Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy

Organizational Overview

The Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy (AABT) is a nonprofit organization of health and mental health professionals interested in behavioral and cognitive therapies. The organization is international and seeks to (a) advance the understanding of human behavior; (b) develop, assess, and apply interventions for behavior change; and (c) further the empirical study and advance the theoretical and practical application of behavioral and cognitive therapies. In addition to these general goals, the organization promotes public awareness of behavior and cognitive therapies, operates a therapist locator service, publishes fact sheets, newsletters, and journals, and holds an annual convention that serves an important education and training function.

Early Influences

Though AABT is less than 40 years old, foundations of “behavior therapy” can be traced to laboratory research conducted in the early 20th century. Classical and operant conditioning, the two major forms of learning theory that predominate among AABT members today, rose to prominence during this time. Pavlov's seminal work on conditioned reflexes and John Watson's 1913 treatise on “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It” were watershed events in the development and dissemination of classical conditioning. The period from 1920 until shortly after World War II was marked by rapid development of learning theories, with significant contributions by Guthrie, Hull, and Mowrer. Along with classical conditioning, the instrumental or operant conditioning theory, developed by Thorndike and further elaborated by Skinner in the 1930s through the 1950s, ultimately prevailed, at least among applied behaviorists.

Although several studies in the 1920s and 1930s indicated that behavioral approaches to clinical problems such as anxiety had promise, widespread adoption of the approach was not forthcoming. In fact, before World War II, the practice of psychotherapy was primarily limited to psychiatrists with psychoanalytic training. Following World War II, however, increased demand for therapists paved the way for clinical psychologists. Furthermore, since proponents of behavioral and learning theories were far more prevalent in postwar academic environments (particularly psychology departments) than in medical schools or general health care settings, the change of the psychologist's role from psychodiagnostician to psychotherapist permitted behaviorally trained psychologists greater access to clinical populations.

As the number of experimentally trained and behaviorally oriented therapists grew, dissatisfaction with psychoanalysis also grew. Leading the chorus of criticisms leveled against psychoanalysis were many of the founding members of AABT. Thus, the origins of behavior therapy and AABT can be traced to the aspirations of a handful of individuals who sought to “advance” alternatives to psychoanalysis that would more readily alleviate human distress and suffering.

Major Contributors

As noted previously, AABT comprises adherents of two major schools of learning theory, classical and [Page 34]operant conditioning. Over the past 25 years, devotees of information-processing theory, often identifying themselves as practitioners of cognitive therapy (CT) or cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), have joined the organization in increasing numbers. Clinicians deriving their behavioral formulations from classical conditioning called themselves “behavior therapists,” whereas adherents of operant conditioning referred to themselves as “behavior modifiers” or “behavior analysts.” Adherents of both schools of thought have played and continue to play an important role in the organization. Practitioners of CT and CBT have also made vital contributions to the organization.

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