ABSTRACT
Pioneering attempts aimed at interpreting the process of psychotherapy from a learning theory viewpoint were for the most part simply a translation of traditional psychotherapeutic practices into a different language system. A number of leading behavior therapists have asserted that their method is vastly superior in outcome and economy to existing forms of therapeutic treatment. Surprisingly, a large number of academic psychologists, particularly those with a learning or experimental orientation, have readily accepted this view, and have been uncommonly uncritical of “evidence” purporting to support this assertion. The typical patient’s inability to relate well to other human beings can be thought of as deriving at least in part from a deficit in learning or experience. The therapeutic triad serves as a potent reinforcer throughout the process of therapy. One important source of the client’s change toward more effective human relating would derive from his observation and imitation of the therapist.
