Changing Behavior Case Study Analysis
Changing Behavior Case Study Analysis
Baker College – PSY111 Seminar 3
Changing Behavior Case Study Analysis
A client approached me because he has a serious problem with procrastination. My client has procrastinated most activities that were not comfortable or enjoyable for as far back as he can remember. Procrastinated activities include but are not limited to paying bills, doing homework assignments, making progress on assigned projects in the office, buying presents for birthdays or holidays and scheduling just about anything. Due to this undesirable behavior my client has lost a few jobs, failed out of school and is behind on his mortgage. Of all of these activities my client would like assistance with procrastination as it relates to paying bills since that seems to be the most pressing issue. It should be noted that the procrastination has increased in frequency since childhood. My client blames this behavior for the extraordinary amount of stress in his life.
Classical Conditioning:
Classical Conditioning could be a source of my client’s procrastination. In classical conditioning an unconditioned stimulus is observed to create an unconditioned response. If a conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus then eventually the conditioned stimulus will also evoke the same response as the unconditioned stimulus. The response to a conditioned stimulus is called a conditioned response. (Morris, C., & Maisto, 2013)
In my client’s case the unconditioned stimulus was paying bills with the family as a child. Money was tight in his family and the lack of money caused many arguments. The arguments resulted in very stressful situations that my client wanted to avoid. To put this in terms of classical conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus was the lack of money. The unconditioned response was an argument that caused stress that my client tried to avoid. Since the arguments over money happened primarily when it was time to pay bills the
Baker College – PSY111 Seminar 3
Changing Behavior Case Study Analysis
A client approached me because he has a serious problem with procrastination. My client has procrastinated most activities that were not comfortable or enjoyable for as far back as he can remember. Procrastinated activities include but are not limited to paying bills, doing homework assignments, making progress on assigned projects in the office, buying presents for birthdays or holidays and scheduling just about anything. Due to this undesirable behavior my client has lost a few jobs, failed out of school and is behind on his mortgage. Of all of these activities my client would like assistance with procrastination as it relates to paying bills since that seems to be the most pressing issue. It should be noted that the procrastination has increased in frequency since childhood. My client blames this behavior for the extraordinary amount of stress in his life.
Classical Conditioning:
Classical Conditioning could be a source of my client’s procrastination. In classical conditioning an unconditioned stimulus is observed to create an unconditioned response. If a conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus then eventually the conditioned stimulus will also evoke the same response as the unconditioned stimulus. The response to a conditioned stimulus is called a conditioned response. (Morris, C., & Maisto, 2013)
In my client’s case the unconditioned stimulus was paying bills with the family as a child. Money was tight in his family and the lack of money caused many arguments. The arguments resulted in very stressful situations that my client wanted to avoid. To put this in terms of classical conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus was the lack of money. The unconditioned response was an argument that caused stress that my client tried to avoid. Since the arguments over money happened primarily when it was time to pay bills the
References: Morris, C., & Maisto, A. (2013). Understanding psychology (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.