The relationship between level of adjustment and expectations for therapy

Investigated Goldstein's (1962) hypothesis of a curvilinear relationship between client expectancy and psychotherapy outcome, based partly on a similar relationship between client expectancy and adjustment. One hundred and ten new clients at a university counseling center completed self-assessments and were rated on an adjustment scale by their therapists at the beginning and end of therapy. There was no curvilinear relationship between adjustment and expectancy, but a linear relationship between expectancy and self-assessed outcome was found. Because no relationship was obtained between expectancy and therapist-defined outcome, method variance may account for the association between expectancy and outcome from the client's perspective.