The A-B scale and empathy, warmth, genuineness, and depth of self-exploration.

Studied initial interviews conducted by 25 senior medical students with 25 neurotic outpatients. There were no significant relationships between the therapists' A-B scale scores and their empathy, warmth, and genuineness. B-type therapists did elicit greater depth of exploration, a result consonant with existing research. Findings suggest that these 2 sets of variables the A-B scale and empathy, warmth, and genuineness are independent sources of variance in therapeutic outcome. The A-B scale offers the potential of leading to the discovery of a new set of determinants of psychotherapeutic success. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A-B distinction and therapeutic interaction.

Investigated whether there is a relationship between therapist's scores on the A-B scale and his behavior in psychotherapy. A comparison of therapeutic activity of 20 A and B therapists obtained from tape recordings of therapy hr. suggested that (a) B therapists tended to be more facilitative, i.e., to encourage more client self-expression; and (b) A therapists tended to be somewhat more interpretative and negative. Findings are consistent with previous research with the A-B scale, which suggested a relationship between A-B personality characteristics and behavior in psychotherapy. It appears that further investigation of A-B personality correlates and how they are manifested in psychotherapy is warranted. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A-B therapist status, patient diagnosis, and psychotherapy outcome in a psychiatric outpatient population.

Previous research generally has supported the hypothesis that A therapists obtain better therapy outcomes with schizophrenics, while B therapists do better with neurotics. Based on recent evidence, a 2nd hypothesis (super A) has been advanced which predicts that A therapists do at least as well with neurotic patients as do B therapists and that As obtain significantly more positive outcomes with schizophrenics. To examine these hypotheses, the therapy outcomes of 7 A and 4 B therapists, differentiated by their scores on the 23-item Whitehorn and Betz (1957) A-B scale, with their 18 schizophrenic and 18 neurotic patients were examined. A multivariate ANOVA computed for the 2 outcome measures, therapists' ratings of patient improvement and number of therapy sessions, clearly supported the super-A hypothesis. Separate ANOVAs demonstrated further support for the super-A hypothesis with therapists' ratings as the dependent variable, whereas the interaction hypothesis received support with number of sessions attended as the dependent measure. Of considerable importance was the fact that the addition of ataractic medication to the treatment of schizophrenics did not attenuate the effect of the A-B therapist distinction on therapeutic outcome. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Accurate empathy" and the A-B dichotomy.

Compared B-type therapists with neurotic patients and A-type therapists with schizophrenic patients, with the opposite patient-therapist pairings for 2 criterion measures of "improvement" and a measure of "accurate empathy." 8 therapists were given the A-B scale and their sessions with a total of 31 patients recorded. Neither judged improvement nor length of hospitalization was significantly related to either high- vs. low-empathy ratings or to type of therapist-patient pairings. As predicted, however, B-type therapists with neurotic patients and A-type therapists with schizophrenic patients displayed more empathy than with the reverse pairings. Results indicate a relationship between the findings of 2 independent lines of research on therapy outcome, 1 basing outcome predictions on client-centered theoretical constructs, the other on the empirical value of the A-B scale. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of A and B therapists with schizophrenics and neurotics: A referral study.

A basic assumption in the therapist A-B variable literature has been that A therapists are more effective with schizophrenic patients and that B therapists are more effective with neurotic patients. This has not been adequately demonstrated among experienced, practicing therapists since the original work of J. C. Whitehorn and B. J. Betz (1954, 1957, 1960) and D. McNair et al (1962). The current study attempted such a demonstration. Assuming a close relationship between a therapist's effectiveness and his/her reputation among professional colleagues, the study asked each of 60 psychologists to "refer" each of 6 case vignettes (2 schizophrenic, 2 neurotic, and 2 "other") to the colleague he/she believed would be most effective with that case. 41 Ss (20 As and 21 Bs, as determined by the Schiffman et al A-B scale reported by D. E. Kemp and J. H. Stephens, 1972) completed the task. A therapists received more schizophrenic than neurotic referrals, whereas B therapists received more neurotic than schizophrenic referrals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"A" therapists as creative and personally involved with other people.

Administered the MMPI, Campbell-Strong Vocational Interest Blank, and A-B Therapist scale to college males. A subgroup of freshmen was also given 12 tests of creative potential. Results support the hypotheses that A-type therapists would show greater creativity, personal involvement with people in general, femininity, and verbal orientation than B-type therapists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a theoretical conceptualization of the Whitehorn-Betz A-B scale.

Administered the Whitehorn-Betz A-B scale, the Sundland and Barker Therapist Orientation Questionnaire, and a biographical information blank to 30 male doctoral level counselors. Results of analyses indicate that (a) the therapist's orientation was independent of his A-B disposition; and (b) A therapists were socially dependent conforming, while B therapists were socially independent nonconforming. It is suggested that the results support a complementary hypothesis in which "the counselor is able to model the interpersonal and intrapersonal skills the client lacks." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A-B therapist distinction, patient diagnosis, and outcome of brief psychotherapy in a college clinic.

