Developmental psychology.pdf

470 Integration of Behavior
"There was a small house on
the park grounds where I worked
last summer in which we stored
games and sporting equipment
overnight. This place was off limits
to the general park population.
Ricky, who was six years old,
knew the shed was restricted;
consequently it held a tremendous
attraction for him. He did everything
imaginable to get into this shed. His
tactics included feigning
"sunstroke," telling us that he had
been hired by the Park Department
and therefore had legal access to
the shed, claiming that his dad had
bought the house the previous
night, and telling us that he had to
escape from "communists" who
were chasing him.
Finally, in exasperation, we
decided to try what we called
"reverse psychology." We
approached Ricky and told him that
we were in need of someone to sit
in the shed during the day to keep
an eye on things, and would he
please do it for us? He very
enthusiastically accepted. He
arrived at 9:00 sharp the next
morning and took his post. He
spent his first day on the job
exploring the place to his
satisfaction. The next day, however,
he could be seen at the window
watching the other kids play from
time to time. Each day he returned
somewhat less enthusiastically until
at last he asked if he could quit.
After a little hesitation (for his
benefit) we agreed. He didn't even
come near the shed for the
remainder of the summer.
Figure 17.11
Modeling as a Therapeutic Device.
Deliberately or inadvertently, people
learn by observing influential others
To the extent that this behavior
assists someone in overcoming
problems, we can speak of modeling
as therapeutic.
An infant less than one year old had been unable to maintain food in its stomach
in spite of several therapeutic measures. The baby always vomited within ten minutes
after eating, and medical investigations revealed no organic basis for the problem.
The infant's health was in jeopardy, and there was no indication that the difficulty
would disappear spontaneously. The medical staff therefore decided to try behavior
modification techniques. The infant was given a one-second electric shock on the legs
as soon as vomiting commenced, and it was repeated at one-second intervals during
the vomiting. After the second treatment session, the electric shock was rarely required,
and after the fifth session, this behavior disappeared. The infant then gained
weight regularly and showed an increased interest in its surroundings (Lang & Melamed,
1969).
A milder form of punishment involves satiation, in which the individual is
given a certain object or event in such excess that it becomes aversive. A patient in a
mental hospital, for example, always kept 20 or so towels in her room even though the
staff continually recovered the supply, and thus satiation was introduced. During the
first week the patient was given seven towels daily, and as the nurse entered the room
carrying a towel, the patient would say, "Oh, you found it for me, thank you." In the
second week, after the number of towels had been increased markedly, she told the
nurses, "Don't give me no more towels. I've got enough." In the third week, when she
was given 60 towels daily, the patient said, "Take them towels away ... I can't sit
here all night and fold towels."
In the sixth week, after she started taking towels out of her room, she exclaimed,
"I can't drag any more of these towels, I just can't do it." These successive
remarks indicate that the initial effect of the towels was reinforcing, but as they increased
in number they became aversive. Eventually, the average number of towels in
her room declined to 1.5 and this level was maintained for the next 12 months (Allyon,
1963).*
Combined Approaches In the classical conditioning therapies we noted that the
most effective method often involves suppression of undesirable reactions while supporting
desirable ones, and this same condition holds true for the operant methods.
Reward for correct responses and punishment for incorrect responses may produce the
most significant result. Moreover, both classical and operant procedures can be used
together. People can be trained to certain attitudes and emotional reactions through
classical conditioning, such as an aversion to smoking. Then operant methods can be
used for inducing incompatible habits, such as swimming and rowing, during which
smoking is difficult or impossible.
In addition, the process of modeling can be included, especially with children.
The basic concept here is that a great deal of learning takes place on a social basis,
through observing what others do and the consequences of that behavior. The therapist
demonstrates the correct response, and the patient attempts to reproduce it. This procedure
is helpful in dealing with problems of social relations, emotional reactions, complex
motor skills, and even sexual behavior. It is also useful in overcoming phobias and
developing increased identity in a child (Mullare & Fernald, 1.971; Roberts, Wurtele,
Boone, Ginther, & Elkins, 1981). In addition, it is widely employed in assertiveness
training, in which the aim is to assist individuals in expressing their views and receiving
equitable treatment from others. Overall, modeling has been effective partly because
it is simple and easy for the subject and partly because it can be so readily combined
with other approaches (Figure 17.11).
The ultimate aim in all operant methods is to place the individual on a selfreinforcement
schedule, in which the person administers his or her own rewards and
punishment. This goal is not always achieved, however. Token economies may be successful
in an institutional context, but they are not so readily maintained in a more
open setting, where various distractions occur.