Behaviorism: Developing And Token Economy

This Piece of work will discuss behavioural techniques such as flooding, systematic desensitisation, aversion therapy, behaviour shaping and token economy. Behaviourists believe that behaviour is learnt and therefore can be unlearnt (Gross, 1996). Behaviourism is mainly concerned with observable behaviour, as opposed to inner events like thinking and emotions (Mcleod, 2007). Behavioural therapists focused on using the same learning approaches that led to the development of the undesirable behaviours, as well as new behaviours. The behaviour itself is the problem, and the aim is to teach new behaviours to minimise or eradicate the issue. Old learning led to the development of a problem, and so the idea is that new learning can fix the problem
This therapy is commonly used with people who have alcohol problems, the clients would be asked to smell or sip alcohol and as a result electric shock was administered (Joseph, 2010). Similarly a tablet can be taken and if the client was to drink any alcohol this would make them start violently vomiting. This step is repeated and overtime the association of between drinking and vomiting would eventually deter the client to drink. The same could be carried out for someone who wished to stop smoking. Aversion therapy has been at many ethical objections and the results are not very strong as many relapse and depends on if the client can avoid the stimulus for a period of time also. More controversially, in the 1960 aversion therapy was used to ‘cure’ homosexuality, whereby a specific stimulus was produced and the patient would be electrocuted if they became aroused (Rice, et al., 2000). One instance was a young boy locked in a room containing just a bed, was given piles of erotic photographs of men. He was given a drug with made him violently sick and left for three days where not only was his room full of vomit but faeces and urine and was told how revolting homosexuality is; this young boy said those three
A study by Ayllon and Azrin in 1968, observed problems at mealtimes on a chronic psychotic ward (Joseph, 2010). They soon noted that the problem was the reinforcement provided by the staff to those patients’ causing the issues. Those that had problems at mealtimes seemed to gain the attention of the staff. Ayllon and Arizn theorised that those who had gain social attention from the staff maintained their maladaptive behaviour and seen the attention as a reward (Hill, 1998). So Allyon and Azrin introduction a token system, they would be given out to those without problems at mealtimes, thus reinforcing appropriate behaviour. After a few days those with maladaptive disruptive behaviour soon adapted positive and appropriate behaviour. The tokens were soon given out for more socially appropriate behaviours like doing washing and tiding their rooms. The token could be exchanged for positive rewards and privileges such as days out (Joseph, 2010). This therapy was seen to produce a positive outcome when faced with undesirable behaviour within institutions and has been beneficial therapy which is used in the classrooms and many home, such as a reward chart where a child is rewarded for appropriate behaviour. The advantages of token economy are that desirable behaviour can be rewarded immediately which compels the individual to feel a sense of achievement and therefore the