Name of the Strategy or Intervention
Operant Conditioning in Couple and Family Therapy
Introduction
In couple and family therapy (C&FT), the principles of operant conditioning are used as a lens to understand the development of dysfunctional patterns of interaction and subsequently leveraged to encourage behavior change designed to increase positive and decrease negative interactions, thus leading to improved relationship functioning.
Theoretical Framework
Operant conditioning is a process in which the probability of a behavior recurring is directly linked to the outcome of that behavior (Skinner 1966). Individuals are more likely to increase behaviors that have been linked to favorable outcomes and to decrease behaviors that lead to outcomes the individual does not wish to repeat.
Rationale for the Strategy or Intervention
Although the goal of operant conditioning-based interventions is a change in behavior, it is necessary to also consider what occurred before the behavior, the...
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References
Baucom, D. H., Epstein, N. B., Kirby, J. S., & LaTaillade, J. J. (2010). Cognitive behavioral couple therapy. In Handbook of cognitive-behavioral therapies. p. 411.
Christensen, A., Atkins, D. C., Berns, S., Wheeler, J., Baucom, D. H., & Simpson, L. E. (2004). Traditional versus integrative behavioral couple therapy for significantly and chronically distressed married couples. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(2), 176.
Epstein, N. B., & Baucom, D. H. (2010). Enhanced cognitive-behavioral therapy for couples: A contextual approach. Washington, DC. American Psychological Association.
Jacobson, N. S., & Margolin, G. (1979). Marital therapy: Strategies based on social learning and behavior exchange principles. Psychology Press New York, NY .
Skinner, B. F. (1966). The phylogeny and ontogeny of behavior. Science, 153(3741), 1205–1213.
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Hogan, J.N., Baucom, B.R.W. (2019). Operant Conditioning in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_48
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_48
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