Pavlov and the foundation of behavior therapy

The foundation, achievements, and proliferation of behavior therapy have largely been fueled by the movement's foundation in behavioral principles and theories. Although behavioral accounts of the genesis and treatment of psychopathology differ in the extent to which they emphasize classical or operant conditioning, the mediation of cognitive factors, and the role of biological variables, Pavlov's discovery of conditioning principles was essential to the founding of behavior therapy in the 1950s, and continues to be central to modern behavior therapy. Pavlov's reliance on a physiological model of the nervous system, sensible in the context of an early science of neurology, has had an implication for behavior therapists interested in the study of personality types. However, Pavlov's major legacy to behavior therapy was his discovery of "experimental neuroses," shown by his students Eroféeva and Shenger-Krestovnikova, to be produced and eliminated through the principles of conditioning and counter-conditioning. This discovery laid the foundation for the first empirically-validated behavior therapy procedure, systematic desensitization, pioneered by Wolpe. The Pavlovian origins of behavior therapy are analyzed in this paper, and the relevance of conditioning principles to modern behavior therapy is demonstrated. It is shown that Pavlovian conditioning represents far more than a systematic basic learning paradigm. It is also an essential theoretical foundation for the theory and practice of behavior therapy.     

Analyzing the reinforcement process at the human level: Can application and behavioristic interpretation replace laboratory research?

Critics have questioned the value of human operant conditioning experiments in the study of fundamental processes of reinforcement. Contradictory results from human and animal experiments have been attributed to the complex social and verbal history of the human subject. On these grounds, it has been contended that procedures that mimic those conventionally used with animal subjects represent a "poor analytic preparation" for the explication of reinforcement principles. In defending the use of conventional operant methods for human research, we make three points: (a) Historical variables play a critical role in research on processes of reinforcement, regardless of whether the subjects are humans or animals. (b) Techniques are available for detecting, analyzing, and counteracting such historical and extra-experimental influences; these include long-term observations, steady state designs, and, when variables are not amenable to direct control (e.g., age, gender, species), selection of subjects with common characteristics. (c) Other forms of evidence that might be used to validate conditioning principles-applied behavior analysis and behavioristic interpretation-have inherent limitations and cannot substitute for experimental analysis. We conclude that human operant conditioning experiments are essential for the analysis of the reinforcement process at the human level, but caution that their value depends on the extent to which the traditional methods of the experimental analysis of behavior are properly applied.     

The dynamics of operant conditioning

Existing models of operant learning are relatively insensitive to historical properties of behavior and applicable to only limited data sets. This article proposes a minimal set of principles based on short-term and long-term memory mechanisms that can explain the major static and dynamic properties of operant behavior in both single-choice and multiresponse situations. The critical features of the theory are as follows: (a) The key property of conditioning is assessment of the degree of association between responses and reinforcement and between stimuli and reinforcement; (b) the contingent reinforcement is represented by learning expectancy, which is the combined prediction of response-reinforcement and stimulus-reinforcement associations; (c) the operant response is controlled by the interplay between facilitatory and suppressive variables that integrate differences between expected (long-term) and experienced (short-term) events; and (d) very-long-term effects are encoded by a consolidated memory that is sensitive to the entire reinforcement history. The model predicts the major qualitative features of operant phenomena and then suggests an experimental test of theoretical predictions about the joint effects of reinforcement probability and amount of training on operant choice. We hypothesize that the set of elementary principles that we propose may help resolve the long-standing debate about the fundamental variables controlling operant conditioning.     

The operant and the classical in conditioned orientation of Drosophila melanogaster at the flight simulator

Ever since learning and memory have been studied experimentally, the relationship between operant and classical conditioning has been controversial. Operant conditioning is any form of conditioning that essentially depends on the animal's behavior. It relies on operant behavior. A motor output is called operant if it controls a sensory variable. The Drosophila flight simulator, in which the relevant behavior is a single motor variable (yaw torque), fully separates the operant and classical components of a complex conditioning task. In this paradigm a tethered fly learns, operantly or classically, to prefer and avoid certain flight orientations in relation to the surrounding panorama. Yaw torque is recorded and, in the operant mode, controls the panorama. Using a yoked control, we show that classical pattern learning necessitates more extensive training than operant pattern learning. We compare in detail the microstructure of yaw torque after classical and operant training but find no evidence for acquired behavioral traits after operant conditioning that might explain this difference. We therefore conclude that the operant behavior has a facilitating effect on the classical training. In addition, we show that an operantly learned stimulus is successfully transferred from the behavior of the training to a different behavior. This result unequivocally demonstrates that during operant conditioning classical associations can be formed.     

