AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF THERAPEUTIC "LISTENING".

The article presents a study on "listening" therapy. "Listening" was defined as the relationship between the stimulus input of the patient and the implicit hypotheses of the therapist about the patient which are made explicit in the therapist's verbal response under experimental conditions. A technique for making these hypotheses explicit was presented. These responses were content analyzed and groups of subjects were compared. Experienced therapists were found to make significantly more interpretative responses than trainees, but no differences were found between these two groups on any of the seven content categories used. Analysis of the possible effect of prior clinical information about the patient yielded no significant differences.