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Aversive Control in Couple and Family Therapy

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Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy

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Name of Concept

Aversive Control in Couple and Family Therapy

Synonyms

Coercion; Punishment

Introduction

Aversive control refers to the use of aversive events to manipulate another’s behavior. Punishment* is a form of aversive control used to decrease the frequency of unwanted behavior and commonly involves either the presentation of an undesirable consequence (positive punishment*) or the removal of a desirable consequence (negative punishment*). Aversive control may also refer to the use of aversive antecedent stimulation. This process, known as negative reinforcement, typically results in an increase in the frequency of behaviors that allow the individual to avoid or escape from aversive stimulation.

Theoretical Context for Concept

An initial conceptualization of aversive control within psychology was the law of effect, which stated that behavior that led to an “annoying state of affairs” was likely to be weakened (Thorndike 1913, pg. 1–4). Behaviorists – most notably the radical...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. California State University, Chico, Chico, CA, USA

    Kyle C. Horst & Patrick S. Johnson

  2. Department of Psychology, California State University, Chico, Chico, CA, USA

    Kyle C. Horst & Patrick S. Johnson

Authors
  1. Kyle C. Horst
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  2. Patrick S. Johnson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kyle C. Horst .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Jay Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Anthony Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Brian Baucom

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Horst, K.C., Johnson, P.S. (2018). Aversive Control in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_73-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_73-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

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