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. 2004 Fall;27(2):231–238. doi: 10.1007/BF03393182

A behavior-analytic conceptualization of the side effects of psychotropic medication

Maria G Valdovinos, Craig H Kennedy
PMCID: PMC2755407  PMID: 22478431

Abstract

A range of behavior—much deemed problematic by society—is treated with behavioral methods or psychotropic medications. Although the processes associated with behavioral interventions have been investigated using conceptual, experimental, and applied analyses, less is known about the behavioral processes associated with the use of psychotropic medication. Psychotropic drugs produce at least two types of effects of behavioral interest: (a) primary effects of drug action on target behaviors and (b) side effects that change the target or other behavior. Although an empirical literature exists regarding the former effects, little attention has been given to the latter topic. In this paper we offer a conceptual analysis of the side effects of psychotropic medication. We propose that the side effects of various drugs can influence behavior by functioning as motivating operations, conditional or discriminative stimuli, or by establishing new response-reinforcer relations. This conceptualization may facilitate the empirical analysis of how psychotropic drugs change behavior.

Keywords: side effects of medication, motivating operations, discriminative stimuli, reinforcer, punisher, psychotropic medication, behavior analysis

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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