Differential therapeutic responding of A and B quasitherapists to schizoid and neurotic communications

Investigated the propositionn that the differential effectiveness of "A" and "B" therapists with schizoid and neurotic patients is based on behavioral differences which emerge even with untrained Ss in the appropriate interpersonal contexts. In a 3 * 2 factorial design, 72 male undergraduates (As, ABs or middles, and Bs) responded to tape-recorded schizoid and neurotic communications by writing self-chosen "helpful" responses. Analyses of these responses confirmed the predicted Therapist * Patient interaction effects. When As were paired with the schizoid and Bs with the neurotic patient (relative to the opposite pairings), they gave longer responses (p < .005), emitted more responses of a declarative rather than questionning form (p < .025), and showed more positive (p < .025) and fewer negative (p < .05) Bales social-emotional reactions. The Ss intermediate on the A-B scale (ABs) did not react differentially to the 2 patient types. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).