Changing Behavior Case Study Analysis

Changing Behavior Case Study Analysis

In this case study, I am going to examine a patient with a fear of public speaking who wishes to understand and change this behavior. The patient has been terrified of speaking publicly for her whole adult life. This fear has affected her school work, as a major part of her studies revolve around a groupthink mentality. Her behavior, as a result of the fear, has caused her to drop classes and lose out on making potential friends or important contacts in her field. Overall, this fear has negatively affected her education and her future career will be jeopardized if this type of behavior persists. The patient wishes to resolve any issues that may be holding her back from moving forward in her education and career.

A person can be influenced to change their behavior with the help of behavior therapy. Behavioral therapies are centered around the idea that all behavior, good and bad, is learned from somewhere; therapy's focus is to learn new ways to behave. I am going to discuss how therapy based on three different theories could help explain the development and/or persistence of the patient's fear of public speaking.

In the classical theory of behaviors, classical conditioning has been used to train a person or an animal for involuntary response. Classical conditioning involves the pairing of a neutral stimulus with an apathetic unconditioned stimulus. The neutral stimulus initially elicits no emotional reaction, but after repeated pairings with the unconditioned stimulus, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus signaling immediate unconditioned response onset and inducing anxiety associated with the anticipation of the apathetic unconditioned stimulus. This type of conditioning is favorable for anxiety disorders similar to a fear of public speaking like the patient has.

The patient needs to associate a positive emotional experiences with public speaking. Since the patient currently associates negative...