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8/11/2019 Howard Rachlin - Reinforcing and punishing thoughts (1977).pdf
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B E H A V I O R T H E R A P Y 8 6 5 9 - 6 6 5 1977)
Re inforc ing and unishing Tho ugh ts
H O W A R D R A C H L I N
State University of New York at Stony rook
T h o u g h t s c a n n o t b e r e i n f o r c e d o r p u n i s h e d a s c a n o v e r t b e h a v i o r . A l t h o u g h
r e i n fo r c e r s o r p u n i s h e r s b r o u g h t i n t o t e m p o r a l r e l a t io n s h i p w i th v e r b a l b e h a v i o r
o r o t h e r b e h a v i o r t h a t e x p r e s s e s t h e t h o u g h t ) m a y i n c r e a s e o r d e c r e a s e t h a t
b e h a v i o r , t h e t h o u g h t i t se l f, i f i t i s c h a n g e d , w i ll n o t s i m p l y c h a n g e i n f r e q u e n c y
b u t w i ll re f le c t t h e n e w r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n a g r o u p o f b e h a v i o r s a n d t h e e n v i -
r o n m e n t .
A r e c e n t t r e n d i n b e h a v i o r t h e r a p y h a s b e e n t o u s e t h o s e t e c h n i q u e s
e f f e c ti v e in m o d i f y in g o v e r t b e h a v i o r t o m o d i f y c o v e r t b e h a v i o r . I n s o m e
c a s e s t h e r e l a ti o n o f t h is e n t e r p r i s e t o o p e r a n t c o n d i t io n i n g h a s b e e n
e m p h a s i z e d b y u s in g t h e t e r m c o v e r a n t f o r t h e c o v e r t b e h a v i o r t o b e
r e i n f o r c e d o r p u n i s h e d ( H o m m e , 1 9 6 5 ) . I n o t h e r c a s e s t h e r e l a t i o n t o
c o g n i ti v e p s y c h o l o g y is e m p h a s i z e d b y r et ai ni n g t h e t e r m c o g n i t i o n o r
t h o u g h t f o r t h e b e h a v i o r t o b e m o d i f i ed ( M e i c h e n b a u m , 1 96 9, 19 74 a).
T h e t e c h n i q u e s p r o p o s e d t o m o d i f y t h o u g h ts v a r y s o m e w h a t b u t t h e
f o l l o w i n g p r o c e d u r e w o u l d n o t b e a t y p i c a l : A c l i e n t i s d i a g n o s e d a s
o b s e s s e d w i t h a c e r t a i n h a r m f u l t h o u g h t . T h e c l i e n t i s a s k e d t o s a y t h e
t h o u g h t o u t l o u d a n d i s t h e n p u n i s h e d . T h e n , t h e c l ie n t is a s k e d t o s a y t h e
t h o u g h t t o h i m s e l f a n d i n d i c a t e w h e n it h a s o c c u r r e d a n d i s t h e n p u n i s h e d .
F i n a l ly , t h e c l i en t is a s k e d t o p u n i sh h i m s e l f w h e n t h e t h o u g h t o c c u r s . 1
I n d iv i d u al p r o c e d u r e s v a r y b y l e a v in g o u t o n e o r a n o t h e r o f t h e a b o v e
s t e p s o r b y r e in f o r c in g a l t e rn a t i v e t h o u g h t s r a t h e r t h a n p u n i s h in g t h e
t h o u g h t t o b e e l im i n a t e d . T h e y a l s o d i ff e r in t h ei r m o d e o f r e i n f o r c e m e n t
o r p u n i s h m e n t . U s u a l l y , s e c o n d a r y r e in f o r c e r s o r p u n i s h e r s a r e u s e d
( e . g . , M e i c h e n b a u m , 1 96 9); a t t i m e s , h i e r a r c h i e s a r e a r r a n g e d s o t h a t
P r e p a r a t io n o f th i s p a p e r w a s s u p p o r t e d b y a g r a n t f ro m t h e N a t i o n a l S c i e n c e F o u n d a t i o n .
R e q u e s t s f o r re p r i n ts s h o u l d b e a d d r e s s e d t o H o w a r d R a c h l in , D e p a r t m e n t o f P s y c h o l o g y ,
S t a te U n i v e r s i t y o f N e w Y o r k a t S t o n y B r o o k , S t o n y B r o o k , N Y 1 17 94 .
