Out‐thinking about Not‐words

Abstract

Our key counseling words are ambiguous and misleading. There are a number of possible meanings that could be supplied for each. The words do not have identifiable agreed-upon relationships t o significant events in real life. The result is miscommunication and misunderstanding. The negative effects on counseling research and training are discussed. The points are illustrated by reference to "counseIing." Words should clearly symbolize or describe identifiable events in real life. Writers should try to use words the reality of which can be verified. Readers need to stay reality-oriented instead of word-oriented, especially when the relationship between words and reality is unclear. ORENSON (1965) writes that counselorsS are like pterodactyls ,in that both are out of tune with the times, but that counselors (unlike pterodactyls) can get back in tune by reexamining their purposes, methods, roles, and training programs. To this list he might add not-words, for if this reexamination is really to accomplish anything, it must include liberal amounts of out-thinking about not-words. Out-thinking emphasizes that thinking must be directed outward to events in real life because words can be misleading. Notwords is Wendell Johnson's (1946) term for real life. Johnson's position is that words must reflect reality and that our knowledge is increased when people pause to examine not-words, words, and the relationship between the two. (Also see Young, 1960.)Readers who wonder why all of this is important should remember that:(1) counseling research results generally have been negative or conflicting. This may be JOSIAH S. DILLEY is Lecturer, Department of Counseling and Behavioral Studies, School of Education, University of W i s c o n s i n .due to our inability to specify clearly, both in real life and in writing, what we mean by counseling or to clearly diffarentiate counseling from not-counseling.(2) Counselors are trained by means of words, but counseling is real life. Unless there is correspondence between the two, the training may be inefficient, irrelevant, or misleading.Counselors not only may be out of tune with the times, but also out of touch with reality. Specifically: (1) Do the key words that we use (and feel we understand) actually symbolize clear, identifiable, significant events in real life? (2) Are the meanings that readers supply to key words the same meanings that the authors intend that they supply? These questions can best be understood by means of an example, in this case, counseling. COUNSELING (WORDS)

The Year of the Expert

“…Another responsibility of the profession is the re-definition of its language (Dilley, 1966). To a certain extent, the dogmatism that has been referred to previously has prevented the definition of terms on a more universal basis.…”

Decision‐Making: A Dilemma and a Purpose for Counseling

“…(For a thorough discussion, see Johnson, 1946. ) Therefore counselors have four tasks: ( 1) Recognize and maintain the recognitionthat statements and thoughts, expressions of feeling, etc., may not convey any information (or may convey misinformation) about real life events (Dilley, 1966).…”

Semantic Barriers in Counseling

“…most likely to produce difficulty (Bingham, Moore, & Gustad, 1959). While the denotative, or specific, meanings of words may be vague and ambiguous (Grayson & Tolman, 1950;Dilley, 1966), the connotative, or affective, meanings of words may prove particularly troublesome (Osgood, Suci, & Tannenbaum, 1957).…”