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Perspectives on behavior therapy in the eighties
176
BOOK REVIEWS
Perspectives on Behavior Therapy in the Eighties Volume
9, Springer
Edited by MICHAEL Springer
Series on Behavior ROSENBAUM,
Publishing
I‘. . . let us go down, and there confound that they may not understand
one another’s
Company,
their language, speech.” Genesis 11 : 7
This collection of 23 papers from the First World Congress on Behavior Therapy, held in Jerusalem in 1980, reminds one of the Tower of Babel. The effect of the current diversity of voices on the edifice of behavior therapy is a matter for future historians. Diffuseness, if not confusion, is the perspective of this volume. Several trends are apparent. First is the concern about cognitions, or, as referred to in several places, the “cognitive revolution”. Simply in terms of number of citations in the index, or number of chapters in which it is a major focus, “cognition” is clearly the bandwagon of the eighties. The use of the term “behavior”, as in “cognitive behavior therapy”, seems a vestigial practice for many authors, and some have dropped it all together. It is clear that, at this stage, there is no generally accepted conceptual framework of cognition, analogous to theories of conditioning. Kruglanski and Jaffee attempt to remedy this with their “lay-epistemic model”. Other theorists are concerned with only a portion of the cognitive elephant (e.g. Rosenbaum on “learned resourcefulness”; Giles and Rush on depression). The most widely-cited cognitive theories are those of Bandura and Beck, who themselves are not contributors to this volume. The Issues of defining and assessing cognitive targets and treatments, which Craighead and associates discuss with respect to child therapy, are problems for cognitive therapy in general. One interesting trend for this decade will be the development of special and general theories of cognition. A related issue is whether the cognitive approach is meant to supplement or supplant the conditioning models. Only the “first generation” behavior therapists, Eysenck, Wolpe and Marks, concern themselves with classical conditioning, pointing out difficulties and modifications, to be sure, but still according it a place in the scheme of things. Eysenck takes a hard line, that neurotic disorders are primarily conditioned responses, and that, in any event, Pavlov’s “second signalling system” accounts for cognitive phenomena. Wolpe proposes that neurotic fear can be acquired either by conditioning or through “misinformation” (or both), with important implications for treatment. Operant approaches are represented by Lovaas’s retrospective account of his landmark treatment of autistic children. Lewinsohn and associates acknowledge “reinforcement positions” in accounting for depression, and Winkler uses token economies as a jumping-off point for his systems
Therapy
and Behavioral
Medicine
CYRIL FRANKS
and YORAM
New York, N.Y.,
1983,463
JAFFE
pp.
theory, but otherwise the applied behavior analysis viewpoint is not included. Franks and Rosenbaum, in their introduction, go so far as to confuse the concepts of “radical” and “methodological” behaviorism, and accuse the former of denying “the very existence of mental states”. That the split between cognitivists and behaviorists will continue to widen is evident from the perspective of this volume. A third issue concerns the place of behavior therapy in a larger context of other treatment systems and society. London discusses this in philosophical and historical terms, while Winkler and Willems each discuss behavioral technology as a cog in the systems or ecobehavioral machine. A specific example is behavioral medicine, in which behavior therapy, medicine and society at large each have to adjust to this emergent field. In this context, Fodor questions the use of behavior therapy in the service of fashion rather than health for overweight women. The influence of cultural factors is described in the treatment of anorexia (Leon) and chronic pain (Craig, Weisenberg). The issue of prevention (Melamud, Poser) also points up the complexity of life in the eighties. Finally, a point too small to be an issue or a trend but one that bears watching, is the use of physiological tests to predict response to treatment. Dawson and associates report a relation between electrodermal abnormalities and recidivism in schizophrenics, and Melamud reports that medical preparatory information is less effective with children displaying certain autonomic patterns of arousal. A major issue in these eclectic times, and one not clearly addressed in this volume, is that of determining which client will benefit from which treatment. The possibility of physiological arousal patterns as an assessment device should be pursued. In summary, this collection provides a forum for individuals to present their own views. They are, for the most part, well written and up-to-date. Excellent bibliographies and indexes make this a useful reference work. It is to be hoped that the rigor that was once the hallmark of behavior therapy will before long once again replace the diffuseness that this volume displays. ROGER
Behavior Analysis and Therapy Program Rehabilitation Institute Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL 62901, (1. S. A.
