Behaviourists believe that all behaviour is learned, with the exception of simple reflex responses. They consider that psychological disorders are therefore due to learning, or rather, to errors in learning.
Behaviour modification, or behaviour therapy, focuses on the symptoms, not on the underlying causes, and behaviour therapists try to substitute more appropriate behaviour.
Personality Disorder Diagnosis
Skinner for instance would say that there are two types of errors in development/learning that can lead to psychological disorder: type one disorder is where the patient has learned a response that causes him some trouble; type two disorder is where the patient has failed to learn a necessary response. Type one disorder could, for instance, be a phobia or an irrational fear.
In 1920, Watson illustrated how classical conditioning could be used to explain phobias. In his Little Albert experiment (where he took an 11 month old infant who previously had shown no negative reaction to the presence of rodents).
Watson placed a pet rat near him and then made a loud crash behind Albert. Disregarding the ethical debate of this experiment, it was found that by repeatedly pairing the presence of the rat with the crash, it was possible to condition Albert to develop a fear reaction or phobia to the rat.
Treatment of Personality Disorders
But how would such a phobia be “deconditioned?” A phobia can be deconditioned by exposing the patient to the conditioned stimulus (without the unconditioned stimulus) until the conditioned response extinguishes.
This can be done gradually by “systematic desensitization,” where the intensity of the phobic stimulus is increased step by step, or alternatively, is the more direct ‘”flooding” where for instance, a spider is just thrown into the patient’s face! Other examples of “Type one” disorders include ddictions (i.e. to alcohol) and sexual fetishes where the patient has learned a behaviour that is causing himself or other people problems. These can be treated by a technique known as “aversion therapy.”
Aversion Therapy and Psychology
Aversion therapy is where a patient is “conditioned” to make an association between the object of his or her unhealthy attachment and a noxious stimulus.
For example, an alcoholic may be treated by being given an emetic (a substance that induces vomiting) and then being invited to have a drink. The resulting vomiting should eventually lead to an aversion to drinking alcohol.
Type Two Personality Disorders
Type two disorders are where the patient has failed to learn some necessary response and these are more likely to be treated by operant conditioning. This can be useful in training autistic children to speak, and in training withdrawn schizophrenics to communicate and engage in social behaviour.
This kind of treatment may include the token economy wards, where, for instance, a schizophrenic is given reinforcement (such as privilege tokens which they can trade in for sweets, cigarettes, a trip out etc.) for desired behaviours.
Critics of Behaviourism
Behavioursim is often criticised for being simplistic, degrading to human dignity and ignorant of inner processes in human beings.
Some critics have even gone so far as to say that techniques like systematic desensitisation and flooding have nothing to do with behaviourist theory and that behaviourists are abandoning behavioursim when applying their theories in practice. others (including many learning theorists) would argue that this is a good thing and that there is no need for behavioursim to be as dogmatic as it has been in the past.
Critics of behavioursim however, say that these techniques merely deal with the symptoms of the disorder and never get to grips with the underlying causes. (Behavioural therapies are accused of trying to cure the measles by covering up the spots.)
Even so, many applications of operant conditioning and behaviourist therapy have been used within schools and in the home to help children who are disruptive with a lot of success. Also, since the 1950s, Skinner has taken an interest in education, and has devised teaching machines for programmed learning.
- Carpenter F. The Skinner Primer – Behind Freedom and Dignity.
The Free Press (Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc.). 1974.
- Gross, R D. Psychology, the Science of Mind and Behaviour . Hodder & Stoughton, London. 1972.
- Leibert R M & Spiegler, M. Personality Strategies and Issues. Brooks/Cole Publishing Co. 1973.