Case Studies in Behavior Modification.

Abstract

Case Studies in Behavior Modification. Edited by Leonard P. Ullman and Leonard Krasner. Price, not given. Pp 401. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc., 383 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10017, 1966. This book was written to make accessible in one volume, products of clinical application of learning theories, published since 1960. This was year that Eysenck's book, Behavior Therapy and Neurosis, was published. current volume dif¬ fers from Eysenck's work in that he presented a theoretical frame of reference in form of several historically important articles, whereas present editors have written their own introduction. book is intended for undergraduate student in psychology. In addition it hopes to reach fellow professional workers, teachers, psychiatrists, social workers as well as clinical psychologists. introduction takes up one sixth of bulk of book. remainder consists of 50 articles written by a variety of authors who are identified by name but not by their profession or place of their professional activity. These authors, according to editors, would generally categorize themselves as influenced by Skinner and operant conditioning. articles are organized in five groups, first dealing with application of behavioral therapy in psy¬ chotic patients, both adults and children ; two sec¬ tions concern themselves with neurotic disturbances, personality disorders, and psychophysiologic dis¬ orders ; last two sections deal with behavior dis¬ orders in children and with a variety of applications in field of mental retardation. editors in their introduction take same position Eysenck did in his book, namely that psy¬ chotherapy is based on premises which so far have escaped scientific validation and that visible results of behavior therapy, at least in terms of symptom removal, are as good and permanent, if not better than results of psychotherapy. Where Eysenck, however, could see similarity between psychoanalytic and his own, and ends his presentation with a plea for cooperation between psychiatrists and psychologists, present writers take a more extreme position. They discuss what they call The medical model in 13 pages and con¬ trast it with The psychological model to which they devote 46 pages. In discussing the medical model they criticize concept of a disease under¬ lying symptoms, not dyadic relationship with