Covert Positive Reinforcement Research Articles

Modification of pain through covert positive reinforcement.

This study investigated the effectiveness of covert positive reinforcement in modifying response to cold-pressor pain and in increasing the use of prescribed adaptive imagery. 80 women were randomly assigned to covert positive reinforcement, backward conditioning, covert rehearsal, and expectancy conditions. Covert positive reinforcement did not yield either greater pain tolerance and use of adaptive imagery or less subjective discomfort than the other conditions. Modification of pain was not associated with the use of adaptive imagery but was correlated with the clarity of imagery. 64% of the subjects reported using self-generated coping strategies. The results of this study contribute to the body of evidence which does not support the operant conceptualization of covert positive reinforcement.

Covert positive reinforcement and pain modification: A test of efficacy and theory

The effects of covert positive reinforcement, covert positive reinforcement plus positive expectancy, covert positive reinforcement plus negative expectancy, covert positive reinforcement of pain, attention placebo and no treatment on control of headache and finger pressure pain were examined. Self-report, behavioural and physiological measures were taken. Groups did not differ on any measures except for validity checks of the expectancy manipulation. The results provide little support for the efficacy of covert positive reinforcement in modifying pain. Additionally, the data failed to substantiate the theoretical basis of the procedure.

The Use of Covert Positive Reinforcement on Assignments Completed: A Multiple Baseline Design

The Use of Covert Positive Reinforcement on Assignments Completed: A Multiple Baseline Design

The relative contributions of covert reinforcement and cognitive restructuring to test anxiety reduction

Tested the relative contributions of two possibly active test anxiety treatment components, covert reinforcement (response relevant) and cognitive restructuring. Thirty-nine Ss were assigned to a covert modeling group, a cognitive restructuring group, a combination group, or a waiting list control group. The covert modeling consisted of imagining (a) the feared situations; (b) handling the stress in a coping manner; and (c) feeling good for having coped. The cognitive restructuring group's scenes consisted of imagining (a) the feared situation; (b) saying a negative self-statement; and (c) replacing it with a positive coping statement. Results showed that the covert modeling group was somewhat more improved than the cognitive restructuring group. This result is interpreted as evidence that cognitive restructuring may work by the mechanisms of covert rehearsal and response relevant covert positive reinforcement. Further research directions are suggested.

An anlysis of three parameters of covert positive reinforcement.

Investigated the active components of covert positive reinforcement (CPR) with a 2 X 2 X 2 factorial design (N = 64) that consisted of an S-R modality (covert vs. overt), a reinforcement procedure (covert vs overt), and a demand for expectancy of success (high vs. low). Posttreatment and follow-up results of the Behavioral Avoidance Test indicated that generally Ss in the overt S-R modality groups approached closer to the rat than did those in the covert groups (N = 64). More importantly, the S-R modality X demand interactions reflected that those Ss in the two covert S-R modality groups under low demand evidenced less approach than those Ss in the other six groups (p less than .01). Self-rating measures of anxiety on the Self-Rating Rat Anxiety Scale and the Fear Intensity Scale reflected overall decrements of fear from pretreatment to posttreatment and follow-up. Follow-up analyses indicated that plans should be made for the generalization of treatment effects by varying the treatment setting and perhaps by employing multiple therapists.

An Empirical Test of Three Alternative Explanations for Covert Reinforcement Effects

The empirical validity of the explanations, instrumental-conditioning, counterconditioning, and exposure for covert reinforcement were tested. 45 female students, aged 19 to 35 yr., were subjects. Each was screened for level of fear toward snakes and ability to form clear images. They were randomly assigned to one of five treatment conditions and one of three categories of expectancy. Conditions were covert positive reinforcement, reversed covert positive reinforcement, neutral consequence, reversed covert positive reinforcement to nonsnake stimuli, and nondirective contact. Assessment of expectancy occurred pretreatment and posttreatment, posttreatment only, and no assessment. Results showed that assessment of expectancy did not affect performance on subjective or behavioral measures of fear. All treatment conditions except contact produced significant reductions in fear and increased expectations about ability to approach a live snake. Findings did not support the explanations of instrumental-conditioning, counterconditioning, or exposure. A cognitive-mediational account was offered as an alternative explanation for effects of covert reinforcement.

The use of covert positive reinforcement in the treatment of a hyperactive child: An empirical case study

This study evaluated the effects of covert positive reinforcement (CPR) on a 9-year old, third-grade student who was causing a classroom disturbance. CPR was conducted for six sessions over a 3-week period to reduce (a) out-of-seat behavior, (b) excessive noisemaking, and (c) rocking-in-chair behavior. There was an immediate improvements in three target behaviors following the implementation of CPR by the school psychologist. Only the rocking-in-chair behavior shows a trend in the direction of a reversal effect during a 6-day follow-up.

Modification of Self-Esteem by Covert Positive Reinforcement

Three groups given covert positive reinforcement and a control (21 male and 19 female college students) equally improved on three measures of self-concept and a deduction task.

