A case study of chronic depression is presented. It is argued that in some cases of depression, the appropriate treatment may focus on the social contingencies (such as attention and comfort) which maintain depressive behavior, rather than on the events which elicit depression. Depression may thus be considered an operant and manipulated much as any other operant. The present treatment consisted of self-administered aversive consequences for onset of depression, and self-administered positive consequences for the termination of depression. Results clearly support the notion that the subjective experience of depression may be successfully modified by operant self-control techniques.
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