Conditioning is More Than Association Formation: On the Different Ways in Which Conditioning Research is Valuable for Clinical Psychology

Food Restriction in Anorexia Nervosa in the Light of Modern Learning Theory: A Narrative Review

Improvements in the clinical management of anorexia nervosa (AN) are urgently needed. To do so, the search for innovative approaches continues at laboratory and clinical levels to translate new findings into more effective treatments. In this sense, modern learning theory provides a unifying framework that connects concepts, methodologies and data from preclinical and clinical research to inspire novel interventions in the field of psychopathology in general, and of disordered eating in particular. Indeed, learning is thought to be a crucial factor in the development/regulation of normal and pathological eating behaviour. Thus, the present review not only tries to provide a comprehensive overview of modern learning research in the field of AN, but also follows a transdiagnostic perspective to offer testable explanations for the origin and maintenance of pathological food rejection. This narrative review was informed by a systematic search of research papers in the electronic databases PsycInfo, Scopus and Web of Science following PRISMA methodology. By considering the number and type of associations (Pavlovian, goal-directed or habitual) and the affective nature of conditioning processes (appetitive versus aversive), this approach can explain many features of AN, including why some patients restrict food intake to the point of life-threatening starvation and others restrict calorie intake to lose weight and binge on a regular basis. Nonetheless, it is striking how little impact modern learning theory has had on the current AN research agenda and practice.

On the challenges of cognitive psychopathology research and possible ways forward: Arguments for a pragmatic cognitive approach

Cognitive psychology had a profound impact on psychopathology research. Nevertheless, the fact that cognition cannot be observed or manipulated directly complicates debates about the nature of the mental mechanisms that mediate psychopathology. This is less troublesome for psychopathology researchers who adopt an explicitly pragmatic approach that aims to use cognitive theories as tools for improving psychotherapy than for psychopathology researchers who seek to establish whether those theories are 'correct.' A pragmatic cognitive approach fosters progress by encouraging (a) reality-checks aimed at ending unproductive theoretical debates between cognitive theories, (b) a separation between to-be-explained psychological phenomena and explanatory mental constructs, (c) theoretical diversity, and (d) interactions with behavior analysis.