Conditioning and Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy

Abstract

When behaviour therapy was developed in the 1950s and 1960s, it was based firmly on the experimental psychology of the time, principally learning theory. Since that time effective verbal therapies have been developed, and clinicians are faced with the difficult task of selecting among so-called behavioural and cognitive interventions based on radically different philosophies. This paper reviews developments in learning theory, particularly human learning, which suggest that conditioning is a complex cognitive process giving rise to verbally accessible expectancies and beliefs. Such a perspective provides a common theoretical framework (cf. Bandura, 1977) that allows behavioural and cognitive strategies to be coordinated to modify a particular cognitive target, such as biased expectancy of harm in anxiety. It is argued that the terms behavioural and cognitive carry unwanted connotations, and that it is preferable to specify independently the content of information to be conveyed in therapy (e.g., reduction in expectancy), and the mode by which it is conveyed — experience, observation, or language. Learning theory, in conjunction with other areas of experimental psychology, continues to provide a conceptual basis for the understanding of psychopathology and the development of new psychological interventions.

A modern learning theory perspective on the etiology of panic disorder.

“…We accept and embrace this view. However, we do not accept the idea that a modern view of conditioning implies that conditioning trials inevitably give rise to a kind of prepositional, declarative knowledge that is the same as that created by verbal input (e.g., Lovibond, 1993). Conditioning theories themselves are agnostic on the issue.…”

Habituation of unconditioned fear can be attenuated by the presence of a safe stimulus: Assessment using the neophobic response of the rat

“…Second, we have discussed the reduction of a neophobic response as an instance of habituation of unconditioned fear. The idea that the same mechanisms that operate in the extinction of a conditioned fear might also be involved in the reduction of an unconditioned fear is not new (e.g., Lovibond, 1993;Reiss, 1991). However, from a strict point of view, extinction of any response requires previous conditioning and, thus, the reduction of an unconditioned fear might be viewed as a process resembling (but different from) extinction, that is, habituation.…”

“…It has been suggested that not all fear responses arise from conditioning episodes (Rachman, 1977). Additionally, there are reasons to assume that the mechanisms operating in exposure therapy that are effective in extinguishing a previously conditioned fear also play an important role in the treatment of unconditioned fears (e.g., Lovibond, 1993;Reiss, 1991). If exposure to an unconditioned fear-eliciting stimulus results in habituation of the unconditioned fear owing to the same mechanisms that mediate extinction of a conditioned fear, one might expect the presence of a safety signal to also impair the habituation of an unconditioned fear.…”

The Proust effect and the evolution of a dual learning system

“…For example, exposure to interoceptive sensations (e.g., breathlessness, pounding heart) in panic disorder is used explicitly as a way of testing the patient's catastrophic interpretations (e.g., heart attack) and is linked to verbal information concerning the true causes of those sensations (e.g., hyperventilation, anxiety). Thus, direct experience and language can be seen as two different and potentially synergistic ways of targeting patients' distorted beliefs and thereby normalizing their behavior (Lovibond 1993). Further exploration of the ways in which learning experiences impact on propositional knowledge may well facilitate progress in developing effective clinical interventions.…”