ABSTRACT
Despite its rapid growth, the field of behavior therapy has developed unevenly. In general, more work has been done on the principles and techniques of modification than in the operational details of assessment and clinical procedure. Interviewing in behavior modification is an area particularly deserving of explication and codification. The interview is important because it is frequently a principal source of information for the behavior therapist and what the therapist says and does during assessment as well as modification may be very active in altering the behavior of patients. The purposes and areas of content to be covered in behavioral interviewing have been discussed by several writers (e.g., Kanfer and Phillips, 1970; Wolpe, 1969) and Wolpe has published instructive transcripts on such subjects as the identification of antecedents (Wolpe, 1970a; 1970b, 1971a), the handling of resistance (Wolpe, 1971b), and the correction of misconceptions (Wolpe, 1971c). However, little attention has been given to interviewing technique and style, especially as they relate to interviewing bias and therapist influence.
