Emotion Theory and Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy

Abstract

This paper falls into three distinct sections. In the first, the attempt is made to discuss those aspects of emotion theory, particularly with respect to the links between emotion and cognition, that have been considered by cognitive-behaviour therapists. In the second, the aim is to describe recent emotion theory which has, in part, been directed towards cognitive-behaviour therapists and others who are concerned with emotional dysfunction, but which has not yet been taken up. In the final section, the goal is more speculative, arrived at through a description of some of the less obvious excursions made by emotion theorists. Although they mostly do not have emotional dysfunction in mind when addressing their theories, their views are, in the belief of the present author, particularly pertinent to the future directions of cognitive-behaviour therapy.