Self-injurious behavior: shaping "head banging" in monkeys

Head-banging, a common phenomenon among the mentally retarded, was shaped, brought under stimulus control, extinguished, and re-established in two monkeys through reinforcement and discrimination procedures of operant conditioning. The behavior was stable and led to lacerations, a condition that qualifies head-banging as self-injurious. The principles of the analysis of behavior used here may well be of value in the etiology and treatment of some human head-banging.     

A Primer of Covert Sensitization

Covert sensitization is the first of a family of behavior therapy procedures called covert conditioning initially developed by Joseph Cautela in the 1960s and 1970s. The covert conditioning procedures involve the use of visualized imagery and are designed to work according to operant conditioning principles. When working with cooperative clients to treat maladaptive approach behaviors, covert sensitization has been found to be a humane and effective alternative to in vivo aversion therapy procedures that employ aversive stimuli such as chemicals and electric shock. This primer describes covert sensitization, provides examples and notes representative research. Guidelines for use and suggestions for further readings are also included.     

Operant techniques used in stuttering therapy: A review

This article reviews research concerning the use of operant conditioning in stuttering therapy, and discusses the clinical implications of this literature. In order to be considered for this review, a report had to treat the findings of research specifically designed to use operant conditioning in the manipulation of speech disfluency. This body of experimental literature clearly indicates that operant management techniques can effectively reduce stuttering with punishment of disfluencies producing more notable results than reinforcement of fluent responses. Operant conditioning is an effective means of modifying stuttering behavior and should be more visible in terms of procedures used by speech therapists.     

Procedure for operant conditioning of the dog

Most reports arising from operant conditioning procedures have little or no emphasis on the actual behavior shaping or acquisition phase of the responses which are the cumulative frequency of the well-practiced act. There is a need for more detail for beginners or those desiring a clearer understanding of procedures leading to the finally reported data. The procedure reported here is typically used to compare animal subjects or conditions, such as drugs, both in the acquisition and final phases of behavior. Beginning with an unconditional response (e.g. feeding) a bridging stimulus is paired in classical conditioning fashion. From that point on the bridging stimulus and UCS (feeding—or shock) are used immediately as reward or reinforcement only for responses “in the direction of the final desired behavior. The number of timed standardized behavior shaping sessions to criterion is the best index of acquisition phase performance and the total number bar presses or the rate of bar pressing (slope) is the usual index of operant responding. With timid animals it is often necessary to administer tranquilizers.     

Behavior analysts in the war on poverty: A review of the use of financial incentives to promote education and employment

Poverty is a pervasive risk factor underlying poor health. Many interventions that have sought to reduce health disparities associated with poverty have focused on improving health‐related behaviors of low‐income adults. Poverty itself could be targeted to improve health, but this approach would require programs that can consistently move poor individuals out of poverty. Governments and other organizations in the United States have tested a diverse range of antipoverty programs, generally on a large scale and in conjunction with welfare reform initiatives. This paper reviews antipoverty programs that used financial incentives to promote education and employment among welfare recipients and other low‐income adults. The incentive‐based, antipoverty programs had small or no effects on the target behaviors; they were implemented on large scales from the outset, without systematic development and evaluation of their components; and they did not apply principles of operant conditioning that have been shown to determine the effectiveness of incentive or reinforcement interventions. By applying basic principles of operant conditioning, behavior analysts could help address poverty and improve health through development of effective antipoverty programs. This paper describes a potential framework for a behavior‐analytic antipoverty program, with the goal of illustrating that behavior analysts could be uniquely suited to make substantial contributions to the war on poverty.     

