Cognitive behavior modification: A step in the wrong direction?

A recent cognitive trend in behavior therapy is documented, and the highlights of the behavioristic-cognitive debates that have appeared in the journals over the years are reviewed. Three types of data bearing on the relative effectiveness of cognitive and behavior therapy are presented: (a) controlled studies comparing the effectiveness of the new cognitive behavior modification techniques with traditional behavior therapy procedures, (b) studies comparing the effectiveness of two traditional behavior therapy techniques in which one of the procedures relies less on cognitive operations than does the other, and (c) data from other areas of psychology (attitude change, perception) that bear on the relationship between cognition and behavior change. Although the latter two data sources favor traditional behavior therapy, the controlled comparisons show the two types of techniques to be equally effective. Since the controlled cognitive behavior modification - behavior therapy comparisons have so far, however, not involved clinical populations, the question remains unresolved pending comparisons involving clinically relevant targets.