1 1 h a v e a r g u e d p r e v i o u s l y R a c h l i n , 1 97 4) t h a t s e l f - p u n i s h m e n t o f th i s k i n d , w h i l e it m a y
b e e f f e c t i v e , i s n o t p r o p e r p u n i s h m e n t . H o w e v e r , i t i s c o m m o n l y u s e d a s s u c h i n b e h a v i o r -
t h e r a p y , a n d w e w i ll c o n s i d e r i t h e r e t o g e t h e r w i t h o v e r t p u n i s h m e n t a n d r e i n f o r c e m e n t .
659
C o p y r i g h t @ 1 9 77 b y A s s o c i a t i o n f o r A d v a n c e m e n t o f B e h a v i o r T h e r a p y .
A l l r i g h t s o f r e p r o d u c t i o n i n a n y f o r m r e s e r v e d . I S S N 0 0 05 - 78 9 4
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660 HOWARD RACHLIN
events of higher value reinforce the thought to be modified (Homme,
1965).
The purpose of this paper is to show, following the assumptions made
by behavior modifiers themselves, behaviorists and cognitivists alike, that
these procedures misdirect the application of reinforcement and may
change behavior in unexpected ways.
C TEGORY MIST KES
The logical mistake usually involved in the notion that thoughts can be
reinforced or punished is a category mistake. A category mistake consists
of treating the name for a class of events as if it, itself, were a member of
that class. Gilbert Ryle illustrates category mistakes as follows.
A foreigner visiting Oxford or Cambridge for the first time is shown a number of colleges,
libraries, playing fields, museums, scientific depar tment s and administ rative offices. He then
asks, But where is the Univers ity? I have seen where the members of the Colleges live,
where the Registrar works, where the scientists experiment and the rest. But I have not yet
seen the Univers ity. It has then to be explained to him that the University is not another
collateral institution, some ulterior counterpart to the colleges, laboratories and offices
which he has seen. The University is just the way in which all that he has already seen is
organized. When they are seen and when their co-ordination is understood, the University
has been seen. His mistake lay in his innocent assumption that, it was correct to speak of
Christ Church, The Bodleian Library, the Ashmolean Museum
nd
the University, to speak,
that is, as if the Univers ity' stood for an extra member of the class of which these other
units are members. He was mistakenly allocating the University to the same category as that
to which the other institutions belong (Ryle, 1949).
In the case of thoughts and reinforcements, a similar category mistake
may be made. Reinforcement and punishment are relationships between
behavior and environmental events. A th ough t is a name for a set of
such relationships. One reinforces or punishes behavior, not thought. A
thought may already encompass reinforcement or punishment within it.
As an example, consider the following proposition which, when acti-
vated in a person 's nervous system, might be said to constitute a thought:
I f I touch fire I will be burned. This proposition could, according to
current cognitive theory, be located in a person's long-term store and
might be activated by the sight of a fire. When activated it becomes a
thought. It might be a conscious thought or even subconscious. It would
have been acquired by the previous association of touching fires and
burning, perhaps because these were both vivid temporally related events
or perhaps through verbal mediation. Whatever the means of acquiring
the association, the role of reinforcement or punishment, if any, would be
limited to the action of the fire on the act of touching the fire. But this
action is already encompassed in the thought. It has never been part of
cognitive theory, or any other theory, that still nother reinforcer could
affect the thought. What another such reinforcement could be is difficult
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REINFORCING ND PUNISHI NG THOUGHTS 66
t o c o n c e i v e . F i r s t , t h e t h o u g h t w o u l d h a v e t o b e a c t i v a t e d a n d t h e n
r e i n f o r c e d . I m a g i n e s h o w i n g a 1 0 - y r - o l d c h i l d a f i r e , p r e s u m a b l y a c t i v a t -
i ng t h e th o u g h t , I f I t o u c h t h e f ir e 1 w i l l b e b u r n e d , a n d t h e n g iv i n g h i m
a p i e c e o f c a n d y . T o w h a t e x t e n t i s t h e t h o u g h t a f f e c t e d ? I f t h e c a n d y i s
p r e s u m e d t o h a v e a n y e f f e c t o n t h e t h o u g h t a t a l l, i t w o u l d i t s e lf b e
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h f ir e, t h u s d o i n g t h e e x a c t o p p o s i t e o f r e i n fo r c i n g t h e
o r i g i n a l t h o u g h t . T h e c h i l d m a y n o w a p p r o a c h f i r e s m o r e r e a d i l y . R e i n -
f o r c e r s a n d p u n i s h e r s a r e , i f n o t h i n g e l s e , v i v i d s ti m u l i . T h e y a r e l i k e l y t o
b e p a i d a t t e n t i o n . T h e y ( o r , a c c o r d i n g t o c o g n i t i v e p s y c h o l o g i s t s , t h e i r
r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s ) f o r m p a r t s o f t h o u g h t s t h e m s e l v e s . T h e i n t e n d e d m e c h a -
n i sm o f m a n i p u l a t io n i t se l f b e c o m e s p a r t o f t h e t h in g t o b e c h a n g e d .
