Hypothesis formation and testing in clinical judgment

Examined the influence of a counselor characteristic (cognitive complexity), a general client observation (disability status), and a specific client observation (positive, negative, or inconsistent personality test results) on the quality of clinical hypotheses counselors develop about clients' problems and the number of questions they generate to test these hypotheses. 35 graduate students in counselor training completed a measure of cognitive complexity (the Paragraph Completion Method) before being presented with the case folders of 6 hypothetical clients. Ss were asked to read the material and form hypotheses concerning why the clients sought counseling. The case folders had varied client observations. Results show no effect of any of the independent variables on hypothesis quality; however, there was a significant interaction between specific and general client observations on the number of questions developed to test clinical hypotheses. Results suggest that both specific and general observations are important factors in clinical judgment. (7 ref)