Attention and Emotion (Classic Edition): A clinical perspective (Psychology Press & Routledge Classic Editions)

391 Pages·2014·2.859 MB·English

by  Adrian Wells, Gerald Matthews

ATTENTION AND EMOTION
This is a Classic Edition of Adrian Wells and Gerald Matthews’ award- winning
textb ook on attent ion and emotion, which now includes a new introd uct ion. The
book won the British Psychological Society book award in 1998, and is now
widely seen as a classic in the fi eld of emotional disorders.
Attention and Emotion: a clinical perspective crit ic ally reviews the liter at ure on
attent ion and emotion, and offers an integ rat ive cognit ive atten tional model of
the devel op ment and maint ena nce of emotional disorders. The authors also
discuss the implic a tions for clin ical prac tice of attent ional theor ies of emotional
dysfunc tion. In the new intro duct ion, the authors refl ect on the infl ue nce of
their ground- break ing model and the subsequent devel op ments in the fi eld,
20 years since the book was fi rst published. The book will continue to be essen-
tial reading for students, researche rs and profes siona ls with an interest in disorders
of attent ion and emotion.
Adrian Wells is Professor of Clinical and Experimental Psychopathology at the
University of Manchester, UK. His research interests are in the areas of cognit ive
theory and therapy and emotional disorders. He has made major contri but ions to
treatm ents for anxiety disorders and he is the origina tor of Metacognitive Therapy
(MCT). His treat ments are included in NHS NICE guidelines.
Gerald Matthews is Research Professor at the Institute for Simulation and
Training, University of Central Florida, USA. His research focuses on human
factors, cognit ive models of person ali ty and indiv idual differ ences, and task-
induced states of stress and fatigue.
Psychology Press Classic Editions
The Psychology Press Classic Editions series celeb rates a commit ment to excell ence in
schol ar ship, teach ing, and learni ng within the fi eld of Psychology. The books in
this series are widely recogn ized as timel ess clas sics, of continu ing import ance for
both students and research ers. Each title contains a completely new intro duct ion
which explores what has changed since the books were fi rst published, where the
fi eld might go from here and why these books are as relev ant now as ever. Written
by recog nized experts, and cover ing core areas of the subject, the Psychology Press
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By D.V.M. Bishop
Essential Cognitive Psychology (Classic Edition)
By Alan J. Parkin
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By Andrew W. Ellis and Andrew W. Young
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By Fred Newman and Lois Holzman
The New Psychology of Language (Classic Edition): Cognitive and
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Edited by Michael Tomasello
The New Psychology of Language (Classic Edition): Cognitive and
Functional Approaches To Language Structure, Volume II
Edited by Michael Tomasello
Principles of Learning and Memory (Classic Edition)
By Robert G. Crowder
Psychologists on Psychology (Classic Edition)
By David Cohen
Attention and Emotion (Classic Edition)
By Adrian Wells and Gerald Matthews
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Edited by Patricia M. Greenfi eld and Rodney R. Cocking
Mind and Media: The Effects of Television, Video Games, and
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ATTENTION AND
EMOTION
A clinical perspective
Classic Edition
Adrian Wells and Gerald Matthews
Classic edition published 2015
by Psychology Press
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA
and by Psychology Press
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Psychology Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa busi ness
© 2015 Adrian Wells and Gerald Matthews
The right of Adrian Wells and Gerald Matthews to be ident ifi ed as the author of this Work has
been asser ted by him/her in accorda nce with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprin ted or repro duced or util ised in any form or
by any elec tronic, mech an ical, or other means, now known or here after inven ted, includ ing
photo copy ing and record ing, or in any inform at ion storage or retrieval system, without permis sion
in writing from the publishe rs.
Trademark notice: Product or corpor ate names may be trade marks or registered trade marks, and are
used only for iden tifi ca t ion and explana t ion without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 1994
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A cata logue record for this book is avail able from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Wells, Adrian.
Attention and emotion : a clinical perspective / Adrian Wells and Gerald Matthews.
— Classic edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Attention. 2. Emotions. 3. Personality disorders. 4. Mental illness. 5. Psychology,
Pathological. I. Matthews, Gerald. II. Title.
RC455.4.A85W45 2015
616.89—dc23
2014025587
ISBN: 978–1–138–81483–7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978–1–138–81484–4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978–1–315–74718–7 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Refi neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
In memory of Christine Johnson
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction to the Classic Edition: A brief history of developments xiv
1 Introduction: Cognitive theory of emotional disorders 1
Beck’s cognit ive theory 2
The role of behav iour in cognit ive theory 5
Cognitive model of panic 7
Clinical models and scientifi c theory 7
Experimental psychol ogy of atten tion and emotion 8
Plan of the book 13
PART I
Emotion, atten tion and inform a tion processing 15
2 Attention: Basic conceptual and theoretical issues 17
The search for a bottlen eck 18
Capacity models of atten tion 21
Levels of control of attent ion 25
Connectionism and attent ion 33
Conclusions 36
3 Attention: Selection of complex, personally signifi cant and
emotional stimuli 39
Selection by schemas 39