R e i n f o r c e m e n t a n d p u n i s h m e n t m a y c h a n g e t h e th o u g h t t o r e f le c t t h e
r e l a t io n s h i p o f i ts e l e m e n t s w i th t h e r e i n f o r c e r o r p u n i s h e r . T h e y c a n n o t
a c t i n a s u p e r o r d i n a t e f a s h i o n t o s t r e n g t h e n o r w e a k e n t h e t h o u g h t i t s e l f .
W h i l e i t i s n o t p o s s i b l e t o r e i n f o r c e t h o u g h t s , i t i s p o s s i b l e t o r e i n f o r c e
o r p u n is h v e r b a l b e h a v i o r . W h e n a c h a n g e i n v e r b a l b e h a v i o r is t h e o n l y
d e s i r e d o u t c o m e o f t h e p r o c e s s , it i s n o t n e c e s s a r y t o r e f e r t o t h o u g h t s o r
cogn i t ions a t a l l .
THE RELATION OF REINFORCEMENT PUNISHMENT
AND THOUGHT
C u r r e n t p s y c h o l o g i c a l t h e o r y t e l l s u s t h a t t h o u g h t s a r e p r o p o s i t i o n s
r e p r e s e n t e d e i t h e r i n a n o r g a n i s m ' s m i n d , i n i t s n e r v o u s s y s t e m , o r i n i t s
b e h a v i o r . T h e b e h a v i o r i s t b e l i e v e s t h a t t h e p r o p o s i t i o n i s s i m p l y a d e -
s c r ip t i o n o f o r g a n i z e d b e h a v i o r . T h e c o g n i t iv i s t b e l i e v e s th a t t h e p r o p o s i -
t i o n g i v e s r i s e t o t h e b e h a v i o r a l o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d t h a t t h i s p r o p o s i t i o n h a s
a re a l e x i s t e n c e s o m e w h e r e w i t h in t h e b o d y ( A n d e r s o n & B o w e r , 1 97 3).
W h e t h e r t h e p r o p o s i t i o n i s i n t h e m i n d o r t h e n e r v o u s s y s t e m , i t i s
g e n e r a l l y a g r e e d t h a t t h o u g h t s h a v e b e e n o b s e r v e d s o f a r o n l y i n t h e
o r g a n i z a ti o n o f o v e r t b e h a v i o r , i n c lu d i n g v e r b a l b e h a v i o r .
I f t h o u g h t is b e h a v i o r a l o r g n i z t i o n ( o r c a u s e s s u c h o r g a n i z a t i o n ) , i t
f o l l o w s t h a t a n y o n e o v e r t b e h a v i o r c a n n o t b e a t h o u g h t . T o o b s e r v e a
t h o u g h t m u s t b e t o o b s e r v e a n o r g an i z e d s e q u e n c e t h a t o c c u r s o v e r t im e .
T h e t h o u g h t m u s t e n c o m p a s s t h e w h o l e s e t o f b e h a v i o r s , i n c lu d i n g v e r b a l
e x p r e s s i o n , b y w h i c h w e k n o w t h a t t h e th o u g h t o c c u r s . I t is n o t p o s s i b l e
f o r th e t h o u g h t t o o c c u r o v e r a b r i e f t im e s p a n w h i l e t h e b e h a v i o r t h a t i t
c a u s e s o c c u r s o v e r a n e x t e n d e d t i m e s p a n . T h i s n o t i o n , t h a t a b e h a v i o r
c a n r u n o f f i n a b a l l is t ic m a n n e r a n d s ti ll b e t h o u g h t f u l , w a s r e j e c t e d b y
L a s h l e y ( 1 9 5 1 ) a n d b y m o s t p s y c h o l o g i s t s f o l l o w i n g h i m . A g a i n , t h e
b e h a v i o r i s t s a y s t h a t t h e t h o u g h t is t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n , w h i l e t h e c o g n i t i v i s t
s a y s t h a t i t c u s e s t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n . I n n e i t h e r c a s e i s t h e t h o u g h t t h e
e x p r e s s i o n o f t h e p r o p o s i t i o n i n a s e n t e n c e .
