Summarize the general principles underlying behavioral approaches to therapy and discuss evidence on the effectiveness of behavior therapies
What will be an ideal response?
Behavior therapies are based on the assumption that behavior is a product of learning and that what is learned can be unlearned. Behavior therapies involve the application of learning principles to direct efforts to change clients' maladaptive behaviors. Behavior therapy focuses on changing the consequences of behavior to modify the behavior itself. Examples of behavioral strategies include the following.
Systematic desensitization involves three steps to treat the client's phobia: the therapist first helps the client build an anxiety hierarchy (a ranked list of anxiety-arousing stimuli); next, the client is trained in deep muscle relaxation; and finally, the client tries to work through the hierarchy, learning to remain relaxed while imagining each stimulus. The basic idea is that you cannot be anxious and relaxed at the same time. Research shows that this technique is very effective in treating phobias.
Social skills training is a behavior therapy designed to improve interpersonal skills. It emphasizes modeling, behavioral rehearsal, and shaping.
Exposure therapies confront clients with feared situations so they learn that the situations are harmless.
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a. testicular torsion c. cryptorchidism b. priapism d. Peyronie's disease
Which of these is known to be a risk factor for schizophrenia?
(a) heavy drinking in the teenage years (b) growing up in a family in which emotions are not freely expressed (c) growing up in a family in which the parents were too close and excluded the children (d) being male (e) none of these
Which of the following professionals is most likely to hold a Ph.D. degree in psychology?
a. a psychiatrist b. a clinical psychologist c. a psychoanalyst d. a psychiatric social worker
There is little evidence to support Kohlberg's claim that the stages of moral reasoning are:
A. measurable. B. universal. C. unconscious. D. biological.