behavior modification

Definitions of behavior modification

1. noun

   psychotherapy that seeks to extinguish or inhibit abnormal or maladaptive behavior by reinforcing desired behavior and extinguishing undesired behavior
   synonyms: behavior therapy

   types:

   assertiveness training

   a method of psychotherapy that reinforces you for stating negative and positive feelings directly

   aversion therapy

   any technique of behavior modification that uses unpleasant stimuli in a controlled fashion to alter behavior in a therapeutic way; primarily used for alcoholism or drug abuse (but with little success)

   desensitisation procedure, desensitisation technique, desensitization procedure, desensitization technique, systematic desensitisation, systematic desensitization

   a technique used in behavior therapy to treat phobias and other behavior problems involving anxiety; client is exposed to the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the anxiety reaction is extinguished

   flooding, implosion therapy

   a technique used in behavior therapy; client is flooded with experiences of a particular kind until becoming either averse to them or numbed to them

   reciprocal inhibition, reciprocal-inhibition therapy

   a method of behavior therapy based on the inhibition of one response by the occurrence of another response that is mutually incompatible with it; a relaxation response might be conditioned to a stimulus that previously evoked anxiety

   token economy

   a form of behavior therapy that has been used in some mental institutions; patients are rewarded with tokens for appropriate behavior and the tokens may be cashed in for valued rewards

   exposure therapy

   a form of behavior therapy in which a survivor confronts feelings or phobias or anxieties about a traumatic event and relives it in the therapy situation

   type of:

   psychotherapy

   the treatment of mental or emotional problems by psychological means