Thinking and Behavior Therapy

(6-21-18)

George Kelly had a problem with the behaviorism of his day (1950’s), especially the concept of a “stimulus.”

• Dr. Kelly views reflected a version of phenomenology: it is our perception of events, rather than the events themselves, that are critical in determining our behavior/feelings/thoughts. He felt the why behaviorists defined a stimulus was essentially an intellectual cheat that could never yield a useful psychology of human behavior.
• a London museum vase
• humans as scientists (we are all trying to predict what will happen in situations important to us)
• Personal Construct Theory, Repertory Grid Technique, Fixed Role Therapy

While some would maintain that practitioners of behavior therapy show little evidence of taking seriously the variable of “thinking” as well as eschewing the topic of mental events, a review of both academic “behaviorism” and applied behavior therapies quickly shows that at least the 2nd part of the dig is incorrect:

• Andrew Salter, “father” of assertion training, was obviously concerned with the mental life of his patients: advocating the use of positive self-statements, an attitude of positive expectations, and appreciation of positive emotions
• Joseph Wolpe used mental imagery in his systematic desensitization and in thought stopping. While he de-emphasized the critical role of cognitions (al la. Ellis), he did recognize the importance of “correction of misconceptions” which might support neurotic anxiety
• The learning theories of Hull and especially Tolman recognized internal, private events (i.e., thoughts, feelings)
• B.F. Skinner, the theoretical giant behind applied behavior analysis (operant approaches), was quite comfortable in discussing mental events—as long as these were anchored in observable (objectively measurable) events. His discussion emphasized cognitive activities as “behavior.” For instance, he discussed visual hallucinations as the behavior of, “seeing in the absence of the thing seen” (Beyond Freedom and Dignity)
• The foundation of cognitive-behavioral views of behavior change can be seen in the social-learning models developed by Rotter, Walters & Bandura, and Bandura. These “three factor” learning theories require the explicit recognition of cognitive processes to account for the third learning process: modeling or observational learning
  • Respondent learning (classical conditioning, Pavlovian learning, stimulus conditioning)
  • Operant learning (instrumental behavior, reward learning)
  • Observational learning (modeling, imitative learning, identification) —
    • the essential requirement for observational learning:
      • attending to the model, hence cognitive processing
      • become a operating characteristic of the model

Cognitive-behavioral models of psychopathology and intervention

• Ellis irrational thoughts
• Beck cognitive distortions
  • schemata
    • early learned cognitive patterns:
    • perceptual expectancies
    • emotional reactions
    • response tendencies
• Interventions based on cognitive models (content):
  • increased awareness of link between thoughts and actions/feelings
  • disputation of faulty conclusion
  • self-talk
  • experimentation & verification/disconfirmation of conclusions
• Interventions based on cognitive models (process):
  • mindfulness based treatments of depression and depression relapse
  • ACT
  • (somewhat) DBT