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LEVELS OF PROCESSING IN COGNITIVE THERAPY
Abstract
Cognitive therapy theorists Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis have advocated contrasting forms of psychological interpretation, Socratic (interrogative) and Didactic (declarative), respectively. This study used Fergus Craik's levels-of-processing theory of learning to explain and predict possible differences in memory for therapy content. The 45 female college student clients with low mood were treated with brief Cognitive Therapy in a 2 (Socratic-Didactic) x 2 (Counseling-Bibliotherapy) factorial research design. Results showed that therapeutic relationships were established and that there were substantial remissions in low moods following treatment. Counseling-Bibliotherapy contrasts showed differences (p < .05) on three of the five dependent measures, indicating adequate sensitivity of the instrumentation. However, Socratic-Didactic contrasts were not significant for recall or recognition of interpretations, client perceptions of the therapist, quantity of homework between therapy sessions, nor remission in low mood. The results suggest that rigid adherence to either Socratic or Didactic forms of interpretation is unnecessary for the Cognitive therapist.
Subject Area
Educational psychology
Recommended Citation
CRAWFORD, JOHN WILLIAM, "LEVELS OF PROCESSING IN COGNITIVE THERAPY" (1983). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8412299.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8412299