Contingency Management

Contingency management (CM) is a treatment used for alcohol abuse. The treatment encourages positive behavior change by giving out positive reinforcement when treatment goals are achieved and refraining from rewarding or punishing behavior that is undesired (Higginsn & Petry, 1999). For example, if the goal is abstinence from alcohol, refraining from imbibing alcohol might result in a voucher to exchange for time off of work, while drinking alcohol would result in a lack of voucher or having to stay overtime at work.

The conceptual and basic science foundations for contingency management comes from the framework of operant conditioning, which uses reinforcing and punishing consequences in order to influence (e.g. increase or decrease) behavior. The usage of contingency management for alcohol abuse suggests that the behavior is operant. This means that alcohol abuse is reinforced both by the automatic reinforcement of the biochemical effects the substance has on the body, and by positive reinforcement attained from environmental factors, such as positive attention from peers.

Animal research has been done on the treatment of alcohol and other drugs (AOD), and the findings show that not only do lab animals display similar patterns of AOD consumption and dependence as human individuals, but their behavior can successfully be manipulated through reinforcing and punishing consequences. Similar to how human individuals with a dependence on AOD will spend time and money in order to continue engaging in AOD abuse, animals heavily dependent on alcohol or other drugs engaged in tedious tasks (e.g. pushing a lever) and ignored other edible reinforcers in favor of engaging in AOD. These findings are important because they suggest tha...

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... Second, tangible reinforcement is provided by the clinician contingent on the demonstration of abstinence. Third, the tangible reinforcement is withheld when the patient fails to demonstrate abstinence. Fourth, the patient establishes alternate and healthier activities with the aid of the clinician. Usually, but not always, CM is a part of larger more comprehensive treatment programs, but not always (Higgins, 1999).

Works Cited

Higgins, S. T., & Petry, N. M. (1999). Contingency management: Incentives for sobriety. Alcohol Research & Health, 23(2), 122-127.

Hagedorn, H. J., Noorbaloochi, S., Simon, A. B., Bangerter, A., Stitzer, M. L., Stetler, C. B., & Kivlahan, D. (2013). Rewarding early abstinence in veterans health administration addiction clinics. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 45(1), 109-117. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2013.01.006