: heart rate increase (involuntary reflex)
■ UCS: unlearned, uncomfortable procedure
■ CS: entering doc’s office
■ UCR: heart rate increase
■ CR: heart rate increase to doc’s office
○ Operant conditioning
■ Behavior: buries head in hands
■ A: increased heart rate
■ B: buries head in hands
■ C: feels better
● Modeling
○ Learning through observation of others
○ Bandura showed modeling influenced aggression
■ Bobo doll
○ Modeling influenced by observation of consequences
○ Modeling can:
■ Initiate behavior (clapping)
, ■ Teach new task (cooking)
■ Influence response rate (drinking)
■ Teach emotional response (anger, fear) (mom with football)
● One Related Orientation
○ Cognitive behavioral modification (Ellis, Beck)
■ Explains maladaptive behavior in terms of dysfunctional thinking
● Defining characteristics of behavior modification
○ Focus on behavior
■ Avoids labels and diagnostic systems
■ Focus of behavioral deficits and excess
○ Learning and the environment
■ Behavior changes result of learning
■ Changing antecedents and consequences can lead to change
○ Scientific orientation
■ Methods and rationale can be describes precisely
■ Use empirically validated therapy techniques
■ Techniques rooted in learning research
■ Therapy outcomes evaluated objectively
● Quantifying something objectively
○ Practical, applied methods to change behavior
■ Participants take active role in treatment
■ Techniques often applied by people in everyday life
● Specifying and Assessing what we want to change
● What is a behavioral assessment?
● Collection and analysis of data in order to…
○ ID and describe target behavior
■ Specific behavior to be changed
○ Identify causes (antecedents)
○ Guide selection of treatment
○ Evaluate outcome
● Identifying and Defining Behavioral Goals
○ If there is a broad outcome goal (ex: eating healthy) target behavior should be
specific
○ Looks different for different people
○ ID smaller sub goals of more complex behavior
○ Clearly define goals in measurable terms
● Specifying Operant Behaviors
○ Include all behaviors that must be changed
○ Define overt rather than covert behaviors when possible
○ Define more complex behavior as series of smaller steps
■ Task analysis (ex: putting on a coat for a 2 year old)
