Introduction

Abstract

The present book provides several perspectives to the question, What is the role of cognitive factors in clinical treatment? In the first chapter, Wilson traces the growth of interest in cognitive variables within the behavior therapy field and identifies the major conceptual models: applied behavior analysis, with its emphasis on overt behavior; the neobehavioristic mediational S-R model, applying classical conditioning and counterconditioning principles to the treatment of abnormal behavior; social learning theory, in which cognitive mediational processes, in addition to classical and operant conditioning, play an important role in the development of learning; and cognitive behavior therapy, or what Wilson terms the “cognitive connection.” Included in the areas of cognitive behavior therapy, according to the author, are the rational psychotherapies, coping-skills therapies, and problem-solving therapies.