ABSTRACT
In 1985, Richard McNally and I introduced the concept of anxiety sensitivity to explain data pertaining to the treatment of anxiety disorders. In 1996, Susan Havercamp and I generalized certain aspects of that concept—individual differences in sensitivity to a universally reinforcing stimulus—into a comprehensive theory of human motivation called sensitivity theory. This generalized theory is expounded and updated in this chapter, with particular attention paid to the concept of aberrant motivation and implications for psychopathology.
