Frontiers in social psychologyChapter 9Cognitive motivational processes underlying addiction treatment The currently standard treatment approaches are based on the assumption that human behaviour is controlled and largely determined by personal intentions and propositional knowledge, reflective processes. The more novel treatment approaches view human behaviour as unfolding (more or less) automatically in reaction to motivationally significant stimuli, impulsive processes. Behaviour can best be understood and influenced when taking both types of processes into account as well as different goals. Several theories on behaviour regulation stress the pivotal role of conscious goals attitudes and subjective norms.In goal-setting theory, goals are consciously accessible action plans aimed at meeting a certain standard. They serve as reference points against which current states are evaluated and on the basis of which further action is taken. If a discrepancy between the current and the desired end state is perceived, motivation to reduce this discrepancy increases and action will be taken. The higher the commitment, importance or accessibility of the goal, the more likely such a behavioural adjustment becomes.According to the theory of reasoned action, there are additional...