Descriptive analysis of the verbal behavior of a therapist: a known-group validity analysis of the putative behavioral functions involved in clinical interaction.
This study analyzes the interobserver agreement and hypothesis-based known-group validity of the Therapist's Verbal Behavior Category System (SISC-INTER). The SISC-INTER is a behavioral observation protocol comprised of a set of verbal categories representing putative behavioral functions of the in-session verbal behavior of a therapist (e.g., discriminative, reinforcing, punishing, and motivational operations). The complete therapeutic process of a clinical case of an individual with marital problems was recorded (10 sessions, 8 hours), and data were arranged in a temporal sequence using 10-min periods. Hypotheses based on the expected performance of the putative behavioral functions portrayed by the SISC-INTER codes across prevalent clinical activities (i.e., assessing, explaining, Socratic method, providing clinical guidance) were tested using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models. Known-group validity analyses provided support to all hypotheses. The SISC-INTER may be a useful tool to describe therapist-client interaction in operant terms. The utility of reliable and valid protocols for the descriptive analysis of clinical practice in terms of verbal behavior is discussed.
Psychology Department, University of Manitoba, Canada. javier_virues@umanitoba.ca
Javier
J
Virues-Ortega
Montserrat
M
Montaño-Fidalgo
María Xesús
MX
Froján-Parga
Ana
A
Calero-Elvira
D000328:Adult; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D014705:Verbal Behavior