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ABA Espana supported the corresponding author through a research contract granted to The University of Auckland (project no. CON02739).

Analysis of institutional authors

Pardo-Cebrian, RAuthorVirues-Ortega, JCorresponding AuthorCalero-Elvira, AAuthorGuerrero-Escagedo, McAuthor

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August 16, 2021
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Toward an experimental analysis of verbal shaping in psychotherapy

Publicated to:PSYCHOTHERAPY RESEARCH. 32 (4): 1-14 - 2022-01-01 32(4), DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2021.1955418

Authors: Pardo-Cebrian, Rebeca; Virues-Ortega, Javier; Calero-Elvira, Ana; Guerrero-Escagedo, Maria C

Affiliations

Univ Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand - Author
Univ Autonoma Madrid, Madrid, Spain - Author

Abstract

Objective. Some authors have suggested that verbal shaping is an active component in cognitive restructuring. The goal of the current study was to provide experimental evidence in support of the shaping hypothesis.Method. Three consecutively admitted adults with symptoms of anxiety and depression participated in the study. Participants underwent baseline, treatment comparison, crossover, and follow-up phases as part of an experimental single-case study. We selected two target irrational beliefs and praised either the client's approximations to a terminal (more adaptive) class of verbalizations (differential reinforcement of approximations) or just the terminal class of verbalizations (terminal reinforcement).Results. Irrational beliefs exposed to differential reinforcement of approximations was a more effective approach to reducing irrational beliefs.Conclusion. The study provides experimental evidence in support of the verbal shaping hypothesis. Our findings suggest that it may be possible to enhance clinical outcomes by actively engaging in verbal shaping during client-therapist verbal interaction.

Keywords

irrational beliefprocesses of changesocratic dialogueAdultAnxietyAnxiety disordersBase-line designsBehaviorClientFunctional-analysisHumansIrrational beliefProcesses of changePsychotherapyReinforcementSocratic dialogueVerbal shaping

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal PSYCHOTHERAPY RESEARCH due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Clinical Psychology.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.47. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 1.18 (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-07, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 4
  • Scopus: 3
  • Europe PMC: 2

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-07:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 15.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 16 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 4.7.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 6 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Additionally, the work has been submitted to a journal classified as Diamond in relation to this type of editorial policy.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/10486/710752

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: New Zealand.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (PARDO CEBRIAN, REBECA) and Last Author (GUERRERO ESCAGEDO, MARIA CRISTINA).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been VIRUES ORTEGA, FRANCISCO JAVIER.