Cognitive Behavioral Theory - Ellis & Bandura

Cognitive Behavioral Theory

Basis: All behavior based on what we THINK/BELIEVE

Automatic Thoughts: Inappropriate/Irrational thinking patterns

**Assumes maladaptive or faulty thinking patterns cause maladaptive behaviors/negative emotions

Events are Neutral: events receive their value from our thoughts about them

Attribution: meaning placed on event or situation

Albert Ellis

Developed RET or REBT (Rational Emotion/Behavioral Therapy)

RET/REBT - works with ABCD's of Human Experience

1. Activating Agent: anything thought to be source of unhappiness

2. Belief - irrational, self-defeating beliefs; event not source

3. Consequences: feelings consequences of beliefs re: events

4. Disputation: therapist disputes person's beliefs

5. Corrective Emotional Experience: help have realistic goals;

Focus of Therapy: divided beliefs into - rational vs. irrational

**Create own world through how interpret experiences

Albert Bandura

Developed Theory of Social Modeling

** Felt that learning occurs through imitation

** More effective as training method vs. trial and error learning

** Aggressive behavior learned by observation

Bobo Doll experiment

Learning Occurs via 4 Processes

1. Attention - ability to notice things in environment

2. Retention - remember what you saw

3. Reproduction - ability to imitate what is seen

4. Motivation - consequence of environment must be reinforcing or won't repeat