Behavioral approach for changing sleep associations
Core Idea: Extinction therapy in sleep training involves removing reinforcement (parental response) for undesirable behaviors (crying due to unsustainable sleep associations) to help establish independent sleep skills.
Key Elements
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Core principles:
- Based on behavioral conditioning principles
- Stops rewarding dependent sleep behaviors
- Creates space for new independent sleep skills to develop
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Implementation approaches:
- Full extinction: Parent puts child down awake and doesn't return until child is asleep
- Graduated extinction: Parent returns for brief "checks" at progressively longer intervals
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Effectiveness comparison:
- Both full and graduated extinction have strong evidence for effectiveness
- No conclusive evidence that one approach is superior to the other
- Parental preference often favors graduated extinction (feels more loving)
- Practitioner experience suggests full extinction may:
- Work more quickly overall
- Result in less total crying
- Avoid unintentional reinforcement of crying
- Prevent increased distress that some babies experience during parent visits
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Implementation considerations:
- Requires full commitment to change
- Consistency is crucial for effectiveness
- Works most effectively when built on a solid foundation of consistent bedtime routines
Key Distinctions
- Distinguished from the "cry it out" label by having a specific behavioral theory foundation
- Focuses on changing learned associations rather than "teaching a lesson"
- Can be implemented with varying degrees of parental presence
Additional Connections
- Broader Context: Behavioral Psychology in Parenting (theoretical framework)
- Applications: Sleep Association Theory (practical implementation)
- See Also: Extinction Burst (related behavioral concept)
References
- Dubief, A. (2017). Precious Little Sleep.
#sleep #parenting #behavioralpsychology #extinction #sleeptraining
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