Rationale of systematic desensitization and covert positive reinforcement

It was hypothesized that exposure to the anxiety-evoking stimuli would be the crucial element of three therapeutic methods aimed at reducing avoidance behavior. Adult phobics received either systematic desensitization. covert positive reinforcement, or extinction, with either a progressive (Wolpe) or a chronological (Cautela) presentation of the items of the hierarchy. The treatment of each group continued until each item evoked a score of 10 or less on the SUD scale. Placebo and wait list control groups were also included. Compared to the control groups, results showed that on the behavioral, subjective and attitudinal measures, the six treatment groups significantly and equally improved at both post-treatment and at follow-up (one month later). However, although the total number of item presentations was not statistically different among treatment groups, the gradual mode of presentation (Wolpe) required significantly less presentation than the chronological mode (95.5 presentations compared to 148.1, p < 0.01). Correlations among the different measures of fear were computed at each of the three assessment periods. The results are discussed with reference to Rachman and Hodgson's model of synchrony among measures of fear. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Modification of Pain Threshold by the Covert Reinforcement Procedure and a Cognitive Strategy

The threshold for cold pain was obtained for male and female subjects, while one hand was immersed in icewater, before and after one of four experimental treatments. The four treatments were: (a) the covert positive reinforcement procedure—i.e., reinterpreting the sensations in a manner incompatible with the experience of pain and then imagining a pleasant, reinforcing image; (b) a reinterpretation strategy only; (c) a group that was lead to expect pain reduction on the posttest; and (d) a control group. Subjects trained in the covert reinforcement procedure raised their thresholds above the thresholds of the reinterpretation strategy as well as of the expectation and control groups. The reinterpretation strategy and the expectation groups raised their thresholds above the control group, and did not differ from each other. Males and females did not differ on either the pretest threshold or their ability to use the covert reinforcement or the reinterpretation procedures.

Rationale of Covert Reinforcement: Additional Evidence

Cautela (1970, 1975) explains covert positive reinforcement as a behavior therapy technique derived from an operant conditioning model. Recent studies have cast doubt on the adequacy of this explanation. On a behavioral measure presentation of the covert reinforcer before or after the response sought to be increased did not yield results superior to those in which the reinforcer was presented noncontingently. Results for three groups were superior to those obtained for a placebo and a no-treatment group and were maintained at a 1-mo. follow-up. On an attitude questionnaire significant improvements showed only for the covert positive reinforcement group at the follow-up. No differences among the groups were obtained on the fear thermometer. The theoretical implications were discussed.

Covert positive reinforcement: Efficacy and conceptualization

A critical investigation was conducted of the operant conceptualization of covert positive reinforcement in the context of alleviating test anxiety. Fifty-four subjects were subjected to one of six schedules. Posttreatment comparisons of the six treatments yielded the following results: (1) covert positive reinforcement was generally superior to no-treatment control, but no more effective than an attention focusing group, (2) contrary to operant prediction, if the reinforcement followed anxious test-related behaviors, improvement occured comparable to covert positive reinforcement, and (3) no differences were found between a covert positive reinforcement group and one in which the reinforcement preceded the desired behavior. Thus, no support was found for covert positive reinforcement's operant conceptualization. Counterconditioning is offered as a preferable and more parsimonious explanation of the results.

The Use of Covert Conditioning in the Treatment of Drug Abuse

It appears that behavioral techniques show some promise in treating drug abuse. Recently the covert conditioning procedures have been employed to modify drug-taking behavior. Covert conditioning procedures involve the manipulation of imagery in a manner similar to the overt operant procedures. The covert conditioning procedures of covert sensitization, covert positive reinforcement, and covert extinction are described, and studies presented where these procedures have been applied to the treatment of drug abuse. The studies cited involve various drug-taking behavior such as heroin, amphetamine (intravenously injected), and LSD. A behavioral model is presented concerning the application of a number of behavioral techniques to modify the antecedents and consequences of drug-taking behavior. It is indicated that a comprehensive drug treatment approach should also use the behavioral procedures to insure educational, vocational, social, and sexual and marital adjustment.

The modification of phobic behavior by covert reinforcement

Covert reinforcement procedures were compared with experimental desensitization in their power to (a) reduce subjective distress, and (b) increase approach behavior to a harmless snake. Six groups were included in the study: (1) Experimental desensitization (ED); (2) Covert positive reinforcement (CPR); (3) Covert negative reinforcement (CNR); (4) Noncontingent covert positive reinforcement (N-CPR); (5) Placebo controls (PC); and (6) No-treatment controls (NT). The results indicated that CPR and ED were equally effective, and both showed greater improvement than either of the control groups. CNR subjects also did better than the controls, but after treatment the combined CPR and ED group showed a greater increase in approach behavior than the CNR subjects. Thus CPR appears to be an equal alternative to ED and may be more economical of time, whereas CNR may only be useful when the other two procedures are not appropriate. An examination of the theoretical rationale of CPR provided equivocal results, and further research is necessary.

An experimental test of the learning paradigm of covert positive reinforcement in deconditioning anxiety

In order to test Cautela's learning paradigm for covert positive reinforcement (CPR), two treatment groups, a CPR group as described by Cautela and a reversed-CPR group were compared with a no-treatment control group. Thirty rat fearful college students participated in the study. As measured by the Behavioral Avoidance Test, no significant differences were observed between the two treatment groups, but both showed greater improvement than the no-treatment control group. These findings contradicted Cautela's hypothesis and favored a reciprocal inhibition explanation.

Covert positive reinforcement as a treatment procedure for obesity

Covert positive reinforcement as a treatment procedure for obesity

Group systematic desensitization versus covert positive reinforcement in the reduction of test anxiety.

The study compared modified versions of systematic desensitization and covert positive reinforcement to a no-treatment control condition in the reduction of test anxiety. Both experimental groups received eight treatment sessions, and the systematic desensitization group received two additional sessions devoted to relaxation training. The two treatments were comparable and generally superior to the control group in pretest-posttest and pretest-follow-up changes as measured by the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale and the Achievement Anxiety Test. On an anagrams performance test, the covert reinforcement and control groups were superior to the desensitization group. No significant differences occurred in subjectively experienced anxiety during the performance test.