Applications of Conditioning Theory Psychology Revivals Series

The area of applied psychology known as behaviour modification or behaviour therapy had progressed remarkably in the ten years, prior to publication. Illustrative of this progress is the variety of therapeutic and behaviour management techniques now available to the applied psychologist. This volume, originally published in 1981, describes some of the important characteristics of this development, and in particular, the relationship between behaviour change techniques and the principles of conditioning theory that generated them.

This brief gives rise to three main themes. First, the book describes some of the reasons underlying the adoption of the conditioning paradigm and the epistemological advantages of the paradigm for behaviour modification. Second, a number of chapters discuss the current trends in specific areas of applied psychology where conditioning principles play an important heuristic role. These chapters deal with the uses made of conditioning theory in the areas of mental handicap, psychiatric therapy, work organizations, and the treatment of brain injury. Third, later chapters discuss some of the more recent theoretical developments in the field of behaviour modification/therapy, in particular the drift from strict behaviouristic applications of conditioning principles to more cognitive ones.

Notes on the contributors. Editor’s Introduction. 1. The Experimental Analysis of Behaviour and its Relevance to Applied Psychology Derek Blackman 2. Applied Behaviour Analysis: Intervention with Retarded People Laurence Tennant, Chris Cullen and John Hattersley 3. The Token Economy Alan Kazdin 4. Application of Behaviour Modification in the Treatment of Traumatically Brain-Injured Adults Rodger Wood and Peter Eames 5. Behaviour Modification in Organizations Graham Davey 6. Pavlovian Principles and Behaviour Therapy Glyn Thomas and Mark O’Callaghan 7. Establishing Behaviour: The Constructional Approach Chris Cullen, John Hattersley and Laurence Tennant 8. Self-Instructional Training and Cognitive Behaviour Modification: A Behavioural Analysis Fergus Lowe and Peter Higson 9. Conditioning Principles, Behaviourism and Behaviour Therapy Graham Davey. Name Index. Subject Index.