Nine-year-old Meena of Lucknow screams and runs whenever she sees a dog on her street. Her therapist plans several steps. In one session Meena sits beside her mother while her older cousin Arjun calmly feeds and pats a small puppy in the clinic garden. Arjun is praised by the therapist, and nothing bad happens to him. After a few such sessions Meena begins to stand nearer to the puppy and later reaches out to pat it herself.
The step in which Meena sits and sees Arjun feeding and patting the puppy uses which principle of behavioural techniques?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Using vicarious learning procedures
Option (1) Using vicarious learning procedures — Correct. In vicarious learning a person learns a behaviour by watching another person perform it. Meena sees Arjun handle the puppy safely and then copies his calm approach.
Option (2) Altering behaviour through classical conditioning — Incorrect. Classical conditioning changes behaviour by repeatedly pairing a stimulus with another one, as in aversive conditioning. No such pairing is set up for Meena in this step.
Option (3) Altering behaviour through operant conditioning — Incorrect. Operant conditioning changes behaviour through the consequences of the client's own actions, such as a reward after a wanted behaviour. The praise goes to Arjun, so her change does not come from her own reinforcement.
Option (4) Reducing the arousal level of the client — Incorrect. Reducing arousal lowers the client's anxiety, as in relaxation procedures where the client learns to relax the muscles. In this step nothing is done to calm Meena's body; she only watches.
NCERT (2026-27): “Behavioural Techniques |