From the 70s to the present, there has been a fundamental change in the use of cognitive-behavioral techniques. Greater importance is now given to the environmental influences and cognitive processes that are embedded in the stimulus-response sequence and it is widely recognized that, therefore, there are mediating variables that contribute to producing and modifying behavioral responses, including mental images.
Historically, the use of mental imagery begins with systematic desensitization, an elaborate technique to reduce states of anxiety and fear through guided exposure to anxiety-producing and phobic stimuli. Later, other authors such as Joseph Cautela (1969) began to use the principles of operational conditioning in reference to events that are not directly observable. In this Psychology-Online article we will discover together What is covert conditioning, its application techniques and examples about it.
What is covert conditioning
The cognitive-behavioral approach, contrary to what misleading and outdated clichés claim, does not refer to techniques that exclusively use observable behavioral indices. For some decades now, it can boast very sophisticated interventions that involve both measurable psychophysiological indices and covert responses and variables. These last can only be detected indirectly through introspective reports provided by test subjects or by observable responses after the intervention carried out.
So what is covert modeling? Covert conditioning is an approach to mental health treatment that uses the principles of applied behavior analysis to help people improve their behavior or inner experience. The method is based on the ability of the person to use the images for purposes like “mental tests.” For example, a patient is trained to imagine a series of reinforcing situations, or a type of stimulus, that are evoked by stressful stimuli.
Discover other behavioral processes such as and .
Covert Conditioning Techniques
Covert conditioning is practiced using the following techniques:
- Systematic desensitization– Associates an adverse stimulus with a behavior that the client wants to reduce or eliminate. This is done by imagining the target behavior followed by imagining a negative consequence. “Secret extinction” attempts to reduce behavior by imagining the target behavior while imagining that reinforcement does not occur. The “hidden cost of the response” attempts to reduce the behavior by associating it with the loss of reinforcement that must be reduced.
- Contact desensitization: Its goal is to increase a behavior by imagining a reinforcing experience in relation to it. Hidden negative reinforcement attempts to increase a behavior by linking the end of an adverse stimulus with increased production of a target behavior.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: They use positive reinforcement and hidden conditioning through awareness. Although the therapies are quite similar in theory and practice, the former is based on the philosophy of , according to which thoughts and feelings are explanations of motor behavior, while the latter, rooted in behavioral analysis, sees thinking and feelings as more behaviors to explain.
Examples of covert conditioning
The patient undergoing covert conditioning treatment can expect a fairly standard series of procedures. Let’s look at examples of covert conditioning and what the different phases of this procedure are:
- The therapist begins by assessing the problem behavior: will most likely measure the frequency, severity, and environment in which it manifests. Depending on the type of behavior to be modified, some therapists may also take treatment measures before, during, and after physiological arousal, such as heart rate, to better assess the impact of the treatment.
- The therapist will explain the logic and protocol of the treatment: The patient’s understanding and consent are important as they will deliberately be asked to experience images that elicit unpleasant and uncomfortable physical and psychological associations.
- Therapist and patient collaborate to create a list of negative images: only significant for the patient that will be applied in the treatment. Standard aversion images include vomiting, snakes, spiders, parasites, and embarrassing social consequences. Next, an adversarial image appropriate to the behavior of the target problem is selected. The patient is asked to relax and imagine approaching the situation in which the unwanted behavior occurs, for example, buying donuts before eating too much.
- The image can be presented verbally by the therapist: This is done if the patient has difficulty imagining the scene. As the patient imagines approaching the situation, in this case the donut shop, he is asked to clearly imagine an unpleasant consequence, such as vomiting, just before indulging in the unwanted behavior. The scene must be imagined with enough vitality that a feeling of physiological discomfort or high anxiety is actually experienced. So the patient imagines leaving the situation and feeling great relief.
With this procedure the patient learns to associate unpleasant sensations, such as nausea and vomiting, with the unwanted behavior, leading to a decrease in desire and avoidance of the situation in the future. An alternative behavior incompatible with the problem behavior in question may be recommended. In this article, you will find more information about .
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Encyclopedia.com (2018). Covert Sensitization. Retrieved from: https://www.encyclopedia.com/medicine/psychology/psychology-and-psychiatry/covert-sensitization
- Giannantonio, M. (2019). Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. Retrieved from: http://www.psicotraumatologia.com/psicoterapia_cognitivo_comportamentale_desensibilizzazione_covert.htm
- Giusti, E. (2007). Immaginative technique. The interior theater in the relationship of children. Rome: Sovera Editore.
- Giusti, E., Montanari, C. (2004). Psychological treatments in emergency with EMDR for profughi, rifugiati and vittime di trauma. Rome: Sovera Editore.