Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2026
06:57
Modeling Verbal Behavior Deficits with the Stimulus Control Ratio Equation, SCoRE
Published on: May 14, 2019
Language and therapeutic change: a speech acts analysis.
Lucia Reyes1, Roberto Aristegui, Mariane Krause
1Department of Psychology, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Psychotherapy Research : Journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research
|September 26, 2008
Summary
Researchers identified a specific linguistic pattern associated with therapeutic change. This self-referential, first-person, present-tense speech pattern reliably indicates moments of change in therapy.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Linguistics
- Psychotherapy Research
Background:
- Identifying moments of therapeutic change is crucial for understanding and improving psychotherapy.
- Existing methods for identifying change can be subjective or time-consuming.
- Speech acts theory provides a framework for analyzing language in therapeutic contexts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify a specific linguistic pattern indicative of therapeutic change.
- To examine the frequency of this pattern in actual therapy sessions.
- To assess the pattern's utility as a complementary marker for therapeutic change.
Main Methods:
- Utilized speech acts theory to define a linguistic pattern: first-person singular, present indicative, self-referential statements.
- Analyzed verbalizations identified as 'change moments' across three distinct therapeutic orientations.
- Compared the frequency of the identified pattern in change moments versus non-change-related verbalizations.
Main Results:
- The majority of identified change moments exhibited the specific linguistic pattern.
- This pattern was significantly more frequent in change moments than in general therapeutic conversation.
- The findings suggest the pattern is specific to therapeutic change, not just typical dialogue.
Conclusions:
- A distinct linguistic pattern (first-person, present-tense, self-referential) is strongly associated with therapeutic change.
- This linguistic marker can serve as an objective, complementary tool for identifying change moments in therapy.
- Further research can explore the integration of this linguistic analysis into clinical practice and training.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Therapeutic Communication
Communication is a lifelong learning process. Through therapeutic communication, nurses can collect relevant assessment data, provide education and counseling, and interact during nursing interventions. Sending and receiving messages occur through verbal and nonverbal communication techniques and can happen separately or simultaneously.
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...
01:27Language and Cognition
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
01:15Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
The history of therapeutic communication can be traced back to Florence Nightingale, who emphasized the importance of developing trusting relationships with patients. She taught that the presence of nurses with patients results in therapeutic healing.
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
01:29Impression Management Techniques III: Aligning Actions
Aligning actions are communicative strategies individuals employ to maintain social harmony and preserve personal identity in the face of potential disruptions to social norms. These actions are particularly important in managing social impressions when one's behavior might be seen as inappropriate, incompetent, or morally questionable.Types of Aligning ActionsThe three principal types of aligning actions are disclaimers, accounts, and apologies.DisclaimersDisclaimers are preventive; they are...
01:17Introduction to Language of Pathophysiology ll
This lesson explores key terms that describe how diseases progress, their outcomes, and their distribution in populations.Diagnostic tests identify diseases and monitor treatment. These include blood and urine tests, biopsies, imaging (X-ray, MRI), and detection of infectious agents.Remission is a reduction or disappearance of symptoms.Exacerbation refers to the worsening of symptoms, such as increased wheezing during an asthma attack.A precipitating factor triggers an acute episode, while a...
01:14Impression Management Techniques IV: Altercasting
Altercasting is a strategic communication technique in which an individual imposes a specific identity or social role onto another person to influence their behavior and shape the interaction. By presuming a role—such as “responsible leader” or “patient person”—altercasting encourages the target to conform to that identity, often aligning their behavior with the expectations associated with the role. The power of this tactic lies in its subtlety; once a role is assigned, it becomes socially...