Behavior therapy

Behavior therapy is a psychological treatment that applies learning principles to change observable behavior and the conditions that maintain it.

Classical conditioning: A learning process in which a stimulus comes to elicit a response after being paired with another stimulus. Exposure methods use new learning to weaken fear responses linked to previously threatening cues.
Applied behavior analysis: The systematic application of behavioral principles to improve socially significant behavior. It extends behavior therapy into structured assessment and intervention, often in educational settings.
John B. Watson: An American psychologist who helped establish behaviorism as a movement in psychology. His emphasis on observable behavior helped shape the intellectual basis for behavioral treatment.
Cognitive therapy: A psychological treatment that targets maladaptive patterns of thought and interpretation. It focuses more directly on thoughts, while behavior therapy targets actions and learning conditions.
Operant conditioning: A learning process in which consequences alter the future likelihood of a behavior. Reinforcement and response costs change the consequences maintaining a target behavior.
Habit reversal training: A behavioral treatment that teaches awareness and competing responses for repetitive habits. It targets behaviors such as tics or hair pulling through practice and environmental adjustment.
Ivan Pavlov: A Russian physiologist whose experiments established key features of classical conditioning. His conditioning research supplied a model for learned emotional responses and their modification.
Cognitive behavioral therapy: A psychological treatment that combines cognitive strategies with behavioral techniques. It integrates behavior change with deliberate work on beliefs and interpretations.
Exposure therapy: A treatment that repeatedly and safely confronts feared cues to reduce avoidance and distress. It applies behavioral learning principles to persistent fear and avoidance.
Parent management training: A treatment that teaches caregivers behavioral strategies for managing children's conduct problems. It changes family interaction patterns that can reinforce disruptive behavior.

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