Tanvi feels very anxious before her examinations and starts eating too much. Her therapist teaches her to tighten her forearm muscles, feel the tension, and then let it go. With practice she learns to relax all the muscles of her body. Why would a behaviour therapist use the group of procedures to which this technique belongs?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → To lower her anxiety, which acts as an antecedent factor in causing her overeating
Option (1) To lower her anxiety, which acts as an antecedent factor in causing her overeating — Correct. Tensing and then releasing muscle groups is progressive muscular relaxation, one of the relaxation procedures. Anxiety raises arousal and acts as an antecedent factor, so lowering it reduces unwanted behaviour like overeating.
Option (2) To give her tokens for healthy eating that she can exchange for a reward — Incorrect. Tokens exchanged for a reward make up token economy. No reward is used in Tanvi's training.
Option (3) To pair her overeating with an unpleasant consequence so that she stops it — Incorrect. Pairing a behaviour with an unpleasant consequence is aversive conditioning. Tanvi is taught to relax.
Option (4) To raise the reinforcing value of food at regular meal times — Incorrect. Raising the reinforcing value of a consequence is an establishing operation, as with a smaller snack before dinner. Relaxation works on anxiety instead.
NCERT (2026-27): “Behavioural Techniques … “… In progressive muscular relaxation, the client is taught to contract individual muscle groups in order to give the awareness of tenseness or muscular tension. After the client has learnt to tense the muscle group such as the forearm, the client is asked to let go the tension. The client is told that the tension is what the client has at present and that s/he has to get into the opposite state. With repeated practice the client learns to relax all the muscles of the body. …” |