Introduction & Theoretical Background
Behavioural experimentation is widely regarded as the single most powerful way of changing cognitions. (Waller, 2009)
The value of behavioural experiments transcends mere exposure; such experiments allow patient and therapist to collaborate in the gathering of new information assessing the validity of non-threatening explanations of anxiety and associated symptoms. (Salkovskis, 1991)
Beliefs rarely change as a result of intellectual challenge, but only through engaging emotions and behaving in new ways that produce evidence that confirms new beliefs. (Chadwick, Birchwood, Trower, 1996)
Behavioral experiments are planned experiential activities to test the validity of a belief. They are an information gathering exercise, the purpose of which is to test the accuracy of an individual’s beliefs (about themselves, others, and the world) or to test new, more adaptive beliefs (Bennett-Levy et al., 2004). The use of behavioral experiments in cognitive behavioral therapy mirrors the role that experiments play in other branches of science: experiments