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CHALLENGE ACTIVITIES |
| CHALLENGE QUESTIONS |
| After you have mastered the basic concepts from this chapter, you might want to try some of these challenge activities, designed to help you better understand and apply what you have learned to your daily life. |
IDENTIFICATION |
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1. Make a list of the therapies discussed in this chapter and write a brief description of the major characteristics of each one. 2. List twenty glossary items for the chapter and write a brief definition for each item. |
APPLICATION |
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3. Select a behavior that you would like to modify in yourself and design a reinforcement therapy schedule to alter it. Choose an undesirable behavior such as shyness, biting your nails, snacking too much, or some other nervous habit. Identify a desired substitute behavior. Record your baseline, or normal frequency of showing the behavior. Then decide on a reinforcer you find applicable. Reward yourself each time you show the desired behavior and withhold reinforcement when you show the undesired behavior. Record the results. How difficult is it to apply behavior therapy to your own behavior? Why? 4. Develop a new therapy to treat mental disorders. In order to do this, you first need to decide which theory of the causes of abnormal behavior you accept. Then you need to decide on a goal (what will your patients need to do to be successful?). Then list the steps of your therapy. Feel free to borrow from existing therapies, but try to be creative. 5. Try to visit a local counseling center and talk to a therapist about how he or she treats patients. Perhaps your instructor will arrange a class trip. |
EVALUATION |
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6. Why is evaluation of therapies so difficult? Develop a procedure to evaluate the various therapies. What variables would you compare? What would you need to measure? 7. Which therapy is the most appropriate to use the majority of the time? Why? 8. Why is the area of therapy so important in the study of psychology? |
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