Behavior Therapy is introduced by B.F. Skinner, Albert Bandura, and Arnold Lazarus who all share their part in the development of Behavior Therapy as well as others you will learn below.

Four Areas of Development make up Behavior Therapy

Classical Conditioning- developed by Ivan Pavlov

• The study between stimulus and response

Ex: Getting anxious when seeing a date posted for a future exam because anxiety has increased while taking previous exams.

Operant Conditioning- developed by B.F. Skinner

• Reinforcements are used to produce a certain behavior

Positive reinforcement

• Ex:Rewarding a child with candy after achieving a good grade on a test or assignment

Negative reinforcement

• Ex: A child doesn't want to eat the vegetables on his plate, child cries, vegetables get taken away

Social Learning Theory- developed by Albert Bandura

• Behavior is developed through a pattern of modeling

Ex: Imitation of actions such as a child smoking because they have seen their parents smoke; therefore, they think this act is acceptable.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy- mostly contributed by Jean Piaget

• How one's thoughts and subjective reality affects their behavior

Piaget claimed that there are FOUR stages of cognitive behavior

1. Sensorimotor (birth-2 yrs) -senses and motor skills are used for understanding
2. Preoperational (2-6 yrs)- only see the world from one's own view
3. Concrete Operational (7-11 yrs)- Logical thinking is applied for understanding
4. Formal Operational (From 12 on)- Abstract thoughts begin to develop

Key Concepts

1. Treatment goals are set and effectiveness is assessed
2. All characteristics of behavior is observed
3. Current problems and present factors of client are assessed
4. Clients are required to act out certain behavior in order to bring change, including exercises and role-play
5. Self-understanding and insight to one's self is practiced
6. Consistent assessment; observation and self-monitoring is key
7. Individual treatments are used for the appropriate condition

Behavior Goals

• Forming therapist/client relationship
• Treatment goals are agreed upon both therapist and client and continually assessed throughout treatment
• Personal choice should be increased
• New conditions for learning should be developed

Behavior Techniques

• Positive reinforcement
• Negative reinforcement
• Postive punishment- (Ex: Time out for a child misbehaving)
• Negative punishment- (Ex: Taking recess away from child because of misbehavior)
• Progressive Muscle Relaxation- Used to relax the body and mind in hopes of reducing stress and anxiety
• Systematic Desensitization- Used to reduce anxiety by exposing oneself to an anxiety-arousing situation
• Vivo Flooding- Prolonged exposure to anxiety in hopes of reducing anxiety
• Assertion training- The client has the privelage of expressing oneself in the choice of behavior
• Self-management programs- Learning how to cope with one's own problems



My View on Behavior Therapy: I think that the four areas of development that make up this theory are essential and effective for treatment. Operant conditioning can be useful during the first stages of a child's life as far as teaching them discipline and responsibility. I think the Behavior approach can be effective for discovering one's behavior and what techniques best fit the individual.