Counselor Education Comprehensive Exam (CECE) Practice Exam

Which technique is NOT associated with behaviorism?

1. Shaping

2. Extinction

3. Stress inoculation training

4. Token economy

The correct answer is: Stress inoculation training

The technique associated with stress inoculation training is not considered a behaviorist approach, making it the correct answer in this context. Stress inoculation training is rooted in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which emphasizes the role of cognition in emotional regulation and behavior change. This technique involves teaching individuals how to cope with stress by anticipating and preparing for stressors through cognitive restructuring and behavioral practice. In contrast, the other techniques listed—shaping, extinction, and token economy—are all foundational concepts within behaviorism. Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior until the target behavior is achieved. Extinction refers to the process of reducing a behavior by removing the reinforcement that supports it. A token economy is a system where desired behaviors are reinforced with tokens that can be exchanged for rewards. These methods all focus on observable behaviors and the manipulations of reinforcement, which are central to behaviorist theory.