Covert conditioning

<h2 id="therapeutic-interventions">Therapeutic interventions</h2>
<p>"Covert desensitization" associates an aversive <a href="/facts/Stimulus_(psychology)/el6C43FY">stimulus</a> with a behavior that the client wishes to reduce or eliminate. This is achieved 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" seeks to reduce a behavior by associating the loss of a reinforcer with the target behavior that is to be decreased.
</p><p>"Contact desensitization" intends to increase a behavior by imagining a reinforcing experience in connection with <a href="/facts/Mental_model/ErV8WY6h">modeling</a> the correct behavior. "Covert <a href="/facts/Negative_reinforcement/bn271VLa">negative reinforcement</a>" attempts to increase a behavior by connecting the termination of an aversive stimulus with increased production of a target behavior.
</p><p>"<a href="/facts/Dialectical_behavior_therapy/jRwS2zQR">Dialectical behavior therapy</a>" (DBT) and "<a href="/facts/Acceptance_and_commitment_therapy/fsh43Mdk">Acceptance and commitment therapy</a>" (ACT) uses positive reinforcement and covert conditioning through <a href="/facts/Mindfulness/3v40h59U">mindfulness</a>.
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<h2 id="effectiveness">Effectiveness</h2>
<p>Previous research in the early 1990s has shown covert conditioning to be effective with sex offenders as part of a <a href="/facts/Behavior_modification/dIlI7Wan">behavior modification</a> treatment package.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> Clinical studies continue to find it effective with some generalization from office to natural environment with this population.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
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<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Covert_hypnosis/KSLmwNQ0">Covert hypnosis</a></li></ul>
<h2 id="notes">Notes</h2>

<ul><li>Cautela, Joseph R and Kearney, Albert J. (1990) "Behavior analysis, cognitive therapy, and covert conditioning", <i>Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry</i>, 21 (2), pp. 83–90.</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Cautela, Joseph R.; Kearney, Albert J. (1986). The Covert Conditioning Handbook. New York: Springer. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Cautela, Joseph R.; Kearney, Albert J. (1986). The Covert Conditioning Handbook. New York: Springer. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Marshall, W. L.; Jones, R.; Ward, T.; Johnston, P.; Barbaree, H. E. (1991). "Treatment outcomes with sex offenders". Clinical Psychology Review. 11 (4): 465–485. doi:10.1016/0272-7358(91)90119-F. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Rea, J. (2003). "Covert Sensitization" (PDF). The Behavior Analyst Today. 4 (2): 192–204. doi:10.1037/h0100119. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-29. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101229160303/http://www.baojournal.com/BAT%20Journal/VOL-4/BAT-4.-2.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20101229160303/http://www.baojournal.com/BAT%20Journal/VOL-4/BAT-4.-2.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Covert conditioning open-in-new

Covert conditioning