The Cognitive Model: Emotional Eating & Food Addiction
The Cognitive Model
"Men are not moved by things, but the views which they take of them"
Epictetus (first century, A.D.).
THE cognitive school is a modern outgrowth from, and reaction to, the behavioral school. As we remember from my previous article, the basic premise of behavioral therapy is that behavior is determined by events
in the environment:
an individual's behavior is initially acquired either through Pavlovian or operant conditioning, and it changes according to these principles when the environment changes. Moreover, according to the behaviorists, abnormal behavior is a learned response to the environment, and when the therapist changes the environment, the client's behavior will change.
Implicit in the behavioral view is the assumption that the connection between the environment and behavior is direct. But since its beginnings, behaviorism has been challenged on this point. Others, specifically cognitive psychologists, hold that behavior is influenced by more than just this direct relation between environment and response. Rather, they contend that what a person thinks, believes, expects, attends to-in short his or her mental life-influences how he or she behaves. Behaviorists, when pressed, frequently admit that mental life exists (Skinner, 1971). But they deny that such cognitions play a causal role in behavior. Rather, they dismiss cognitive processes, calling them epiphenomena.
An epiphenomenon is a process that, while not causal, reflects the underlying process that is causal. A behaviorist who admits that mental processes exist likens them to the speedometer of an automobile. While a speedometer reflects how fast the automobile is going, it does not itself influence the speed.
ASSUMPTIONS OF THE COGNITIVE VIEW
The cognitive psychologist, as opposed to the behaviorist, believes that mental events are not mere epiphenomena, that cognitive processes influence behavior. Specifically, the cognitive psychologist contends that disordered cognitive processes cause some psychological disorders and that by changing these cognitions, the disorder can be alleviated and perhaps even cured.
The following case demonstrates the difference in emphasis between those holding the behavioral view and those holding the cognitive view:
Two individuals have the same speaking skills, but one is very anxious when giving a public speech, and the other speaks with ease in public. On different occasions, each gives a public speech and , as is common du ring the course of almost any speech, a few members of the audience walk out of the room during each speech. When these two people record what they were thinking when a member of the audience walked out, a very different pattern emerges.
The anxious individual thinks, " I must be boring. How much longer do I have to speak? This speech is going to be a failure." In contrast, the low-anxiety person says to herself, "The person walking out must have a class to make. Gee, that' s too bad, he will miss the best part of my talk." The same environmental event- people walking out of the room during the speech- produces a very different set of thoughts: the high-anxiety individual has depressing and tension-inducing thoughts, whereas the low anxiety individual does not. (Meichenbaum)
How do the behavioral and cognitive therapists look at this? On the one hand, the behaviorist will focus on the particular environmental event people walking out during a speech-and how this affects behavior. In this example, however, the environmental event is the same, but the consequences are different. The cognitive therapist, on the other hand, will focus on the difference in the thoughts of the two speakers, on how he or she interprets the event. For the cognitive therapist, a person's thoughts are of primary importance.
"Men are not moved by things, but the views which they take of them"
Epictetus (first century, A.D.).
THE cognitive school is a modern outgrowth from, and reaction to, the behavioral school. As we remember from my previous article, the basic premise of behavioral therapy is that behavior is determined by events
in the environment:
an individual's behavior is initially acquired either through Pavlovian or operant conditioning, and it changes according to these principles when the environment changes. Moreover, according to the behaviorists, abnormal behavior is a learned response to the environment, and when the therapist changes the environment, the client's behavior will change.
Implicit in the behavioral view is the assumption that the connection between the environment and behavior is direct. But since its beginnings, behaviorism has been challenged on this point. Others, specifically cognitive psychologists, hold that behavior is influenced by more than just this direct relation between environment and response. Rather, they contend that what a person thinks, believes, expects, attends to-in short his or her mental life-influences how he or she behaves. Behaviorists, when pressed, frequently admit that mental life exists (Skinner, 1971). But they deny that such cognitions play a causal role in behavior. Rather, they dismiss cognitive processes, calling them epiphenomena.
An epiphenomenon is a process that, while not causal, reflects the underlying process that is causal. A behaviorist who admits that mental processes exist likens them to the speedometer of an automobile. While a speedometer reflects how fast the automobile is going, it does not itself influence the speed.
ASSUMPTIONS OF THE COGNITIVE VIEW
The cognitive psychologist, as opposed to the behaviorist, believes that mental events are not mere epiphenomena, that cognitive processes influence behavior. Specifically, the cognitive psychologist contends that disordered cognitive processes cause some psychological disorders and that by changing these cognitions, the disorder can be alleviated and perhaps even cured.
The following case demonstrates the difference in emphasis between those holding the behavioral view and those holding the cognitive view:
Two individuals have the same speaking skills, but one is very anxious when giving a public speech, and the other speaks with ease in public. On different occasions, each gives a public speech and , as is common du ring the course of almost any speech, a few members of the audience walk out of the room during each speech. When these two people record what they were thinking when a member of the audience walked out, a very different pattern emerges.
The anxious individual thinks, " I must be boring. How much longer do I have to speak? This speech is going to be a failure." In contrast, the low-anxiety person says to herself, "The person walking out must have a class to make. Gee, that' s too bad, he will miss the best part of my talk." The same environmental event- people walking out of the room during the speech- produces a very different set of thoughts: the high-anxiety individual has depressing and tension-inducing thoughts, whereas the low anxiety individual does not. (Meichenbaum)
How do the behavioral and cognitive therapists look at this? On the one hand, the behaviorist will focus on the particular environmental event people walking out during a speech-and how this affects behavior. In this example, however, the environmental event is the same, but the consequences are different. The cognitive therapist, on the other hand, will focus on the difference in the thoughts of the two speakers, on how he or she interprets the event. For the cognitive therapist, a person's thoughts are of primary importance.
If you are serious about changing,
I encourage you to schedule a FREE CONSULTATION with the treatment method I recommend:
http://www.theliberatormethod.com/Welcome.html
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NOTES:
I encourage you to schedule a FREE CONSULTATION with the treatment method I recommend:
http://www.theliberatormethod.com/Welcome.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTES:
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