On the “emotional” qualities of certain types of cognition: A reply to arguments for the independence of cognition and affect

Zajonc (1980, 1984b) has argued that affect has many properties not shared by cognition and that affect is the product of a separate, partially independent system. His position has been understood as implying that cognitive therapy is essentially misguided in attempting to modify emotional disorders. In the present article we justify the approach taken by cognitive therapy by making distinctions among different types of cognition and demonstrating that certain of these types have precisely those properties that Zajonc claimed to be unique to affect. Cognition that is unconscious and automatic can, for example, be effortless and uncontrollable, be influenced by drugs and hormones, be irrevocable by deliberate thought, and so forth. It thus seems possible that such types of cognition can be part of affective responses and can play a role in producing these “emotional” qualities. Therefore, a secure theoretical basis exists for using cognitive therapy to treat affective disorders. Examining several recent advances in understanding and treating pathological affects supports this analysis, revealing that each succeeds by differentiating types of cognition and their role in emotion.

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