I t is im p o r t a n t t o s t re s s t h e n o n i d e n t i t y o f t h o u g h t s a n d v e r b a l b e -
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662 HOW RD R CHLIN
havior. If a thought were
only
the verbal expression of a proposition and
this verbal expression could cause overt thoughtful behavior, then it
would be possible to reinforce and punish thoughts. It makes little sense,
however, that verbal behavior should be the cause of other behavior. For
instance, in what sense could the
sentence
I think I will go to the
movies, cause the act of going to the movies? Neither current cognitive
theory nor behavioral theory would attribute such power to the sentence.
Behaviorists would say the cause of both the verbal expression, I think I
will go to the mov ies, and the behavior of going to the movies is a set of
observable events (behaviors, neutral stimuli, reinforcers, punishers) in
the past. Cognitivists would say that the cause of both the verbal expres-
sion and the behavior is an event or organization of events currently
active in the nervous system. In fact, one cognitive therapy (Ellis, 1962)
rests on discovering
unexpressed
thoughts underlying overt maladaptive
behavior.
MO IFYING THOUGH TS
A proposition (hence, a thought) could refer wholly to environmental
events , such as, The ball is green, or to interactions between be-
havioral and environmental events such as, I threw the bal l.
Consider ways of reducing such thoughts that might be used by be-
havior therapists. First, suppose we connect the client to an electric
shock apparatus and shock him whenever he indicated he had the thought
or instruct him to shock himself whenever he had the thought. Probably
the verbal expression of the sentence would be reduced. But such
punishment might leave unaffected the behaviors exhibited in various
tests to see if the thought were really there. How many times would we
have to shock a mother after she said, Playing near open windows is
dangerous , before she allowed her 2-year-old child to play on the win-
dowsill? What we are likely to do is to destroy not the thought itself but
the connection between the thought and its verbal expression. The person
punished for the thought might now simply lie. The therapist will note a
reduction in verbal expression of the thought and perhaps, by generaliza-
tion, other verbal expressions similar in sound or in meaning to the
original.
One could now imagine additional treatment. Suppose we punish the
lady not only for saying the thought but also for pulling her child away
from the window, for closing the window, for nodding her head whenever
she hears someone else express the thought, etc. Suppose we persist in
these methods until one by one we erase every known behavioral man-
ifestation of the thought. We will have now replaced the thought, A-B,
with I f l say A-B or do A-B or agree with A-B, I will be pun ished . Such
procedures are undoubtedly what most people understand as brainwash-
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REINFORCING ND PUNISH ING THOUGHTS 66
ing. What may make them aversive is the continuance of the subject's
experience with A-B. But as long as the subject, regardless of his or her
behavior with respect to A-B, still behaves as previously with respect to
C-D and all other experienced associations, it would be more parsimoni-
ous to assume that the relevant propositions in storage are C- D,
E- F , G- H, etc., and A- B plus the additional thought, Expres-
sion of A-B leads to punishment. Regardless of how thorough our
techniques might be, none would remove the thought as long as the
experience of A-B remained as before.
To put it more concretely, we may get a person to say Th e sky is
green easily enough and to act as though the sky were indeed green,
even while, in fact, the sky remained blue. But unless the person were
also confused about other color names (for instance, calling the grass
yellow), we would most parsimoniously attribute to him the thought,
The sky is blue, but I must say it is green. This is the only thought
consistent with his other thoughts, i.e., with his other behavior and
experience. But let experience itself be changed, say by the repeated
presentation of a green sky, and the thought will change accordingly.
THOUGHTS ND BELIEFS
One may distinguish between belief and thought by saying that the
thought is mere ly verbal expression, while belief involves something else.
