Behaviorists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Behaviorists - Essay ExampleAccording to Guthrie such change could be achieved if a someone is determined to tack the old behavior with something new instead. This could be achieved employing his suggested methods to include the threshold means, exhaustion, and incompatible response approach. Guthries idea of threshold adjustment states that behavior of a mortal can change if the stimulus is weak or could be tolerated. For instance, people who smoke may not be elicited to puff a fagot if he can indulge reducing the number of sticks a day until eventually he would endure not to smoke. The threshold method is further strengthen through sidetracking. This is avoiding the cues that may compel undesirable behavior (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009) such as avoiding friends who smoke. Another helpful strategy is adopting the exhaustion mechanism which suggests repetition of the habit until the person feels the anguish of fatigue. An example would be to let the person smoke until he coughs or get sick. Such reaction to smoking habit enables him to ultimately defy up the habit. Equally important strategy is the use of incompatible response. Allowing the person to chew gum helps forge the link between the habit to smoke and the moderation from smoking. Despite the proposed methods above, habits are hard to break. This is attributed to the familiar neural pathways involved.