Behavioral Approach And The Change of Human Behaviors

What does the behavioral approach involve?

The Behaviorism approach is the psychological term used for the treatment of the mental disorder. This approach involves human behavior, the change in those behaviors, and using methods under this approach to unlearn specific behaviors and new behaviors are being taught to the patient. Human behavior is easy to learn and can be observed through a measurable approach. There are some behaviors that occur in human beings due to mental disorders, which can be unlearned when those behaviors turn into unacceptable conditions. The unconscious mind and the condition of the brain cannot be seen as per the researchers, but the acts and reactions of any human being can be seen and assessed, and these are the significant features involved in this approach.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the behavioral approach?

Every aspect of significant approaches has its advantages and disadvantages, which can be experienced through various factors. Some of the advantages of the behavioral approach are as follows:

• The first and most positive point of this approach that it can be used easily and put into practice can be done efficiently.
• The researchers have derived this approach through extensive research, made it easy for the practicing psychiatrist to understand, and achieved several positive results through it.
• The steps involved in this approach are small and easy to apply.
• The principle involving this approach uses the reinforcement of rewarded behaviors.
• The results achieved through this approach are measurable, and the progress can be assessed easily.
• There is no specific age limit involved in this approach. Every patient of every age can be treated through it.

After going through the advantages of the behavioral approach, the disadvantages should also be taken into consideration as follows:

• The first disadvantage of this approach is that it does not necessarily give positive results, but variations in the results are certain using this approach.
• This approach involves voluntary steps, which are suggested to the patient to follow, but the chances of resistance sometimes lead to failure of this approach.
• The small and significant steps that are designed to treat the patient are not always acceptable to older patients.
• The steps that have been designed to use this approach have ignored the common feelings of the patient attributed to the mental problem.
• The other significant disadvantage of this approach is the punishment factor, which is not appreciated by many.
• The mental state of this patient is uncertain, and the changes in behavior take time, which often increases the amount of punishment it.
• The steps that are being undertaken to apply this approach involve pressure, and further pressure on patients has mostly proven to be harmful.

What disorders can the behavioral approach help?

This approach is used for the treatment of several disorders, which include obesity, excessive drinking, anxiety, and schizophrenia.

What are the ethical implications of the behavioral approach?

The practice of the behavioral approach also involves ethical implications, which are being ignored by a few of the researchers, but the ethical committee is working to eliminate the issues that are raising concerns, and the practice of this approach involves such practices. The usage of specific procedures in this approach, which involves punishment given to the patients for undesirable behavior while applying the behavioral approach, is unethical. Criticism has been made widely on these practices in which the patient who is already suffering from a specific mental condition has to go through the pressure of punishment.

Cognitive Approach

What does the cognitive approach involve?

The psychological approach, which is modern as compared to other approaches when it comes to the treatment of mental disorders through therapies, is known as the cognitive approach. This approach involves focusing on human behavior while using the thought process. The thought process of any human being directly affects the behavior and the reactions. In contrast to the behavioral approach, this approach also involves other factors as well while assessing human behavior, and those factors are biological approaches. The biological approach also influences the behavior of any human being because of the imbalance of chemicals and genetics. After the criticism done on the behavioral approach, this approach came into being to treat human brains, which are going through mental disorders. It includes the aspects in a modern term where it is considered that the human brain also works as a brain by following the cycle of stimulus that comes first and later affects the response that happens through human behavior.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the cognitive approach?

There are several advantages of this approach that have widely helped psychiatrists in treating mental disorders, and the significant ones are as follows:

• This approach, like other approaches, doesn’t ignore the thought process of the patient who is going through a mental disorder. Behavior is always influenced by attention, memory, and perception, which this approach considers the most when providing treatment.
• The mental disorder influences human beings toward irrational thoughts, and psychologists have always used this specific approach to turn those irrational thoughts into rational ones by applying rational emotive therapy.

Some of the disadvantages of this approach are as follows to consider while assessing:

• The most significant and effective disadvantage of this approach is that it emphasizes only the individual thoughts, which ignores all other aspects. Human behavior involves all the processes that influence not just the behavior but also the atmosphere in which the functioning is happening. Ignoring all other aspects is proven to be the disadvantage of this approach, which further creates problems for the patient.
• This approach uses the comparing method of the human brain to the computer, which is not a practical practice for a psychologist. The human brain is way too complex to compare to any machine. The emotions and feelings that influence the brain, leading to mental disorders, can never be cured because machines don’t have these.

What disorders can the cognitive approach help?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is treated through this approach, and according to psychologists, it has provided positive proven results so far. This disorder is closely related to anxiety and obsession, which influence the behavior of any human being badly.

What are the ethical implications of the cognitive approach?

The ethical implications of this approach include the lack of consent, lack of risk assessment, and out-of-office sessions. All these are being criticized widely because of the nature of these methods used in the cognitive psychological approach. The access by asking questions that can manipulate the thoughts of the patient can lead to gaining information from the memory, which is highly unethical. This method should be reversed, or consent should be obtained before using this method. Other methods, such as office sessions, involve changes in the environment and can lead to discomfort for the patient, and in the end, the risks involved in using these methods are not taken into consideration first when using them.

Humanistic Approach

What does the humanistic approach involve?

The humanistic approach in psychology emphasizes the study of not just the brain or behavior but focuses on the whole human being. The behavior that is being assessed through this approach is not only limited to the eyes of the observer but also gives the dimension of the patient himself/herself while conducting any specific behavior and behaving in any way. The self-image and inner feelings of any human being are wholly connected to the behavior of that human being, which plays a role in mental health, and psychologists believe that observing those feelings and images helps in knowing the human. The other approaches have always emphasized that the human being is the product of the environment surrounding that human being. The humanistic approach contradicts this notion and indicates that human behavior depends solely on teaching, growth, and learning. Love, caring, and grief are involved in this approach and should be taken into consideration while providing treatment through therapies.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the humanistic approach?

Like all the other approaches, this approach also involves the positive and negative side of it. The following are some of the most significant advantages of the humanistic approach in psychology:

• The first and most important aspect of this approach, which is considered to be the advantage, is that it involves the autonomy and free choice of the behavior. Other approaches use scientific methods, whereas this approach finds the solution to the problem through appropriate alternatives.
• The only approach which places the patient first and the experience of the patient. After that, the meaning of behaviors through disorder is placed in the second position, which helps in giving the patient importance on everything.
• The patient is not treated as the subject but as a human being who needs the care.
• This approach provides the client with respect.
• The idea that is promoted in this approach is to give the idea to the patient that he/she should take responsibility for himself/herself first rather than rely on other things.

After going through the advantages, this approach also has some disadvantages which influence this approach:

• The approach of giving free will to patients is not applicable to all patients because not everyone can choose well while suffering from mental health.
• The subjective experience shouldn’t be the only emphasis that leads to a lack of understanding.
• The factors that are being used in this method are not scientific, and that’s why they couldn’t be studied or prove their viability.
• There’s no empirical support attributed to this approach.

What disorders can the humanistic approach help?

This approach is being used by psychologists for various kinds of mental disorder, which involves substance abuse, depression, disorders related to anxiety, eating disorders, panic attacks, and low self-esteem. Apart from these disorders, this approach is widely used for relationship issues and issues related to body image.

What are the ethical implications of the humanistic approach?

The ethical implications involved in this approach are mostly related to the methods that are being used. Mostly, free will and letting the patient choose their own preferred behavior lacks effectiveness. Too much involvement in the personal life of the patient through emphasis on the first also affects the consent of the patient.