To Arrive Where We Began: A Reappraisal of Cognition in Marriage and in Marital Therapy

The explosion of research on cognition in marriage and in marital therapy has had little impact on everyday interventions with couples. To examine how research can contribute more directly to clinical practice, the evolution of marital cognition research is traced and its contribution to enhancing marital therapy is evaluated. Although several desiderata are offered to improve current research on cognitive interventions, it is concluded that a more complete understanding of the role of cognition in marriage and marital therapy requires reappraisal of the assumptions made about cognition. An analysis is therefore offered of the domain of cognition, and its implications for evaluating the efficacy of cognitive interventions are outlined.