An empirical method for evaluating the usefulness of psychological terms : a naturalistic observation of self-disclosure, congruence, and empathy

The usefulness of three terms employed extensively in the literature of Humanistic psychology, namely, "self-disclosure," "congruence," and "empathy" are subjected to empirical test. A method using naturalistic behavioral observation techniques was developed to identify episodes of the behaviors in small group interactions, which characterize these three concepts. Observers were trained to recognize episodes of self-disclosure, congruence, and empathy in videotaped interactions between 10 people in an undergraduate course in Human Relations. . Significant agreement existed among observers for instances exhibiting "self-disclosure," but observers were unable to agree on episodes in which "congruence" and "empathy" were thought to occur. This suggests that "self-disclosure" is a "useful concept" (observers could use it to label episodes of behavior they agreed were instances of that kind). Results for "congruence" and "empathy" remained ambiguous. The significantly lower frequencies at which instances of these concepts were recognized may account for the low levels of inter-rater agreement for "congruence" and "empathy." With further refinement and broader application, this method could provide a means for determining which of the many poorly defined terms in the humanistic psychological literature are worthy of further examination by methodologically sound behavioral observation techniques.