But such an argument represents another ca tegory mistake. A belief is not
something other than a thought; it is an attribute of a thought. Given a
thought, we believe it is true or believe it is false, or are neutral about its
truth or falsity, or its truth or falsity is irrelevant. There are not cognitive
elements labeled bel ief s that can be set aside and compared with
th ou gh ts . When behavior is examined for signs of thoughtfulness , it
can also be examined for degree of belief. Belief in a proposition may be
ascertained by the tone of voice in which it is expressed and by the
accompanying behavior. Before we would want to say that a person
strongly believed a proposition to be true, we would want to see a fairly
large sample of his behavior. Verbal behavior may or may not be part of
this sample.
In most cases behavior therapy is concerned with thoughts that the
client strongly believes are true or false. Some therapies (e.g., Ellis, 1962)
are willing to assign strong belief values to certain thoughts that may
never be verbally expressed by the client. Such a therapist might say,
Your behavior is consistent with the thought, 'I must be loved by
everyone for everything I do.' The therapist concludes that this is
indeed a thought that the client believes strongly, even though he may
never have expressed it verbally.
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R E I N F O R C I N G A N D P U N I S H I N G T H O U G H T S
6 6 5
h i s p e r f o r m a n c e a n d t h e s ta r s o n h e l m e t s o f c o l l e g e f o o t b a l l p l a y e r s a t te s t
t o t h e p o w e r o f r e i n f o r c e m e n t t o w o r k o n c o m p l e x b e h a v i o r . B u t , in t h e s e
i n s t a n c e s , o v e r t b e h a v i o r i s c l ea r ly m a r k e d fo r r e i n fo r c e m e n t . A l s o , m a n y
c u r r en t b e h a v i o r m o d i fi c a ti o n t e c h n i q u e s c o m e in p a c k a g e s w h e r e b y
b o t h t h o u g h t s a n d b e h a v i o r a r e s a i d t o b e m o d i f i e d ( M a h o n e y , 1 9 7 4 ) . T o
t h e e x t e n t t ha t s u c h t e c h n i q u e s a re s u c c e s s f u l t h e y m o d i f y t h o u g h t f u l
b e h a v i o r ( a n o rg a n i z e d s e q u e n c e o f b e h a v i o r ), n o t t w o s e p a r at e t h in g s:
t h o u g h t p l u s b e h a v i o r .
I t i s n o t h e r a p e u t i c s h o r t c u t t o r e in f o r c e t h o u g h t s o r c o g n i t i o n s o r
c o v e r a n t s d i r e c tl y s i n c e n o n e o f t h e s e i s a b e h a v i o r s u s c e p t i b l e t o b e
r e in f o r ce d . A t t e m p t s t o r e in f o r ce o r p u n i sh n o n b e h a v i o r a l e v e n t s m a y
e n d b y u n i n t e n t i o n a l l y r e i n f o r c in g o r p u n i s h i n g b e h a v i o r s , a n d , b y e n -
c o u r a g i n g c l i e n t s t o li e a b o u t w h a t t h e y a r e th i n k i n g , t h e s e a t t e m p t s d o
m o r e h a r m t h a n g o o d . T h e a d v a n t a g e o f b e h a v i o r th e r a p y h a s a l w a y s
b e e n t h a t it f o r c e d t h e t h e r a p i st a n d t h e c l i e n t t o d e f in e t h e b e h a v i o r t o b e
c h a n g e d a n d d id n o t a ll o w t h e e v a s i o n s a n d a b s t ra c t io n s o f p r e v i o u s
t e c h n i q u e s w h i c h c l a i m e d t o c u r e th e d i s e a s e w h i l e o f t e n l e a v i n g a ll t h e
s y m p t o m s in t a c t. T h i s t y p e o f d o d g e h a s , i t s e e m s , p r o v e d a ll t o o t e m p t -
i n g f o r b e h a v i o r t h e r a p i st s t h e m s e l v e s w h o n o w c l ai m t o g e t rid o f c o g n i -
t i o n s b y r e d u c i n g t h e i r v e r b a l e x p r e s s i o n , y e t t h e y l e a v e o t h e r o v e r t
b e h a v i o r i n t a c t .
REFEREN ES
A n d e r s o n J . R . , Bo w e r , G . H . Human associative memory. W a s h in g to n , DC: W i n s t o n
1973.
C a s t e n a d a C. A separate reality: Further conversations with Don Juan. N e w Y o r k : P o c k e t
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RECEIVED: Fe bru ary 28, 1976 ; REVISED: Ap ri l I , 1976
FINAL ACCEPTANCE; Ap ri l
20, 1976