Verbal behavior in transcripts of psychotherapy was coded according to Stile's taxonomy of verbal response modes. Therapists of different theoretical persuasions used different mixtures of verbal techniques. Common elements that make verbal interaction psychologically therapeutic lie in client behavior. (Author)

Attachment theory provides a useful conceptual framework for understanding trauma and the treatment of abuse in children. This article examines attachment theory and traditional models of family therapy from the perspective of behavior analysis, and provides a rationale for a behavioral treatment approach for abused children and their foster or…

This investigation tested the hypothesis that the probabilistic structure underlying psychotherapy interviews is Markovian. The "goodness of fit" of a first-order Markov chain model to actual therapy interviews was assessed using a x squared test of homogeneity, and by generating by Monte Carlo methods empirical sampling distributions of…

Compared specific verbal response mode (VRM) indices with the more global Experiencing (EXP) Scale. Stile's VRM taxonomy was used to code transcribed interviews published in the EXP manual. The strongest VRM correlate of EXP level was the percentage of utterances that were disclosure in form and intent. (Author)

Presents a two-pronged attempt to synthesize the research on stress coping: (1) a review of models and taxonomies of behaviors and resources related to stress coping and (2) a meta-analysis of recent experimental and quasi-experimental studies of stress coping. A taxonomy and a model of stress coping are offered, and implications for treatment are…

Studied adults who requested outpatient psychotherapy. Questionnaire items concerned the client's situation, past behavior in fulfilling commitments, self-prediction of session attendance, and reaction to the initial interview. A critical response scale proved highly predictive of the number of treatment sessions attended in both initial and…

Examined model of therapeutic control, which posited that control indices can be described by 3 independent dimensions, through audio-recorded meetings of 26 clients. Rated audiotapes with 5 different control-coding schemes, and aggregated resulting sequential ratings with 3 different methods, yielding 15 different behavioral-control indices.…

Results indicated little or no correspondence between self-report scores and behavior in a contrived in vivo setting or between role play and behavior with a sample of college students. Assertion was enhanced in the role play condition, but not in the contrived in vivo condition. (JAC)

This article, a commentary, discusses questions and issues generated by 7 articles (see records EJ750759, EJ750761, EJ750764, EJ750765, EJ750767, EJ750768, and EJ750769) on the relationship between attachment theory and research, and psychotherapy and clinical assessment. The issues include the following: attachment-based therapeutic…

Self-derogation relates significantly to the severity of psychopathology regardless of how it is measured. This study examined 152 patients and ex-patients from two community mental health catchment areas two years after their first admission, as well as 97 outpatients beginning therapy. Included were indices of diagnostic severity; overall…

If we define irrationality as thought, emotion, or behavior that leads to self-defeating consequences or that significantly interferes with the survival and happiness of the organism, we find that literally hundreds of major irrationalities exist in all societies and in virtually all humans in those societies. These irrationalities persist despite…

Tests the hypothesis that openness between coleaders has a constructive effect on group process and outcome. Results of this investigation converge to support this prediction. Quality of group process and evaluations of leadership were positively and significantly associated. Similarly, ratings of coleadership correlated in a statistically…

A pair of 9-year-old boys with socioemotional and interpersonal difficulties was observed unobtrusively in 35 weekly hour-long therapy sessions over the course of 2 school years. A transcript/narrative analysis technique was used to identify all interpersonal negotiation strategies each child used within each session. Strategies were classified…

Self-disclosure to a therapist was investigated with 120 female subjects who viewed a video-taped vignette of a simulated psychotherapy session. Therapist self-disclosure was manipulated so that subjects saw a therapist exhibiting no disclosure, interpersonal disclosure, or intrapersonal disclosure. Subjects rated these therapists on a variety of…

Psychotherapy typically is conceptualized as a social reinforcement process. Others suggest interview behavior is predicted better by a competitive model of social interaction. Results of this study indicated that message frequency requests were equal in the competitive and reinforcing conditions, both of which induced more requests than a mixed…