Prior studies suggest that therapists' A-B status (types catagorized by the Whitehorn-Betz A-B scale) interacts with patient diagnosis in determining the outcome of psychotherapy (A > B with schizophrenics, B > A with neurotics). To discern whether the hypothesis would apply to brief psychotherapy in a college clinic, the "outcomes" obtained by 3 A and 3 B therapists with their schizoid and neurotic patients (N = 57) were examined in a 2 * 2 factorial design. Analysis of 3 dependent measures based on therapists' and patients' posttherapy ratings reveal considerable support for the hypothesis, particularly for therapists' appraisals of their own effectiveness (interaction, p     

Content analysis of the natural language of A and B males in a dyadic interaction.

Investigated the relationship of male college students' scores on the A-B dimension to the content of their natural language elicited in dyadic situations. 28 Ss randomly paired after having taken the A-B scale were instructed to talk about personal issues for 45 min. 10-min segments of these recorded sessions were transcribed, categorized, and counted according to the Harvard III Psychosociological Dictionary and C. Martindale's Regressive Imagery Dictionary. Correlations between content categories and A-B scores were calculated using a partial correlation procedure controlling for response productivity. As predicted, Bs were more defensive, focused on others, concerned with roles and institutions, and male-oriented than were As. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some personality and aptitudinal correlates of the "A-B" therapist scale.

On the basis of prior research showing similarities between practicing therapists and undergraduates varying in A-B status, 12 scales from the Omnibus Personality Inventory and the 4 component scores of the American College Testing Program battery were related to A-B status of about 2400 undergraduates. A stepwise discriminant analysis showed that the present set of measures significantly discriminated male As from ABs (middles) and Bs, and that the differences between As and Bs involved the joint effects of masculinity-femininity, verbal aptitude, and natural science aptitude measures. As and Bs differed in a way consistent with previous reasearch on "cognitive style." Correlational and factor-analytic data indicated that the A-B variable cannot be regarded as linearly related to those measures which discriminated As from Bs. A quasi-typological interpretation of the A-B variable was proposed and methodological implications were drawn. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between patient-therapist compatibility and treatment effectiveness.

Studied patient attraction to therapist, therapist attraction to patient, and patient change as a function of interpersonally oriented therapist-patient compatibility. Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation scale scores were used to assign a high- and a low-compatibility psychiatric patient to each of 24 therapists. High-compatibility matched patients were found to have a significantly more favorable view of their therapists after both 3 and 11 wk. of interaction. However, therapists did not prefer relating to their high-compatibility over their low-compatibility match patients. There was no difference in the amount of behavioral change found in the high-compatibility, low-compatibility, and untreated-control groups. It is concluded that by use of such matching procedures a higher level of interpersonal attraction can be promoted between patients and their therapists, but the significance of therapist-patient attraction for treatment effectiveness remains to be demonstrated. (39 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Erratum to Matthews and Burkhart.

Reports an error in the article "A-B Therapist Status, Patient Diagnosis, and Psychotherapy Outcome in a Psychiatric Outpatient Population" by Jerry G. Matthews and Barry R. Burkhart (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1977, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 47S-482), the next to last sentence of the abstract is incorrect. The sentence reads: "Separate analyses of variance demonstrated further support for the super-A hypothesis with therapists' ratings as the dependent variable, whereas the interaction hypothesis received support, with number of sessions as the dependent measure." The sentence should read: "Separate analyses of variance demonstrated further support for the super-A hypothesis with number of sessions attended as the dependent measure, whereas the interaction hypothesis received support, with therapists' ratings as the dependent variable." (The following abstract originally appeared in record 1978-03783-001) Previous research generally has supported the hypothesis that A therapists obtain better therapy outcomes with schizophrenics, while B therapists do better with neurotics. Based on recent evidence, a 2nd hypothesis (super A) has been advanced which predicts that A therapists do at least as well with neurotic patients as do B therapists and that As obtain significantly more positive outcomes with schizophrenics. To examine these hypotheses, the therapy outcomes of 7 A and 4 B therapists, differentiated by their scores on the 23-item Whitehorn and Betz (1957) A-sub( scale, with their 18 schizophrenic and 18 neurotic patients were examined. A multivariate ANOVA computed for the 2 outcome measures, therapists' ratings of patient improvement and number of therapy sessions, clearly supported the super-A hypothesis. Separate ANOVAs demonstrated further support for the super-A hypothesis with therapists' ratings as the dependent variable, whereas the interaction hypothesis received support with number of sessions attended as the dependent measure. Of considerable importance was the fact that the addition of ataractic medication to the treatment of schizophrenics did not attenuate the effect of the A-sub( therapist distinction on therapeutic outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role stereotyping and A-B therapist status: Who is more chauvinistic?

Administered the A-B Therapist Scale to 76 male and female psychotherapists and male and female mursing students. Results show that A therapists significantly stereotyped to the disparagement of females significantly more than B therapists. Implications for treatment are examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Client and therapist variability in clients' perceptions of their therapists' multicultural competencies.

