Psychology of Stress part 4

Breaking old habits and beginning fresh ones is difficult at any age, however becomes particularly harder as the years pass. Habits are conditioned conduct that have developed over time. The precepts of behavior modification utilize this conditioning procedure to develop fresh habits and eliminate old ones. Favorable and damaging reinforcements are the tools utilized throughout this procedure.

Behavior therapy principles are based on a branch of psychology called behavioral theory. Behavior--whether great or bad--is deemed a conditioned habit. The procedure of behavior change is an issue of reconditioning old and fresh conduct. B.F. in the mid 1900s a theory of operant conditioning formed the basis for the precepts behind the behavior therapy approach. This approach is useful for promoting behavior changes in youngsters, and has been utilized to treat people with anxiety disorders and OCD.

Part of behavioral conditioning involves the conditions leading up to a conduct. These conditions set the stage for the behavior to happen. The cueing precept makes use of these pre-conditions as a way to explicate new conduct. Once the wanted behavior is carried out, favorable reinforcement, or a reinforcement is given. The utilization of reward works to shape an individual's motivations towards the desired behavior. For bigger tasks, or goals, the precept of successive approximation may be utilized to reward an individual as he advances through each successive step towards a goal.

When formulating a fresh behavior, or habit, doing away with undesirable conduct becomes part of the change procedure. Behavior therapy makes use of negative reinforcement strategies to phase out undesirable conducts. The extinction precept works by bit by bit removing whatever favorable reinforcements are

attached to an unsuitable action. A different technique--called the satiation precept--encourages the person to indulge in the undesired behavior till she loses interest. A more direct form of negative reinforcement is based on the penalty precept where the undesired conduct is paired with an unfavorable stimulus.

The procedure utilized in altering an emotional behavior is made up of similar strategies that involve favorable and negative reinforcement. The avoidance precept brings in a negative reinforcement prior to an unsuitable conduct, like an angry outburst. The fear reduction precept is utilized to eliminate an unsuitable fear response by desensitizing an individual to the feared event, or object. This is accomplished by gradually exposing the individual to the situation in steps, till he no longer goes through feelings of fear.

A crucial part of formulating a new behavior is maintaining a new routine till it becomes a steady part of an individual's lifestyle. The replacement precept uses favorable reinforcements to maintain a fresh behavior by substituting a more powerful reward in the place of the reward being utilized. This is done by presenting the fresh reward directly after the old reward is given. In order to further fortify a fresh behavior, the precept of decreasing reinforcement uses fewer favorable reinforcements separated out in longer intervals. This encourages an individual to work harder and longer for the same reward.