Abstract

GUEDES, Maria Luisa. Why aversive control is not an option in clinical setting. Acta comport. [online]. 2011, vol.19, n.4, pp. 65-70. ISSN 0188-8145.

The behavior relations established among people compose the special environment which distinguishes us from other species (the social environment or culture). Although much of the human suffering caused by the direct relations with the nature have been attenuated due to technological advancements, the suffering generated in the aversive relations among individuals is still frequent and an equivalent progress in the reduction of its effects hasn't taken place yet. As a function of the evolutionary history of the specie antecedent events contingent to the response-reinforcement relation acquire properties similar the consequent stimulus. In the social relations, as well as one can be a conditioned and generalized reinforcer, by inflicting painful unconditional stimulation to another, one can also become a conditioned aversive stimulus. Defining aversive stimuli as the one which selects the response that removes it, the damage to the social relations that the aversive control can exert can be estimated. The effects of the aversive stimuli use are already widely known among behavior analysts and it entails: negative emotional responses elicitation, predisposition to escape, attack against the stimulus source or acting in an incompatible way to the demanded, etc. However, such effects besides not preventing the occurrence of the punished behavior, predispose the individual to act in any manner that relieves the undesired corporal states produced, be it through the ingestion of substances, engaging itself in bizarre, dangerous or illogical behaviors or even interrupting the social interaction with the controller. In the clinical setting, these effects are frequently observed and aversive behavior interactions are the base of many of the diagnosed problems. Thus, it is contended that the use of aversive strategies in the therapy must be abolished not only because they don't solve the problem but also because they produce others. The objective of the present text was not a thorough display of new data about aversive control, but a reflection about the already known effects instead. Many of the hazardous effects of the aversive control have already been described, as much as some clues to understand why we use and abuse it. Nevertheless, hence the great challenge in promoting the abandonment of such practices, research on the aversive control is still welcomed and needed.

Keywords : Aversive Control; Social Relations; Behavior Analysis.

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