Question

Behavior therapists often use ________ techniques such as systematic desensitization and aversive conditioning to encourage clients to produce new responses to old stimuli.

Answer 1

The answer is counter conditioning techniques or also called stimulus substitution. It is a form of respondent conditioning that entails the conditioning of an unnecessary behavior or reaction to a stimulus into a required behavior or response by the connection of positive actions with the stimulus. It is a general treatment for aggression, fears, and phobias. The use of counter conditioning is broadly used for cure in humans as well as animals. The most familiar goal is to reduce or increase the want or longing to the stimulus. One of the most extensively used kinds of counter conditioning is systematic desensitization. This method employs muscle relaxation as a substitute for food as the positive counter stimulus. The main objective in this treatment is to reduce fear to a convinced feared stimulus.