Human Development
Conditioned reflex therapy
Description:
In this therapy, the Pavlovian conditioning process is applied to clinical procedures. On the basis that man's behaviour is inseparably rooted in animal nature, neurotic behaviour is rendered healthy by direct re-conditioning, which takes the form of strong positive suggestions. The emotionally ill person is held to have experienced, in one way or another, some inhibiting conditioning, and needs to be encouraged to develop the excitatory reflexes of which he is deprived in modern society. The healthy person is considered to be one who acts without thinking on the basis of spontaneous, outgoing feeling; whereas the emotionally ill think without acting.Broader:
Therapy