Elicited versus emitted behavior: Time to abandon the distinction

The concept of emitted behavior was formulated as a part of the original argument for the validity of a new kind of learning called operant conditioning. The rationale for operant conditioning contrasted it with Pavlovian or classical conditioning, which was (and remains) fundamentally based on responses to conditioned and unconditioned stimuli. Classical conditioned responses were said to be elicited. In contrast, operant behavior was viewed as emitted and controlled primarily by response consequences rather than antecedents. I argue that the distinction between emitted and elicited behavior is no longer warranted for three major reasons. First, the distinction was based on a view of Pavlovian conditioning that is no longer viable. Second, the distinction is incompatible with both empirical data and contemporary conceptualizations of operant behavior. Third, the only way to overcome these problems is to define emitted and elicited in terms of the type of conditioning (operant and classical) that produces these behaviors, but that approach makes the definitions circular and does not avoid implications of the terms that are misleading and counterproductive in light of contemporary research and thinking.     

Imagaletics: The application of covert conditioning to athletic performance

Abstract

Imagaletics is the application of covert conditioning to athletic performance. Covert conditioning is a procedure based on operant conditioning and involves the manipulation of imagery. In employing covert conditioning, the individual is asked to imagine the target behavior and then imagine specific consequences to modify that behavior. The assumptions of covert conditioning are presented and the procedures are described with applications to athletic performance.     

Toward an explicit analysis of generalization: A stimulus control interpretation

Producing generality of treatment effects to new settings has been a critical concern for applied behavior analysts, but a systematic and reliable means of producing generality has yet to be provided. We argue that the principles of stimulus control and reinforcement underlie the production of most generalized effects; therefore, we suggest interpreting generalization programming in terms of stimulus control. The generalization programming procedures identified by Stokes and Baer (1977) are discussed in terms of both the stimulus control tactics explicitly identified and those that may be operating but are not explicitly identified. Our interpretation clarifies the critical components of Stokes and Baer's procedures and places greater emphasis on planning for generalization as a part of training procedures.     

Effects of reinforcement schedule on facilitation of operant extinction by chlordiazepoxide

Learning and memory are central topics in behavioral neuroscience, and inbred mice strains are widely investigated. However, operant conditioning techniques are not as extensively used in this field as they should be, given the effectiveness of the methodology of the experimental analysis of behavior. In the present study, male C57B1/6 mice, widely used as background for transgenic studies, were trained to lever press on discrete-trial fixed-ratio 5 or fixed-interval (11 s or 31 s) schedules of food reinforcement and then exposed to 15 extinction sessions following vehicle or chlordiazepoxide injections (15 mg/kg i.p., administered either prior to all extinction sessions, or prior to the final 10 extinction sessions). Extinction of operant behavior was facilitated by drug administration following training on either schedule, but this facilitation only occurred once a number of extinction sessions had taken place. The extinction process proceeded more rapidly following fixed-interval training. Resistance to extinction was equally high following training with either schedule type, and was reduced by drug administration in both cases. These phenomena were evident in individual cumulative records and in analyses of group data. Results are interpreted in terms of phenomena of operant extinction identified in Skinner's (1938) Behavior of Organisms, and by behavioral momentum theory. These procedures could be used to extend the contribution of operant conditioning to contemporary behavioral neuroscience.     

REVIEW OF THE BOOK SNIFFY THE VIRTUAL RAT PRO VERSION 2.0

Sniffy the Virtual Rat Pro Version 2.0 is the most recent update to the Sniffy the Rat program modules. It has an extensive set of simulations related to Pavlovian and operant conditioning. Many of the standard conditioning paradigms and phenomena are contained within this program. Pavlovian effects such as blocking, overshadowing, and stimulus competition are demonstrated in the data output. Operant manipulations allow shaping the behavior of the virtual rat, observing cumulative records of interval and ratio schedules, as well as conducting operant discrimination procedures. In both Pavlovian and operant paradigms, one can generate histograms that predict the degree to which various stimuli control the virtual rat's behavior. On‐screen presentations may keep most users interested, but working with the generated data files sometimes can prove difficult. Overall, this program has a strong potential for facilitating the instruction in undergraduate conditioning courses, serving as an addendum to traditional undergraduate conditioning laboratories and as a supplement to the use of live animals.     

Connectionist models of conditioning: A tutorial

Models containing networks of neuron-like units have become increasingly prominent in the study of both cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence. This article describes the basic features of connectionist models and provides an illustrative application to compound-stimulus effects in respondent conditioning. Connectionist models designed specifically for operant conditioning are not yet widely available, but some current learning algorithms for machine learning indicate that such models are feasible. Conversely, designers for machine learning appear to have recognized the value of behavioral principles in producing adaptive behavior in their creations.     

