Modeling
Bandura (1969, 1971) advocated the use ofmodel-
ing, or observational learning, as a means of altering
behavior patterns, particularly in children. Imita-
tion, modeling, or observation is a much more effi-
cient technique for learning than is a simple reliance
on punishment for incorrect responses and reward
for correct ones. A new skill or a new set of beha-
viors can be learned more efficiently by observing
another person. Seeing others perform a behavior
can also help eliminate or reduce associated fears
and anxieties. Finally, through observation one
can learn to use behaviors that are already part of
the behavioral repertoire.
Perhaps the most widespread use of modeling
has been to eliminate unrealistic fears (Bandura,
Adams, & Beyer, 1977; Bandura, Jeffrey, & Wright,
1974). Phobias (especially snake phobias) have been
the principal means both of demonstrating and of
investigating modeling techniques. In participant
modeling, for example, the patient observes the
therapist or model holding a snake, allowing the
snake to crawl over the body, and so on. Next, in
guided participation, the patient is exhorted to try
out a series of similar activities, graded according to
their potential for producing anxiety. Illustrative of
this general approach is a study of nonorgasmic
women treated by a self-administered masturbation
training program over a 6-week period. The gen-
eral techniques, used in two different treatment
conditions, were described by McMullen and
Rosen (1979) as follows:
Videotape modeling procedure. A series of six
20-minute videotape sequences were pre-
pared specifically for the study. The tapes
featured a coping model, an actress por-
traying a non-orgasmic woman who learns
over the course of the six sessions to
stimulate herself to orgasm and then to
transfer her ability to sexual intercourse
with her partner. Content of the tapes
included self-exploration, self-stimulation,
and finally, an explicit representation of
reaching orgasm through intercourse with
a partner.Written instructions. The videotaped scripts
were excerpted in the form of written
booklets, which pretesting indicated were
of equivalent content to the videotapes.
The same procedure was followed for
these subjects, in that they were required
to come in once a week to read the
appropriate booklet over the six weeks of
the training program. Booklets were also
read in private, and approximately the
same amount of time was spent by these
subjects in the clinic. (p. 914)
As noted by Thorpe and Olson (1997), obser-
vational learning is best and most efficient when the
following four conditions are met:- Patients attend to the model. Incentives may be
helpful to facilitate attention. - Patients retain the information provided by the
model. It may be helpful to use imagery tech-
niques or verbal coding strategies to help
patients organize and retain the information
provided. - Patients must perform the modeled behavior. It
is important that the behavior be mimicked and
practiced to facilitate learning and behavior
change. - Finally, patients must be motivated to use the
behavior that is modeled. It is suggested that
reinforcing consequences be used to increase
the likelihood that the modeled behavior will
be used.
Rational Restructuring
Drawing on the work of Albert Ellis (1962),
Goldfried and Davison (1994) accept the notion
that much maladaptive behavior is determined by
the ways in which people construe their world or
by the assumptions they make about it. If this is
true, it follows that the behavior therapist must
help patients learn to label situations more realisti-
cally so that they can ultimately attain greater satis-
factions. To facilitate this rational restructuring of
events, the therapist may sometimes use argument416 CHAPTER 14