Abstract
Many clinicians report less than favorable attitudes regarding the use of Empirically Supported Treatments (ESTs). To better understand attitudes toward ESTs we examined the relationship among social-cognitive factors, career choices, and attitudes toward ESTs. Mental health professionals completed measures assessing need for cognition (NFC), decision-making style, career interests, and attitudes toward ESTs. Participants who reported spending the majority of their time in clinical practice reported significantly less favorable attitudes toward ESTs, a more intuitive decision-making style, and lower NFC than those spending the majority of their time doing research. Higher intuition and lower NFC were associated with less favorable attitudes toward ESTs. Moderation analyses testing the hypothesis that decision-making style and NFC would moderate the effects of career status on attitudes approached significance.