POPPEN
BOOK REVIEWS
Perspectives on Behavior Therapy in the Eighties Volume
9, Springer
Edited by MICHAEL Springer
Series on Behavior ROSENBAUM,
Publishing
I‘. . . let us go down, and there confound that they may not understand
one another’s
Company,
their language, speech.” Genesis 11 : 7
This collection of 23 papers from the First World Congress on Behavior Therapy, held in Jerusalem in 1980, reminds one of the Tower of Babel. The effect of the current diversity of voices on the edifice of behavior therapy is a matter for future historians. Diffuseness, if not confusion, is the perspective of this volume. Several trends are apparent. First is the concern about cognitions, or, as referred to in several places, the “cognitive revolution”. Simply in terms of number of citations in the index, or number of chapters in which it is a major focus, “cognition” is clearly the bandwagon of the eighties. The use of the term “behavior”, as in “cognitive behavior therapy”, seems a vestigial practice for many authors, and some have dropped it all together. It is clear that, at this stage, there is no generally accepted conceptual framework of cognition, analogous to theories of conditioning. Kruglanski and Jaffee attempt to remedy this with their “lay-epistemic model”. Other theorists are concerned with only a portion of the cognitive elephant (e.g. Rosenbaum on “learned resourcefulness”; Giles and Rush on depression). The most widely-cited cognitive theories are those of Bandura and Beck, who themselves are not contributors to this volume. The Issues of defining and assessing cognitive targets and treatments, which Craighead and associates discuss with respect to child therapy, are problems for cognitive therapy in general. One interesting trend for this decade will be the development of special and general theories of cognition. A related issue is whether the cognitive approach is meant to supplement or supplant the conditioning models. Only the “first generation” behavior therapists, Eysenck, Wolpe and Marks, concern themselves with classical conditioning, pointing out difficulties and modifications, to be sure, but still according it a place in the scheme of things. Eysenck takes a hard line, that neurotic disorders are primarily conditioned responses, and that, in any event, Pavlov’s “second signalling system” accounts for cognitive phenomena. Wolpe proposes that neurotic fear can be acquired either by conditioning or through “misinformation” (or both), with important implications for treatment. Operant approaches are represented by Lovaas’s retrospective account of his landmark treatment of autistic children. Lewinsohn and associates acknowledge “reinforcement positions” in accounting for depression, and Winkler uses token economies as a jumping-off point for his systems
Therapy
and Behavioral
Medicine
CYRIL FRANKS
and YORAM
New York, N.Y.,
1983,463
JAFFE
pp.
theory, but otherwise the applied behavior analysis viewpoint is not included. Franks and Rosenbaum, in their introduction, go so far as to confuse the concepts of “radical” and “methodological” behaviorism, and accuse the former of denying “the very existence of mental states”. That the split between cognitivists and behaviorists will continue to widen is evident from the perspective of this volume. A third issue concerns the place of behavior therapy in a larger context of other treatment systems and society. London discusses this in philosophical and historical terms, while Winkler and Willems each discuss behavioral technology as a cog in the systems or ecobehavioral machine. A specific example is behavioral medicine, in which behavior therapy, medicine and society at large each have to adjust to this emergent field. In this context, Fodor questions the use of behavior therapy in the service of fashion rather than health for overweight women. The influence of cultural factors is described in the treatment of anorexia (Leon) and chronic pain (Craig, Weisenberg). The issue of prevention (Melamud, Poser) also points up the complexity of life in the eighties. Finally, a point too small to be an issue or a trend but one that bears watching, is the use of physiological tests to predict response to treatment. Dawson and associates report a relation between electrodermal abnormalities and recidivism in schizophrenics, and Melamud reports that medical preparatory information is less effective with children displaying certain autonomic patterns of arousal. A major issue in these eclectic times, and one not clearly addressed in this volume, is that of determining which client will benefit from which treatment. The possibility of physiological arousal patterns as an assessment device should be pursued. In summary, this collection provides a forum for individuals to present their own views. They are, for the most part, well written and up-to-date. Excellent bibliographies and indexes make this a useful reference work. It is to be hoped that the rigor that was once the hallmark of behavior therapy will before long once again replace the diffuseness that this volume displays. ROGER
Behavior Analysis and Therapy Program Rehabilitation Institute Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL 62901, (1. S. A.
POPPEN