On the scientific status of cognitive appraisal models of anxiety disorder

The cognitive paradigm for understanding and treating anxiety disorders comprises two distinct and potentially incompatible approaches: appraisal and information-processing. Advocates of the latter approach have sharply criticized the scientific adequacy of the appraisal models popularized by cognitive therapists. The purpose of this essay is to provide a reappraisal of these critiques of appraisal, and to defend an argument for methodological pluralism.