This study examined therapist differences in their clients' ratings of their therapists' multicultural competencies (MCCs) as well as tested whether therapists' who were rated as exhibiting more MCCs also had clients who had better therapy outcomes (N = 143 clients and 31 therapists). All clients completed at least 3 sessions. Results demonstrated that therapists accounted for less than 1% of the variance in their clients' Cross-Cultural Counseling Inventory–Revised (CCCI-R; T. D. LaFromboise, H. L. K. Coleman, & A. Hernandez, 1991) scores, suggesting that therapists did not differ in terms of how clients rated their MCCs. Therapists accounted for approximately 8.5% of the variance in therapy outcomes. For each therapist, their clients' CCCI-R scores were aggregated to provide an estimate of therapists' MCCs. Therapists' MCCs, based on aggregate CCCI-R scores, did not account for the variability in therapy outcomes that were attributed to them. Additionally, clients' race/ethnicity, therapists' race/ethnicity, or the interaction of clients'–therapists' race/ethnicity were not significantly associated with clients' perceptions of their therapists' MCCs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Practicing A and B psychotherapists' responses to schizoid and neurotic patient prototypes.

83 practicing male psychotherapists completed the A-B Scale of H. Schiffman et al (1967), responded to recordings of schizoid and neurotic patient prototypes, and rated their subjective reactions to each type. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant overall A-B Type by Patient Type interaction. Although liking and ease of responding were higher in therapist–patient dyads, which the literature suggests are effective (A—schizoid, B—neurotic), felt compatibility and desire to work with the patient were higher in the opposite ("mismatched") dyads. Results suggest that subjective reactions underlying the A-B interaction effect are complex and that therapists respond in a differentiated, not global, fashion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Some comments on the relation between A-B status of behavior therapists and success treatment": James and Foreman reply.

Replies to H. J. Eysenck's commentary (see record 1975-11786-001) on the original article by L. E. James and M. E. Foreman (see record 197407703-001) regarding the relation between A-B status of behavior therapists and success of treatment. In his commentary, Eysenck argued that several weaknesses in the original study do not support the conclusion that the A-B therapist variable is associated with outcomes of behavior therapy. In this reply, James and Foreman defend their conclusions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reappraisal of the A-B therapist "type" distinction in terms of the Personality Research Form.

Assessed personality dimensions involved in the A-B therapist "type" distinction which has proven predictive of therapist-patient compatibility in several clinical and analogue studies. The A-B scale scores of 223 male undergraduates were related to the 22 variables of Jackson's Personality Research Form. Multiple discriminant analyses and factor analyses strongly supported the hypothesis that A-B status is explicable in personality terms: so-called A-type Ss (predicted to be compatible with schizoid patients) were characterized by cautious self-expression, social ineptness, and a restricted cognitive scope; B-type Ss (presumably compatible with neurotic patients) appeared socially ascendant and "open" to complex experiences. Results were supported by a cross-validation study of 50 professional Ss. As in prior research, the variables differentiating A-B statuses appeared to involve a prominent "masculinity-femininity" component. (30 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multidimensional interpretation and comparison of three A-B scales.

Notes that despite a rapidly expanding literature on the A-B therapist-type variable, an adequate conceptual and empirical understanding has not been forthcoming. The present study endeavored to increase the limited understanding of the A-B dimension as well as to compare 3 different versions of the A-B scale. A battery of interest, personality, and aptitude tests (e.g., the SVIB) was completed by 231 undergraduate males. This battery was subjected to a 2-step principal components analysis in order to minimize the effects of method-specific sources of variance. Each of the 3 A-B scales was then regressed against component scores, followed by multiple discriminant-function analyses. Results indicate that 2 of the 3 A-B scales seem to be tapping a dimension tentatively labeled as a "social interpersonal orientation vs an impersonal cognitively complex orientation toward concepts and things." Explanations for some inconsistencies in the literature, for the nature of the Therapist * Patient Type interaction effect, and for possible strategies for future research are discussed. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of the Computerized Assessment System for Psychotherapy Evaluation and Research (CASPER) as a measure of treatment effectiveness in an outpatient training clinic.

This study evaluated the validity of the Computerized Assessment System for Psychotherapy Evaluation and Research (CASPER), a system that identifies target problems and monitors treatment outcomes. Pre- and posttreatment data were obtained from 78 clients and their therapists in an outpatient training clinic. CASPER scales were significantly correlated with the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and with therapist ratings on the Global Assessment Scale (GAS) at both intake and posttreatment. These measures also showed significant pre- to posttreatment changes. The largest effect sizes were found on CASPER individualized outcome measures. Residual change scores and posttreatment improvement ratings derived from CASPER were significantly correlated with BSI and GAS change scores. There was moderate agreement between clients' and therapists' ratings; clients tended to rate their functioning higher than did therapists on several CASPER scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)