Theoretical Foundations of Behavior Therapy, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1987
Perspectives on Individual Differences Series

In this book we have attempted to confront a number of issues that are intimately related to the theoretical basis of behavior therapy. We believe that behavior therapy is an extremely efficient procedure for the treatment of neurotic disorders; that it is based on certain principles derived from learning theory; and that it is unique in using basic scientific principles in psychology in the service of applied and practical ends. We believe that we are here dealing with much more than the advantageous use of serendipitous borrowings from nonexistent principles, the cookbook collection of precepts, methods, and working rules that happen to have lasting effects. We also believe that there is truly a general principle unde. rlying behavior therapy, rather than a varied mass of nonintegrated therapies that have little in common other than a name. These beliefs are often contes ted, but usually those who oppose them do so on the basis of misconceptions and misunderstandings that indicate a lack of knowledge of fundamental facts. It is the purpose of this book to remove these misconceptions and misunderstandings, and to bring up to date our knowledge in certain fundamental areas of learning theory, behavior therapy, and the biological foundations of per­ sonality and individual differences. There are three major groups of misconceptions and misunderstandings. The first of these relates to beliefs held by many psychiatrists and cognitive psychologists relating to behavior therapy.

I Introduction.- 1 Behavior Therapy.- 2 Behavior Modification.- II Conditioning Theory.- 3 Animal Conditioning and Learning Theory.- 4 A Primate Model of Phobic Fears.- 5 Evaluative Conditioning: A Case for Hedonic Transfer.- 6 Knowledge, Action, and Control.- 7 Operant Conditioning: The Hiatus between Theory and Practice in Clinical Psychology.- 8 Language Conditioning: Clinical Issues and Applications in Behavior Therapy.- III Cognitive Theory.- 9 Trait Anxiety and Cognition.- 10 Clinical Anxiety and Cognition.- 11 Cognitive Theories of Depression.- 12 Cognitive Treatment of Depression.- 13 Cognitive Theories of Motivation.- 14 Emotion, Cognition, and Action.- IV Description and the Organization of Behavior.- 15 Prospects for Theoretical Progress in Behavior Therapy.- 16 Behavioral Assessment: A New Theoretical Foundation for Clinical Measurement and Evaluation.- 17 A Response Process Model of Behavior.- V Biological Bases of Personality and Behavior.- 18 The Role of Heredity, Environment, and “Preparedness” in the Genesis of Neurosis.- 19 Hormones and Clinical Anxiety: An Imbalanced Neuromodulation of Attention.- 20 Interactions between Drugs and Behavior Therapy.- VI Conclusion.- 21 Concluding Comments on Theoretical Foundations and Requirements in Behavior Therapy.