Questions as Interventions: Perceptions of Socratic, Solution Focused, and Diagnostic Questioning Styles

Abstract

A videotaped psychotherapy analogue compared psychology trainees' (n = 67) and undergraduate non-therapists' (n = 115) perceptions of three theoretically derived questioning styles: Socratic disputation in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), solution focused questioning (e.g. the “miracle question”), and diagnostic interviewing. Non-therapists rated REBT and diagnostic styles more highly than psychology trainees. All subjects rated solution focused questioning more highly than both other styles, perceiving it as more collaborative and conducive to the client's independent thinking. The constructs of collaborative empiricism and solution focused “cooperation” are discussed in relation to findings. The study also compared psychology trainees' and non-therapists' Big Five personality profiles, a topic which has not previously been addressed in the literature. Psychology trainees were higher in Big Five Openness and Agreeableness than non-therapists. Openness was negatively associated with ratings for solution focused and diagnostic questioning styles, replicating findings of previous analogue studies, in which undergraduate subjects preferred straightforward approaches to therapy.