In this article, existing theories of social anxiety are integrated within the framework of attachment theory, in particular, by means of the causal mechanism of internal working models of self and others. These models guide beliefs and expectations about social relationships and, thereby, contribute to social anxiety. They also contain procedural knowledge about the skills needed to initiate and maintain social relationships. A reconceptualization of social skill as the ability to regulate others' emotions and, thereby, their behavior is presented. It is suggested that deficits (real or imagined) in the ability to affect others' emotional states, and, thereby, achieve interpersonal goals, contribute to social anxiety. The integrated model is evaluated by a number of theory-goodness criteria, and directions for future research are discussed.

Clinical reasoning has traditionally been understood in terms of either hypothetico-deductive or Bayesian methods. However, clinical psychology requires an organizing framework that goes beyond the limits of these methods and characterizes the full range of reasoning processes involved in the description, understanding, and formulation of the difficulties presented by clients. In this article, the authors present a framework for clinical reasoning and case formulation that is largely based on a broad abductive theory of scientific method (Haig, 2005b). The abductive theory articulates and combines the processes of phenomena detection and theory construction. Both of these processes are applied to clinical reasoning and case formulation, and a running case example is provided to illustrate the application.

Clinical reasoning is one of the central components of psychological assessment. The identification of a client's psychological difficulties and the subsequent depiction of their onset, development, and interrelationships enables clinicians to plan treatment in a systematic and effective manner. In a recent paper (Ward & Haig, 1997), we presented an abductive theory of method and showed how it offered a useful framework for highlighting and integrating the major phases of psychological assessment. These phases involve detecting clinical phenomena, postulating psychological mechanisms, developing a case formulation, and evaluating a case formulation. In this paper we outline the abductive theory and elaborate on the related clinical dimensions of assessment, while illustrating them with an ongoing case example.

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Cramer et al. make a good case for reconceptualizing comorbid psychopathologies in terms of complex network theory. We suggest the need for an extension of their network model to include reference to latent causes. We also draw attention to a neglected approach to theory appraisal that might usefully be incorporated into the methodology of network theory.