Critique and reformulation of "learning-theory" approaches to psychotherapy and neurosis.

Abstract

This classic paper by Breger and McGaugh was the first within the field of clinical psychology to critically review and elegantly dissect the overly simplistic theoretical explanations of the process of behavioral therapy. Without denying the clinical usefulness of certain behavioral therapies, the authors cogently demonstrate that the explanations given by their proponents of how they work are quite inadequate. Particularly open to criticism are (a) the emphasis on the peripheral response, (b) the assumption that concepts taken from Pavlovian and operant conditioning can be utilized as explanatory principles, and (c) the use of the concept of reinforcement. Breger and McGaugh, in addition, demonstrate the inadequacy of a conception of neurosis that is couched only in terms of discrete symptoms. Finally, they offer a reformulation of the learning process in which it is seen as the acquisition and storage of information, with emphasis on the role of central processes. Thus they construct a theoretical structure that can more adequately explain what goes on in both behavioral therapies and dynamic psychotherapies.