a form of psychotherapy that applies the principles of learning, operant conditioning, and classical conditioning to eliminate symptoms and modify ineffective or maladaptive patterns of behavior. The focus of this therapy is upon the behavior itself and the contingencies and environmental factors that reinforce it, rather than exploration of the underlying psychological causes of the behavior. A wide variety of techniques are used in behavior therapy, such as behavior rehearsal, biofeedback, modeling, and systematic desensitization. Also called behavioral psychotherapy; conditioning therapy.
any questionnaire designed to measure an individual’s current repertoire of health-related behaviors. In health care there is an increased emphasis on prevention, and many inventories exist to measure an individual’s compliance with physical activity, dietary control, preventive inoculations, and screening for potential health problems, such as mammography and prostate or colon cancer testing.