CBC Behavioral Modification Strategies 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A post-bariatric surgery patient reports eating quickly and experiencing frequent dumping syndrome. Which behavioral strategy should the counselor recommend first?
- Mindful eating with timed pauses between bites (Correct answer)
- Eliminating all carbohydrates from the diet
- Increasing meal frequency to eight times daily
- Drinking liquids with every meal
Correct answer: Mindful eating with timed pauses between bites
Mindful eating with paced bites directly slows eating speed, the primary behavioral trigger of dumping syndrome.
Question 2: In stimulus control for weight management, which intervention best reduces environmental cues to overeat?
- Keeping high-calorie snacks out of visible areas at home (Correct answer)
- Weighing daily and recording emotions
- Practicing progressive muscle relaxation
- Setting long-term weight loss goals
Correct answer: Keeping high-calorie snacks out of visible areas at home
Stimulus control targets environmental triggers, such as removing visible high-calorie foods, to reduce cued eating.
Question 3: A patient says, 'I already broke my diet at lunch, so the whole day is ruined.' This cognitive distortion is best described as:
- All-or-nothing thinking (Correct answer)
- Emotional reasoning
- Personalization
- Mind reading
Correct answer: All-or-nothing thinking
Viewing one lapse as total failure reflects all-or-nothing (dichotomous) thinking.
Question 4: Which self-monitoring practice is most consistently associated with sustained weight loss after bariatric surgery?
- Daily food journaling (Correct answer)
- Monthly body measurements
- Annual lab work review
- Weekly counselor check-ins only
Correct answer: Daily food journaling
Consistent daily food logging is one of the strongest behavioral predictors of long-term weight maintenance.
Question 5: A counselor helps a patient plan how to handle a buffet at an upcoming wedding. This strategy is an example of:
- Relapse prevention planning (Correct answer)
- Aversion therapy
- Operant extinction
- Flooding
Correct answer: Relapse prevention planning
Anticipating high-risk situations and rehearsing coping responses is the core of relapse prevention.
Question 6: According to behavioral principles, rewarding a patient with a non-food treat after meeting a weekly exercise goal is an example of:
- Positive reinforcement (Correct answer)
- Negative reinforcement
- Punishment
- Extinction
Correct answer: Positive reinforcement
Adding a desirable reward to increase a behavior's frequency is positive reinforcement.
Question 7: A patient consistently eats in response to work stress rather than hunger. The most appropriate initial behavioral intervention is:
- Teaching alternative stress-coping responses to replace eating (Correct answer)
- Prescribing appetite suppressants
- Recommending a liquid-only diet
- Advising the patient to change jobs
Correct answer: Teaching alternative stress-coping responses to replace eating
Substituting adaptive coping behaviors for emotional eating addresses the functional trigger directly.
CBC Behavioral Modification Strategies 2
A post-bariatric surgery patient reports eating quickly and experiencing frequent dumping syndrome.
Which behavioral strategy should the counselor recommend first?