Cognitive-behavioural theory: An alternative conception

The present paper aims to show that mainstream cognitive and cognitive-behavioural theories are fundamentally flawed, and should be discarded in favour of a behavioural explanation of the relationship between cognition and behaviour. The essence of this behavioural explanation of cognitive control is the distinction between contingency-shaped and rule-governed behaviour. The former occurs when consequences are experienced directly, whereas the latter influences perceived consequences. Cognitive events, including thoughts, expectations, beliefs, and images, function as rules that encode relevant contingencies of reinforcement. In turn, rules serve as potent cognitive discriminative stimuli that profoundly influence current and future behaviour.