APA Dictionary of Psychology

a technique of behavior therapy that relies on the use of imagination and assumes that overt and covert behaviors are associated, that each affects the other, and that both forms of behavior depend on the laws of learning. The individual imagines performing a desired behavior in a problematic real-life situation, rewards themself for mentally engaging in the behavior, and finally achieves an actual change in behavior. Also called covert behavioral reinforcement. [developed in 1966 by U.S. psychologist Joseph R. Cautela (1927–1999)]