Dodo bird verdict
Encyclopedia
The Dodo bird verdict is a phrase sometimes used when evaluating different techniques used in psychotherapy
.
In Lewis Carroll
's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
(1865), at a certain point a number of characters become wet. In order to dry themselves, the Dodo
decided to issue a competition. Everyone was to run around the lake until they were dry. Nobody cared to measure how far each person had run, nor how long. When they asked the Dodo who had won, he thought long and hard and then said "Everybody has won and all must have prizes."
In psychological literature, Saul Rosenzweig
(1936) coined this phrase the "Dodo bird verdict", and it has been extensively referred to in subsequent literature as a consequence of the common factors theory
. This is the theory that the specific techniques that are applied in different types and schools of psychotherapy serve a very limited purpose (such as a shared myth to believe in), and that most of the positive effect that is gained from psychotherapy is due to factors that the schools have in common, namely the therapeutic effect of having a relationship with a therapist who is warm, respectful and friendly. Meta-analyses by Lester Luborsky
(2002) show that the effect size that can be attributed to specific therapy techniques is only 0.2. Therefore, all therapies are considered equal and "all must have prizes". On the other hand, scientists who believe in empirically supported therapies (EST) contend that it is not a fair picture of affairs. Amongst many others Chambless (2002), for example, support the EST movement because there is much evidence that specific therapies are helpful to "specific people in specific situations with specific problems". The significance of the figure of 0.2 is then an artifact of grouping problems and therapies in a non-meaningful way.
The "Dodo bird verdict" is especially important because policymakers have to decide on the usefulness of investing in the diversity of psychotherapies that exist. The debate has been very much heated since its re-inception in 1975 with a publication of Lester Luborsky
. Depending on what the outcome of the debate is held to be, many jobs and also the healthcare for many individuals are at stake.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
.
Psychological Significance
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
(1865), at a certain point a number of characters become wet. In order to dry themselves, the Dodo
Dodo (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
-Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland version:The Dodo, who in this adaptation of the book is named Uilleam and is portrayed by Michael Gough, bears a down of brilliant blue and is one of Alice's advisers, who also took first note of her identity as the true Alice. Mysteriously, the dodo vanishes...
decided to issue a competition. Everyone was to run around the lake until they were dry. Nobody cared to measure how far each person had run, nor how long. When they asked the Dodo who had won, he thought long and hard and then said "Everybody has won and all must have prizes."
In psychological literature, Saul Rosenzweig
Saul Rosenzweig
Saul Rosenzweig was an American psychologist and therapist.-Biography:He earned his doctorate from Harvard College in 1932, a friend and classmate of B.F. Skinner. He worked at Worcester State Hospital and Clark University before becoming the chief psychologist at the Western State Psychiatric...
(1936) coined this phrase the "Dodo bird verdict", and it has been extensively referred to in subsequent literature as a consequence of the common factors theory
Common factors theory
- Common factors theory in psychotherapy :Within psychotherapy research, common factors theory proposes that different theoretical and evidence-based approaches to psychotherapy and counseling have common components and that those components account for outcome more than components that are unique...
. This is the theory that the specific techniques that are applied in different types and schools of psychotherapy serve a very limited purpose (such as a shared myth to believe in), and that most of the positive effect that is gained from psychotherapy is due to factors that the schools have in common, namely the therapeutic effect of having a relationship with a therapist who is warm, respectful and friendly. Meta-analyses by Lester Luborsky
Lester Luborsky
Lester B. Luborsky was one of the founders of scientific research in psychotherapy.Luborsky was born and raised in Philadelphia. He graduated from Philadelphia Central High School and then earned his bachelors degree at Pennsylvania State University....
(2002) show that the effect size that can be attributed to specific therapy techniques is only 0.2. Therefore, all therapies are considered equal and "all must have prizes". On the other hand, scientists who believe in empirically supported therapies (EST) contend that it is not a fair picture of affairs. Amongst many others Chambless (2002), for example, support the EST movement because there is much evidence that specific therapies are helpful to "specific people in specific situations with specific problems". The significance of the figure of 0.2 is then an artifact of grouping problems and therapies in a non-meaningful way.
The "Dodo bird verdict" is especially important because policymakers have to decide on the usefulness of investing in the diversity of psychotherapies that exist. The debate has been very much heated since its re-inception in 1975 with a publication of Lester Luborsky
Lester Luborsky
Lester B. Luborsky was one of the founders of scientific research in psychotherapy.Luborsky was born and raised in Philadelphia. He graduated from Philadelphia Central High School and then earned his bachelors degree at Pennsylvania State University....
. Depending on what the outcome of the debate is held to be, many jobs and also the healthcare for many individuals are at stake.
Further reading
- Hubble, M. A., Duncan, B. L., & Miller, S. D. (1999). The Heart & Soul of Change: What Works in Therapy. American Psychological Association (APA).