Operant modulation of low-level attributes of rule-governed behavior by nonverbal contingencies

A low-level and nonsalient attribute of behavior (i.e., speed of pressing) was subjected to differential nonverbal operant reinforcement when rules governed a high-level attribute of that behavior (i.e., counting by means of key presses). Unknown to the subjects, reinforcers depended on reduced (slow group) or increased (fast group) speed of pressing rather than on the correct number of presses. The reinforced attribute was modulated according to the arranged speed contingencies independently of the instructed task and independently of subjects' awareness of the critical contingency. A control group receiving random reinforcers demonstrated no systematic speed changes. Possible mechanisms related to behavior changes of this type were examined and discussed, and it was concluded that the behavior changes observed in this situation could be attributed to operant conditioning. The results substantiate the assumption that nonverbal operant contingencies may modulate low-level and nonsalient attributes of rule-governed behavior.     

Behavior analysis and revaluation

Revaluation refers to phenomena in which the strength of an operant is altered by reinforcer-related manipulations that take place outside the conditioning situation in which the operant was selected. As an example, if lever pressing is acquired using food as a reinforcer and food is later paired with an aversive stimulus, the frequency of lever pressing decreases when subsequently tested. Associationist psychology infers from such findings that conditioning produces a response-outcome (i.e., reinforcer) association and that the operant decreased in strength because pairing the reinforcer with the aversive stimulus changed the value of the outcome. Here, we present an approach to the interpretation of these and related findings that employs neural network simulations grounded in the experimental analysis of behavior and neuroscience. In so doing, we address some general issues regarding the relations among behavior analysis, neuroscience, and associationism.     

Defining reinforcess — A problem in communication for consultation in behavior modification

This paper reviews the respondent (Hull-Spence) and operant (Skinnerian) conditioning definitions of reinforcers and reinforcement and demonstrates the need to keep the systems separate when consulting about behavior modification. The two systems are shown to lead to different modification procedures.One important distinction between the systems is whether a reinforcer is simply associated with a response (respondent) or whether it must follow the response (operant). A second important distinction is the definition of negative reinforcement. In respondent conditioning, negative reinforcement entails presenting an aversive stimulus in association with the response and results in a decrease in response rate. In operant conditioning, negative reinforcement entails the removal of an aversive stimulus following a correct response, which results in an increase in response rate.     

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY: THE CASE OF BEHAVIOR THERAPY

Behavior therapy is the outstanding example of the beneficial influence of experimental research on clinical practice. Initial applications of laboratory research to clinical disorders consisted primarily of the principles and procedures of operant and classical conditioning. The development and evaluation of the token economy and biofeedback methods are used to illustrate the contribution of operant conditioning, whereas the derivation and efficacy of exposure-based treatments for phobic and obsessive-compulsive disorders exemplify the utility of classical and avoidance conditioning concepts. As behavior therapy has matured and grown more clinically sophisticated, its theoretical and research bases have broadened to include areas such as vicarious learning and self-regulatory processes. Most recently, concepts from modern cognitive and social psychology (e.g., information processing, attribution theory) have begun to guide clinical applications. In turn, different therapeutic approaches have influenced the nature of laboratory research in some areas. Nonetheless, a gap still exists between experimental research and clinical practice. The solution to this perennial problem is not to make scientists of practitioners, but to recognize the unique contributions of basic researchers, clinical investigators, and practitioners, within a consistent framework that specifies the complex interrelationships among the different levels of analysis along the continuum of basic research to clinical practice. Such a framework is sketched-out together with some comments on the reasons for relative paucity of controlled clinical research in the U.S.A. and suggestions for bringing the influence of research findings to bear on practice.     

A Primer on Functional Analysis

This article presents principles and basic steps for practitioners to complete a functional analysis of client behavior. The emphasis is on application of functional analysis to adult mental health clients. The article includes a detailed flow chart containing all major functional diagnoses and behavioral interventions, with functional assessment questions directing the reader through the chart. The model presented incorporates both operant and classical conditioning and a strategy for selecting target behaviors consistent with behavioral principles. Finally, the article describes the continuing role of functional analysis in effective behavioral intervention and its potential advantages over other forms of assessment in contemporary cognitive-behavioral therapy.