Abstract
A review of research on the Type A-Type B therapist variable is made with the aim of determining if this is a valid typology for delineating successful and unsuccessful therapeutic interventions. The majority of studies (using analogues of psychotherapy with A and B undergraduates serving as "therapists") have attempted to locate personality and other behavioral correlates of A-B status.
Conclusions drawn from these studies stand singly without corroboration; attempts to replicate them have been unsuccessful; or they have been contradicted by other findings. On the whole, it appears that A-B scales measure nothing which is meaningfully and reliably related to therapeutic success.
Serious methodological shortcomings of the original research on the A-B variable are noted, and a strong stance is taken that A-B scales and the prolific
research which they have fostered are useless in elucidating characteristics of effective and ineffective psychotherapists.
Conclusions drawn from these studies stand singly without corroboration; attempts to replicate them have been unsuccessful; or they have been contradicted by other findings. On the whole, it appears that A-B scales measure nothing which is meaningfully and reliably related to therapeutic success.
Serious methodological shortcomings of the original research on the A-B variable are noted, and a strong stance is taken that A-B scales and the prolific
research which they have fostered are useless in elucidating characteristics of effective and ineffective psychotherapists.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 108 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 1978 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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