The Psychology Book (56 page)

the 1960s, chimed with concurrent

criticism of their theories as a

developments in experimental

personal attack, and Beck soon

psychology, which had established

discovered that any questioning

the dominance of cognitive

of the validity of psychoanalysis

psychology by studying mental

A distorting mirror
creates a view

was likely to be countered with

processes such as perception.

of the world that can seem terrifying

universal denouncement. At one

When Beck applied a cognitive

and ugly. Similarly, depression tends

time, he was turned down for

model to treatment, he found that

to cast a negative perspective on life,

membership of the American

helping his patients to recognize

making sufferers feel more hopeless.

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 177

Some people

For others, who view their

would view this

situation in a more negative light,

glass as
half full
.

the glass is
half empty
.

By correcting erroneous

beliefs, we can lower

excessive reactions.

Aaron Beck

How people assess
the same

situation varies with temperament.

Beck’s cognitive therapy can help

patients question their perceptions,

leading to a more positive outlook.

situation that leads to anxiety and

pains to demonstrate that it was

his treatments, as did many other

unhappiness. A more rational way

the therapy that was successful,

psychotherapists in the 1980s. This

of looking at the promotion would

and not the therapist.

has resulted in the varied forms of

be to see it as a reward, or even a

Beck was not the only, or

cognitive behavioral therapy that

challenge. It is not the situation

even the first, psychologist to

are used by psychologists today.

that is causing the depression,

find traditional psychoanalysis

Beck’s pioneering work marked

but the patient’s perception of it.

unsatisfactory, but his use of a

a turning point for psychotherapy,

Cognitive therapy could help him to

cognitive model was innovatory.

and his influence is considerable.

recognize how distorted it is, and

He had been influenced in his

As well as bringing a cognitive

find a more realistic and positive

reaction against psychoanalysis

approach into clinical psychology,

way of thinking about the situation.

by the work of Albert Ellis, who

Beck subjected it to scientific

had developed Rational Emotive

scrutiny, exposing the weaknesses

Empirical evidence

Behavior Therapy (REBT) in the

of psychoanalysis. In the process,

Beck’s cognitive therapy worked.

mid-1950s, and he was no doubt

he introduced several methods for

for a large number of his patients.

aware of the work of behaviorists

assessing the nature and severity

What is more, he was able to

elsewhere in the world, including

of depression that are still used:

demonstrate that it worked, as

the South Africans Joseph Wolpe

the Beck Depression Inventory

he applied scientific methods

and Arnold A. Lazarus. Although

(BDI), the Beck Hopelessness Scale,

to ensure that he had empirical

different in approach, their

the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation

evidence for his findings. He

therapies shared with Beck’s a

(BSS), and the Beck Anxiety

designed special assessments

thoroughly scientific methodology

Inventory (BAI). ■

for his patients, so that he could

and a rejection of the importance

monitor their progress closely.

of unconscious causes of mental

The results showed that cognitive

and emotional disorders.

therapy was making his patients

Once the success of cognitive

feel better, and feel better more

therapy had been established, it

quickly, than was the case under

was used increasingly for treating

traditional psychoanalysis. Beck’s

depression, and later Beck found

Don’t trust me,

insistence on providing evidence

that it could also be helpful for other

test me.

for any claims he made for his

conditions, such as personality

Aaron Beck

therapy opened it up to objective

disorders and even schizophrenia.

scrutiny. Above all, he was most

Always open to new ideas—as long

anxious to avoid acquiring the

as it could be shown that they were

guru-like status of many successful

effective—Beck also incorporated

psychoanalysts, and was at great

elements of behavior therapy into

WE CAN LISTEN

TO ONLY

ONE VOICE

DONALD BROADBENT (1926–1993)

AT ONCE

180 DONALD BROADBENT

IN CONTEXT

APPROACH

I
n Britain prior to World War II, psychology and the kind of

psychology as an academic

problems it addresses, which led

discipline lagged behind

him to look at some of the problems

Europe and the US. Britain’s

encountered by pilots in a different

Attention theory

psychologists had tended to follow

way. He thought these problems

BEFORE

in the footsteps of the behaviorist

might have psychological causes

and psychotherapeutic schools of

and answers, rather than simply

1640s
René Descartes says

thought that had evolved elsewhere.

mechanical ones, so after leaving

the human body is a kind of

In the few university psychology

the RAF, he went to Cambridge

machine with a mind, or soul.

departments that existed, the

University to study psychology.

1940s
British psychologist

approach followed that of the

Broadbent’s mentor at Cambridge,

and APU director Kenneth

natural sciences: the emphasis was

Frederic Bartlett, was a kindred

Craik prepares flow diagrams

on practical applications rather

spirit: a thoroughgoing scientist,

comparing human and artificial

than theoretical speculations.

and England’s first professor of

information processing.

It was in this unpromising

experimental psychology. Bartlett

academic environment that Donald

believed that the most important

AFTER

Broadbent, who went on to become

theoretical discoveries are often

1959
George Armitage Miller’s

one of the most influential of the

made while attempting to find

studies suggest that short-term

early cognitive psychologists, found

solutions to practical problems. This

memory can hold a maximum

himself when he left the Royal Air

idea appealed to Broadbent, and

of seven pieces of information.

Force after the war and decided to

prompted him to continue working

study psychology. However, the

under Bartlett at the new Applied

1964
British psychologist

practical approach proved ideal

Psychology Unit (APU) after it

Anne Treisman suggests that

for Broadbent, who was able to

opened in 1944. It was during his

less important information is

make perfect use of his wartime

time there that Broadbent was to

not eliminated at the filter

experience as an aeronautical

do his most groundbreaking work.

stage but attenuated (like

engineer and pilot.

He chose to ignore the then-

turning down the volume)

dominant behaviorist approach to

so it can still be “shadowed”

Practical psychology

psychology and to concentrate on

by the mind.

Broadbent had enlisted in the RAF

the practical problems he had come

when he was 17, and he was sent

across in his time in the RAF. For

to the US as part of his training.

example, pilots sometimes confused

Here he first became aware of

similar-looking controls; in some

…is briefly held in the

Information
from the senses…

short-term memory store
…

…so that only one piece of information is

…then passed through a
filter
…

selected for attention
.