Covert Positive Reinforcement

Description of the Strategy

Covert positive reinforcement is an imagery-based procedure used to increase the frequency of both covert and overt behavior. In using covert positive reinforcement, the client imagines his or her performance of the targeted behavior in its typical context, and he or she also imagines the reinforcer, which follows it. The assumption is that the reinforcer functions to strengthen the targeted behavior and increase its frequency in the context described in the “scene.”

The first step in implementing this procedure is to ascertain treatment goals, problems interfering with attainment of treatment goals, and behaviors that must be changed to achieve these goals. This is done through a collaborative discussion between the therapist and client. Each element of the process is described as clearly as possible in operational terms.

The second step is to determine the items that might serve as “reinforcers,” that is, things that provide some pleasure to the client and function to increase any behavior upon which they may be contingent. These items may be identified by means of an interview, self-report questionnaires, direct observation, or queries to family and friends. Reinforcers may be tangible (e.g., a glass of wine), intangible (e.g., looking deeply into a lover's eyes and feeling a warm glow, or receiving a compliment after skillfully performing a task), imagerial (e.g., a visualization of standing at the top of a mountain and looking over a scenic view), real, or fantasized.

The third step involves determination of the client's ability to imagine the events described. Thus, the therapist must describe the situational context in which the performance of the targeted behavior is required in a great deal of detail, using as many different sensory stimuli as possible. For example, the situation may be one in which the client is fearful or angry or shy or tempted to do something inappropriate. The targeted behavior may involve the client coping with the fear, calming down, asserting himself or herself, or resisting the temptation. Once the client imagines both the situation and the targeted behavior, he or she also imagines the reinforcer (e.g., making the winning touchdown in a championship football game and having the team hoist the client on their shoulders amid loud cheering.)

The covert positive reinforcement procedure may be employed both for a single response (e.g., a client is reinforced for speaking assertively when his or her rights have been violated) or in a sequential pattern leading up to a desired behavior (e.g., taking a difficult test, being in a situation where the client experiences anxiety on days leading up to the exam, the day of the exam, walking over to the place where the exam will be given, being confronted with the test, struggling with answers to certain questions, handing in the exam, seeing other students finish first, and so forth).

The client's ability to produce the images and experience the scenes in appropriate detail and with appropriate emotion is critical. To assess the client's ability, the therapist may ask the client to rate the scene for its clarity, duration, time to production, and degree of pleasure or displeasure associated with it. The therapist may also ask the client to narrate the scene aloud to get an idea of the detail contained in it. The client is encouraged to try to imagine that he or she is actually experiencing the scene described, not just to picture oneself as a performer in a movie. To achieve the maximum effectiveness, the client strives to imagine the reinforcer within 5 seconds of imagining the targeted behavior.

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