Cognitive Reflex Therapy: A Predictive Neurobehavioral Framework Integrating Applied Behavior Analysis

Abstract

This article presents Cognitive Reflex Therapy (CRT) as a predictive neurobehavioral framework designed to complement Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). It examines how environmental events may acquire individualized psychological meaning before being transformed into observable behavioral responses. The proposed model integrates five central constructs: Active Reticular Comparisons (ARCs), Truth Factors, Cognitive Reflex Arcs (CRAs), interoceptive inference, and narrative coherence. These components are organized within the CRT–ABA Interaction Chain, which describes a sequence extending from the environmental antecedent to behavioral response selection. The article proposes that CRT may help explain individual differences in responses to similar contingencies, as well as behavioral generalization, contextual flexibility, and the long-term maintenance of behavioral change. CRT is presented as a conceptual extension of ABA—not a replacement—while retaining observable antecedents and responses as essential points of behavioral measurement. This work provides an interdisciplinary theoretical foundation connecting behavior analysis with predictive processing, interoception, appraisal theory, and narrative identity.