TY - JOUR
T1 - The study of change in psychotherapy
T2 - A reexamination of the processoutcome correlation paradigm. Comment on Stiles and Shapiro ( 1994)
AU - Hayes, Adele M.
AU - Castonguay, Louis G.
AU - Goldfried, Marvin R.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 1996
Y1 - 1996
N2 - W. B. Stiles and D. A. Shapiro ( 1994) present a provocative argument that the yield of process research has been minimal because of researchers' overreliance on the drug metaphor and its corollary, the correlational design. Although Stiles and Shapiro raise excellent points regarding the possible misinterpretations of correlational research, their conclusion that the process-outcome correlation paradigm is flawed and has outlived its usefulness is questioned. The basic thesis is that Stiles and Shapiro did not provide a fair test of the correlation paradigm. The process variables used to test the paradigm do not have the strong theoretical and empirical grounding necessary to support the assumption that they should be related to outcome. In this article, examples are described, of programmatic process research that has used the correlation paradigm, along with other methods of inquiry, to advance the understanding of how change occurs and to improve treatment efficacy. It is contended that the correlational method is one useful tool of discovery and that it has contributed significantly to the advancement of the field when the process variables studied are grounded in solid theory and research.
AB - W. B. Stiles and D. A. Shapiro ( 1994) present a provocative argument that the yield of process research has been minimal because of researchers' overreliance on the drug metaphor and its corollary, the correlational design. Although Stiles and Shapiro raise excellent points regarding the possible misinterpretations of correlational research, their conclusion that the process-outcome correlation paradigm is flawed and has outlived its usefulness is questioned. The basic thesis is that Stiles and Shapiro did not provide a fair test of the correlation paradigm. The process variables used to test the paradigm do not have the strong theoretical and empirical grounding necessary to support the assumption that they should be related to outcome. In this article, examples are described, of programmatic process research that has used the correlation paradigm, along with other methods of inquiry, to advance the understanding of how change occurs and to improve treatment efficacy. It is contended that the correlational method is one useful tool of discovery and that it has contributed significantly to the advancement of the field when the process variables studied are grounded in solid theory and research.
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U2 - 10.1037/0022-006X.64.5.909
DO - 10.1037/0022-006X.64.5.909
M3 - Article
C2 - 8916618
AN - SCOPUS:0030254720
SN - 0022-006X
VL - 64
SP - 909
EP - 914
JO - Journal of consulting and clinical psychology
JF - Journal of consulting and clinical psychology
IS - 5
ER -