Reprinted from AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST, Vol. 30, No. 7, July 1975 Printed in U. S. A. Behavior Therapy and Civil Liberties GERALD C. DAVISON State University of New York at Stony Brook RICHARD B. STUART University of British Columbia For the past two hundred to three hundred years, science has played a major role in the development of western culture. Societies have capitulated to the demands of "progress" and have disregarded the costs as expedients to the industrial revolution (Etzioni, 1968, p. 208). Unfortunately, the costs have mounted quietly, and perhaps because the awareness has been so long delayed, there is a strong feeling today that the excesses of science must be curbed immediately and completely. Cur- rent efforts to promote the rights of people over technological advances are an expression of this concern. Because behavior therapy is viewed by many as a machinelike process for use in the sup- pression of individual freedom, it is being placed at the center of the current controversy when psy- chology is discussed. What Is Behavior Therapy? Rather than being a single unitary approach, be- havior therapy encompasses a wide variety of goals and techniques. Some behavior therapeutic efforts are directed toward changing the ways in which the individual responds to forces in the environment. Other approaches aim to change the environment in ways that suit the individual. Person-changing. goals are sought through respondent or operant conditioning techniques and cognitive restructuring procedures, singly or in combination. Environ- ment-changing techniques typically rely on operant conditioning and may be targeted to individuals, small groups, or total social institutions (cf. Kanfer & Phillips, 1969). This article was presented at the symposium " How Does Science Threaten Liberties" as part of the biannual meeting of the American Civil Liberties Union, Milwaukee, Wis- consin, June 14, 1974. The authors are, respectively, past- president and president of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy. Requests for reprints should be sent to Gerald C. Davison, Association for Advancement of Behavior Ther- apy, 475 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10016. Despite the range of goals and techniques falling within the rubric of behavior therapy, behavioral treatments have several important unifying char- acteristics. First, the focal techniques have been derived from, or are consistent with, research in experimental and social psychology. Second, their intrinsic goal is the alleviation of human suffering and the enhancement of human functioning. Third, when responsibly practiced, they always involve a systematic evaluation of treatment outcome using single-subject or group designs. Fourth, they typi- cally involve reeducational efforts intended to facilitate improved functioning as measured by increased skill, independence, and satisfaction. Fifth, the practice of behavior therapy is typically guided by a contractual agreement between both client and therapist specifying the goals and methods of intervention (e.g., Stuart, in press-b). The techniques used by behavior therapists have much in common with those employed by most psychological care-givers. Some of these tech- niques involve efforts by the therapist to overcome the client's anxiety or depression and to help to clarify the client's objectives. Other techniques involve efforts by the therapist to strengthen the client's resolve to make specific changes in his or her behavior outside of the therapeutic environ- ment. In selected instances, the therapist may help the client to restructure his or her social en- vironment so that desired changes can be more readily made and maintained. The goals of properly conducted behavior ther- apy are always explicit. There are times when there may be differences between the values of the client, significant others (e.g., parents, teachers, spouses), and the therapist. When this happens, treatment efforts are held in abeyance until con- sensus is achieved. The general goals accepted by most behavior therapists place primary emphasis on the achievement of positive behavioral changes, that is, the acquisition of skills that are posi- tively valued by both society and the client. In many instances, the emergence of these desired AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST • JULY 1975 • 75 5