Description, Implementation and Results of Azrin and Nunn's Technique for Modification of Nervous Habits.

Abstract

The program of habit reversal developed by Azrin and Nunn has been successfully applied to change a great variety of nervous habits: nail biting, hair pulling, stuttering, tics, etc. In this application to some Spanish populations to reduce nail biting behavior results show an 82 % decrease in all cases. It has been found that learning a competing reaction -considered by Azrin

and Nunn as the central feature of the method- is not important for getting good results. It is suggested that the incidental treatment factors play an important role in this method and in other behaviour therapies: biofeedback, systematic desensitization, etc.