Covert conditioning is an approach to mental health treatment that uses the principles of
applied behavior analysis
Applied behavior analysis (ABA), also called behavioral engineering, is a psychological intervention that applies empirical approaches based upon the principles of respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior of social significance. ...
, or
cognitive-behavior therapies (CBTs) to assist people in making improvements in their behavior or inner experience. The method relies on the person's capacity to use
image
An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
ry for purposes such as mental rehearsal. In some populations, it has been found that an imaginary reward can be as effective as a real one.
Effective covert conditioning is said to rely upon careful application of behavioral treatment principles such as a thorough behavioral analysis.
Some clinicians include the mind's ability to spontaneously generate imagery that can provide intuitive solutions or even reprocessing that improves people's typical reactions to situations or inner material. However, this goes beyond the behavioristic principles on which covert conditioning is based.
Therapies and self-help methods have aspects of covert conditioning. This can be seen in focusing, some
neuro-linguistic programming
Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a pseudoscientific approach to communication, personal development and psychotherapy, that first appeared in Richard Bandler and John Grinder's 1975 book ''The Structure of Magic I''. NLP claims that th ...
methods such as future pacing, and various visualization or imaginal processes used in
behavior therapies, such as CBTs or
clinical behavior analysis Clinical Behavior Analysis is one of several ABA subspecialty fact sheets produced by the BACB in partnership with subject matter experts (SMEs).
Clinical behavior analysis (CBA; also called clinical behaviour analysis or third-generation behavior ...
.
Covert conditioning does not have a solid base of research, according to a book from 1993.
Therapeutic interventions
"
Systematic desensitization
Systematic desensitization, or graduated exposure therapy, is a behavior therapy developed by the psychiatrist Joseph Wolpe. It is used when a phobia or anxiety disorder is maintained by classical conditioning. It shares the same elements of both c ...
" associates an aversive
stimulus
A stimulus is something that causes a physiological response. It may refer to:
*Stimulation
**Stimulus (physiology), something external that influences an activity
**Stimulus (psychology), a concept in behaviorism and perception
*Stimulus (economi ...
with a behavior the client wishes to reduce or eliminate. This is done by imagining the target behavior followed by imagining an aversive consequence. "Covert extinction" attempts to reduce a behavior by imagining the target behavior while imagining that the reinforcer does not occur. "Covert response cost" attempts to reduce a behavior by associating the loss of a reinforcer with the target behavior that is to be decreased.
"Contact desensitization" is intended to increase a behavior by imagining a reinforcing experience in connection with
modeling
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
the correct behavior. "Covert
negative reinforcement
In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...
" attempts to increase a behavior by connecting the termination of an aversive stimulus with increased production of a target behavior.
"
Dialectical behavior therapy" (DBT) and "
Acceptance and commitment therapy
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT, typically pronounced as the word "act") is a form of psychotherapy, as well as a branch of clinical behavior analysis. It is an empirically based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfu ...
" (ACT) uses positive reinforcement and covert conditioning through
mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...
. Although the therapies are quite similar in theory and practice, DBT is based on the cognitive psychology philosophy that thoughts and feelings are explanations of motor behavior, whereas ACT—rooted in behavior analysis—views thinking and feelings as more behavior to be explained.
Effectiveness
Previous research in the early 1990s has shown covert conditioning to be effective with sex offenders as part of a
behavior modification
Behavior modification is an early approach that used respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior. Based on methodological behaviorism, overt behavior was modified with consequences, including positive and negative reinforcement continge ...
treatment package. Clinical studies continue to find it effective with some generalization from office to natural environment with this population.
See also
*
Covert hypnosis
Covert hypnosis is an attempt to communicate with another person's unconscious mind without informing the subject that they will be hypnotized. It is also known as conversational hypnosis or sleight of mouth. It is a term largely used by proponent ...
Notes
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References
* Cautela, Joseph R and Kearney, Albert J. (1990) "Behavior analysis, cognitive therapy, and covert conditioning", ''Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry'', 21 (2), pp. 83–90.
Behaviorism