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Habits and Tics

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Handbook of Child Behavior Therapy

Part of the book series: Issues in Clinical Child Psychology ((ICCP))

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to present a clinician-friendly guide to the identification, functional assessment, treatment, and evaluation of habit and tic behaviors. We combined tics and habits into a single chapter because of the topographical and functional similarities between tics and habits. For example, people who repeatedly shrug their shoulders may do so because they have learned that the specific response of shrugging releases muscle tension (an operant behavior that is maintained by automatic negative reinforcement, also called a habit) or because it is elicited by an internal stimulus as part of an organic disorder (e.g., Tourette’s) which results in a feeling of relief or escape from aversive somatic sensation. In both instances, the topography (i.e., shrugging shoulders) and the function (i.e., negative reinforcement by escape) are the same. Regardless of whether the shoulder shrugging is labeled a tic or a habit, the general assessment and treatment procedures will be identical.

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Bibliography

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School Psychology Program, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, 39762, USA

    T. Steuart Watson & Heather Elise Sterling

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  1. T. Steuart Watson
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  2. Heather Elise Sterling
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi, USA

    T. Steuart Watson

  2. University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California, USA

    Frank M. Gresham

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Watson, T.S., Sterling, H.E. (1998). Habits and Tics. In: Watson, T.S., Gresham, F.M. (eds) Handbook of Child Behavior Therapy. Issues in Clinical Child Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5323-6_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5323-6_22

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

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