Applied Behavior Analysis: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

The field of psychology is an evolving, continuous growing field. Researchers are constantly working to understand human behavior and the motivating force behind these actions. In the early 1900s, B.F. Skinner began publishing work and contributing to the field of behaviorism. Skinner encouraged the idea of positive reinforcement but strayed away from punishment. In fact, he argued positive reinforcement is the most effective means for behavior modification. Skinner’s early work paved the way for the establishment of applied behavioral analysis (Pierce & Cheney, 2004). Applied behavior analysis is formed upon the assumption behavior is the direct result of some environmental occurrence. Furthermore, a change in behavior must come from an

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) dates back all the way to the early 1900s. ASD is a term which encompasses a group of neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders. These disorders complicate social interaction and communication to those impacted and create rigidity in behavioral patterns. Some symptoms of ASD include difficulties with sensory processing, building relationships, and language (Hallen et al., 2015). Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder in which individuals suffer from symptoms of obsessions, recurring or persistent thoughts and compulsions, stereotyped behaviors. These obsessions and compulsions are extremely severe and inhibit one’s ability to function in everyday life (Szechtman & Woody,

A significant portion of treatment for OCD relies on medication, however, these propositions have lead to researchers using discrete trial training as a means of treatment of OCD. Researchers are focused on exposing the patient, and instruction them with response prevention. Behavioral therapy can become a risky procedure when treating mental disorders such as OCD. Many professionals are concerned that exposing patients to anxiety producing situations can be extremely uncomfortable and undesirable, especially when the patient cannot engage in their rituals that typically reduce the anxious feelings. In work published by Kobak et al., researchers sought out to determine whether or not behavior therapy was effective in treating OCD symptoms and how those results compared to drug therapy. In their research, they found that participants self-reported behavior therapy as significantly more effective as opposed to serotonergic antidepressants. However, they also found the combination of drug therapy and behavior therapy were much more successful in treatment for OCD, instead of just drug treatment on its own. This line of research is highly controversial, and many other researchers doubt the efficacy behind these findings. The study indicated differences in the participant’s self-reported results and the assessor’s ratings (Kobak et al., 1998). Researchers are