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Verbal Behavior Analysis of Expert and Inexperienced Therapists Applying the Socratic Method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2022

Rebeca Pardo-Cebrián Open the ORCID record for Rebeca Pardo-Cebrián [Opens in a new window] ,
Ana Calero-Elvira Open the ORCID record for Ana Calero-Elvira [Opens in a new window]  and
María Cristina Guerrero-Escagedo Open the ORCID record for María Cristina Guerrero-Escagedo [Opens in a new window]
Rebeca Pardo-Cebrián
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
Ana Calero-Elvira*
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
María Cristina Guerrero-Escagedo
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ana Calero-Elvira. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Facultad de Psicología. Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de Salud. Calle Iván Pavlov, 6. 28049 Madrid (Spain). E-mail: ana.calero@uam.es
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Abstract

The Socratic method, as an eminently verbal procedure, will be analyzed from a behavioral perspective in order to clarify how verbal conditioning works within. This work compares the verbalizations that expert and inexperienced therapists emit during Socratic method to find out which and why certain therapist verbalizations are most successful in changing client responses. The sample consisted of 113 Socratic method fragments from 18 cases, analyzed by observational methodology. The expert therapists had more than 6 years of experience, the inexperienced less than 2. Experts had fewer failure Socratic method fragments, but there were no differences in successful ones. The way of questioning had a different pattern: Inexperienced therapists suggested more the response, experts used more didactic verbalizations; also, experts used the aversive component more and contingently. The creation of guidelines based on functional description of verbal interaction and the need for novice psychologists training are some implications of these results.

Keywords

cognitive restructuringclinical experienceSocratic methodverbal behavior analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 25 , 2022 , e19
Copyright
© Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2022

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Footnotes

Conflicts of Interest: None.

Funding Statement: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Acknowledgement: Authors thank the ACOVEO research group for their support.

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