Abstract
A videotaped psychotherapy analogue compared psychology trainees' (n = 67) and undergraduate non-therapists' (n = 115) perceptions of three theoretically derived questioning styles: Socratic disputation in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), solution focused questioning (e.g. the “miracle question”), and diagnostic interviewing. Non-therapists rated REBT and diagnostic styles more highly than psychology trainees. All subjects rated solution focused questioning more highly than both other styles, perceiving it as more collaborative and conducive to the client's independent thinking. The constructs of collaborative empiricism and solution focused “cooperation” are discussed in relation to findings. The study also compared psychology trainees' and non-therapists' Big Five personality profiles, a topic which has not previously been addressed in the literature. Psychology trainees were higher in Big Five Openness and Agreeableness than non-therapists. Openness was negatively associated with ratings for solution focused and diagnostic questioning styles, replicating findings of previous analogue studies, in which undergraduate subjects preferred straightforward approaches to therapy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition. Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychological Association. (1992). Ethical principles in the conduct of research with human participants. Washington, D.C.: Author.
Beck, A.T. & Emery, G. (1985). Anxiety disorders and phobias: A cognitive perspective. New York: BasicBooks (A division of HarperCollins Publishers).
Beck, A.T., Rush, A.J., Shaw, B.F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. NY: Guilford.
Beck, A.T., Wright, F., Newman, C., & Liese, B. (1993). Cognitive therapy of substance abuse. New York: Guilford.
Benjamin, A. (1981). The helping interview. (Third Edition). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Block, J. (1995). A contrarian view of the five-factor approach to personality description. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 187-215.
Burns, D.D. & Auerbach, A.H. (1992). Does homework compliance enhance recovery from depression? Psychiatric Annals, 22, 464-469.
Cashen, V.M. (1979). Sex of client as a factor in preference for an approach to counseling. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 35, 680-682.
Chessick, R. (1982). Socrates: First psychotherapist. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 42, 71-83.
Cormier, W.H. & Cormier, L.S. (1985). Interviewing strategies for helpers: Fundamental skills and cognitive behavioral interventions (2nd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
Costa, P.T. & McCrae, R.R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.
Critelli, J.W. & Neumann, K.F. (1984). The placebo: conceptual analysis of a construct in transition. American Psychologist, 39, 32-39.
de Shazer, S. (1988). Clues: Investigating solutions in brief therapy. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
de Shazer, S. (1991). Putting difference to work. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
de Shazer, S., Berg, I.K., Lipchik, F., Nunnally, E., Molnar, A., Gingerich, W. & Weiner-Davis, M. (1986). Brief therapy: Focused solution development. Family Process, 25, 207-222.
DiGiuseppe, R. (1991). A rational-emotive model of assessment. In M.E. Bernard (Ed.), Using rational-emotive therapy effectively (pp. 151-172). New York: Plenum Publishing Corporation.
Di Nardo, P.A., Barlow, D.H., Cerny, J., Vermilyea, B.B., Vermilyea, J.A., Himadi, W. & Waddell, M. (1985). Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule—Revised (ADIS-R). Albany, NY: Phobia and Anxiety Disorders Clinic, State University of New York at Albany.
Efron, D. & Veenendaal, K. (1993). Suppose a miracle doesn't happen: The non-miracle option. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 12, 11-18.
Ellis, A. (1971). Growth through reason. No. Hollywood, CA: Wilshire Books.
Fish, J.M. (1995). Does problem behavior just happen? Does it matter? Behavior and Social Issues, 5, 3-12.
Fish, J.M. (1996). Prevention, solution-focused therapy, and the illusion of mental disorders. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 5, 37-40.
Friedman, S. (1993). Does the ‘miracle question’ always create miracles? Journal of Systemic Therapies, 12, 71-74.
Haley, J. (1976). Problem-solving therapy: New strategies for effective family therapy. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Hensley, R.A., Cashen, V.M. & Lewis, M. (1985). The effect of previous experience on preference of approach for effective counseling. Journal of Psychology, 119, 293-296.
Hoffman, L. (1981). Foundations of family therapy: A conceptual framework for systems change. New York: Basic Books.
Holen, M. & Kinsey, W. (1975). Preferences for three theoretically derived counseling approaches. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 22, 21-23.
Horne, A.M., Chaney, R. & Dougherty, A.M. (1976). Institutional males' perceptions of three counseling techniques. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 43, 383-387.
Ivey, A.E. (1983). Intentional interviewing and counseling. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
Jannes, J.E. & Fish, J.M. (1993). Perceptions of the therapist as a function of intervention type and observer personality factors. Journal of Personality and Clinical Studies, 9, 1-14.
Keeney, B.P. (1983). Aesthetics of change. New York: Guilford Press.
Lipchik, E. & de Shazer, S. (1986). The purposeful interview. Journal of Strategic and Systemic Therapies, 5, 88-99.
Miller, A. (1990). The Drama of the Gifted Child. New York, NY: BasicBooks.
Morrison, J. (1995). The first interview: Revised for DSM-IV. New York: Guilford.
Newfield, N.A., Kuehl, B.P., Joanning, H.P., & Quinn, W.H. (1990). A mini ethnography of the family therapy of adolescent drug abuse: The ambiguous experience. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 7, 57-79.
Nylund, D. & Corsiglia, V. (1994). Becoming solution focused in brief therapy: Remembering something important we already knew. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 13, 5-12.
Olinick, S.L. (1954). Some considerations of the use of questioning as a psychoanalytic technique. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 2, 57-66.
Overholser, J.C. (1993a). Elements of the Socratic method: I. Systematic questioning. Psychotherapy, 30, 67-74.
Overholser, J.C. (1993b). Elements of the Socratic method: II. Inductive reasoning. Psychotherapy, 30, 75-85.
Overholser, J.C. (1994). Elements of the Socratic method: III. Universal definitions. Psychotherapy, 31, 286-293.
Overholser, J.C. (1995). Elements of the Socratic method: IV. Disavowal of knowledge. Psychotherapy, 32, 283-292.
Persons, J.B. (1989). Cognitive therapy in practice: A case formulation approach. New York: W.W. Norton.
Seeskin, K. (1987). Dialogue and discovery: A study in Socratic method. Albany, New York: SUNY Press.
Stuehm, M.H., Cashen, V.M. & Johnson, J.J. (1977). Preference for an approach to counseling. Psychological Reports, 41, 124-126.
Sue, S. & Zane, N. (1987). The role of culture and cultural techniques in psychotherapy: A critique and reformulation. American Psychologist, 42, 37-45.
Talmon, M. (1990). Single session therapy. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Tannen, D. (1993). The relativity of linguistic strategies: Rethinking power and solidarity in gender and dominance. In D. Tannen (Ed.), Gender and conversational interaction (pp. 165-188). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Tinsley, H.E.A. & Harris, J. (1976). Client expectations for counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 3, 173-177.
Walen, S., DiGiuseppe, R. & Dryden, R.L. (1992). A practitioner's guide to rational-emotive therapy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Walter, J.L. & Peller, J.E. (1992). Becoming solution focused in brief therapy. New York: Brunner/Mazel Inc.
Young, J.E., Beck, A.T. & Weinberger, A. (1993). Depression. In D.H. Barlow (Ed.), Clinical handbook of psychological disorders: A step-by-step treatment manual (2nd ed.) (pp. 240-277). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bishop, W., Fish, J.M. Questions as Interventions: Perceptions of Socratic, Solution Focused, and Diagnostic Questioning Styles. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy 17, 115–140 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023005015329
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023005015329