Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-2014

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Psychology

Major Professor

Michael R. Nash

Committee Members

John Lounsbury, Jacob Levy, Jill Powell

Abstract

This study develops a psychometric scale measuring the extent to which an individual expects psychotherapy to be effective: The Belief in the Efficacy of Psychotherapy (BEP). Based in the research that describes expectations for therapy as process expectations or outcome expectations, the BEP scale is developed to measure outcome expectations for therapy exclusively (i.e., is psychotherapy helpful?). Current expectancy measures vastly underrepresent outcome expectations in particular, and BEP will be the first to focus solely on outcome expectations. Additionally, the proposed BEP scale measures the general cultural belief system (i.e., non-patients) and their beliefs about psychotherapy and therapists specifically, rather than other forms of mental health services. The present study develops the scale (BEP), tests its psychometric properties, and examines how BEP covaries with personality characteristics such as the “Big Five,” Optimism, and Psychological Mindedness (PM), and Treatment Rejection (RXR).

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