Rule-Governed Behavior: A Basic Process for Psychopathology and Psychotherapy

Abstract

Abstract In understanding human complex behaviors, B.F. Skinner's (1966) rule-following and rule-governed behavior approach have made important contributions. Through the ability to formulating rules and rule-following, human beings are able to organize their behaviors quickly and economically without having to experience them by means of direct experience, ie without the need for operant conditioning processes, and they can choose how they can act in a functional way if they have not met before. Again, with rule-folloving, people can plan their actions not according to their actual context, but based on long-term goals and abstract purposes. However, dominance of rule-following and the governance of rules over behavior become stronger than other stimuli, may lead to inappropriate and disruptive responses. In this review, the general framework of rule-tracking and rule-governed behaviors will be given in terms of contextual-behavioral approach and relational frame theory. Then the rule-behavior relationship will be mentioned, the types rule-governed behaviors which defined as pliance, tracking and augmenting, and clinical problems related to them will be discussed in detail. Finally, the relationship of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy approaches with rule-governed behaviors will be discussed.