MANAGING STRESS: Behaviourist Approach and biofeedback [Budzynski et al]

The behaviourist approach to psychology assumes that we are all born as a blank slate, and we learn all of our behaviour. It's a very reductionist approach as it is purely on the nurture side of the nature-nurture debate, the situational side of the situational-dispositional debate, and deterministic on the freewill-determinism debate. 

It essentially works on the basis of three concepts: classical conditioning (learning via association), operant conditioning (learning via punishment and reinforcement) and social learning theory (learning via imitation and interaction with others).

In terms of stress management, the behaviourist approach takes the view that as behaviour is learned, you can be taught to manage stress through the same processes. Stress is often dealt with in behavioural therapies through the use of CBT (mentioned in this post on cognitive therapies) or through the use of positive reinforcements. This often involves direct positive reinforcement in terms of improved relaxation and reduced stress combined with feedback from a biodot (which shows you reducing your stress) or a monitor such as a heart rate monitor.

Study: Budzynski et al 

Budzynski et al conducted a study on the role of biofeedback in reducing stress management. It was a field experiment using 18 volunteers who had responded to an advert asking for people with tension headaches. They were split into 3 conditions. Group 1 were taught relaxation techniques during two weekly sessions for eight weeks, during which they had their muscle tension measured by an EMG machine. They were informed about the biofeedback in terms of clicks, (more clicks = more tension) and encouraged to relax. Group 2 had the same relaxation training but didn't know about the biofeedback and were given a false soundtrack of clicks, whilst Group 3 were not trained in the relaxation techniques nor taught about the biofeedback and so acted as a control group. The study showed that Group 1 had the lowest muscle tension, lowest levels of hysteria and depression and the fewest tension headaches by the end of the study, concluding that biofeedback combined with relaxation techniques help to significantly reduce stress-related illness.