PLATO DCS, an interactive computer system for personal counseling: Further development and evaluation.

Abstract

The PLATO computer-based Dilemma Counseling System (PLATO DCS) teaches a generic method for solving life-choice problems and counsels persons regarding their current psychological dilemmas. Two newly developed solutions components are described as additional resources for users of PLATO DCS. The specific and structural dilemma solutions components contain 69 representative life-choice problems and over 400 specific and general solutions that assist users in solving their psychological dilemmas. Computer-based dilemma counseling was examined empirically by assessing self-reported problem improvement in two groups of undergraduate students treated on PLATO DCS (n = 48) or in a no-contact control group (n = 62). Students who used PLATO DCS showed significantly greater improvement in their problems than the control group 1 week after treatment. This difference tended to persist 1 month after treatment. Favorable subjective reactions to the teaching and counseling functions of PLATO DCS suggested that a modern computer system can be helpful in solving psychological dilemmas. PLATO DCS is available for research and application at numerous universities and colleges.People often face life-choice problems that involve two possible actions and two corresponding aversive consequences. In general, these avoidance problems can be phrased: If I make a decision for action p, then unhappy consequence r will occur. If I make a decision for action q, then unhappy consequence s will occur. But I must either do action p or action q. Therefore, unhappy consequence r or unhappy consequence s must occur.The resolution of avoidance-avoidance problems involves reasoning with implication, that is, "if-then" sequences (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958). Unfortunately, a number of studies have shown that people have difficulty with such reasoning (

A factor analytic study of the psychological implications of the computer for the individual and society

“…A psychological hypothesis is the threat computers offer in the fields of medical diagnosis (Bleich, 1973;Card, Nicholson, & Crean, 1974;Grossman, Barnett, McGuire, & Swedlow, 1971), psychiatry (Erdman, Greist, Klein, Jefferson, & Getto, 1981;Lucas, Mullins, Luna, & McInroy, 1977), psychotherapy (Colby, 1980;Greist, 1980;Slack & Slack, 1977), and counseling (Harris, 1978;Wagman, 1982;Wagman & Kerber, 1980;Wagman & Kerber, in press). The threat is to professionals' pride in possessing unique intellectual and judgmental abilities (Blois, 1980;McDonald, 1976).…”

Computer‐Aided Psychotherapy for Anxiety Disorders: A Meta‐Analytic Review

“…We excluded studies that compared two active CP treatments with one another (e.g. Fraser, Kirby, Daniels, Gilroy, & Montgomery, 2001;Newman et al, 1997;Schneider et al, 2005), as well as studies that also included patients with subclinical or nondiagnostic anxiety and stress-related problems (Dolezal-Wood, Belar, & Snibbe, 1998;Wagman & Kerber, 1984;Zetterqvist, Maanmies, Strö m, & Andersson, 2003), studies that were aimed at children or adolescents (Dewis et al, 2001;Spence, Holmes, March, & Lipp, 2006), and studies that were not clearly aimed at patients with anxiety disorders (Jacobs et al, 2001;Slack, Porter, Balkin, Kowaloff, & Slack, 1990).…”

Computer‐Assisted Counseling: Problems and Prospects

“…Application of Dilemma Counseling to an avoidance-avoidance problem first involves the careful formulation of the problem as a psychological dilemma (Wagman & Kerber, 1979). Once formulated as a dilemma, the problem is resolved by use of the generalized dilemma matrix shown in Figure 1.…”

“…An important step in the evolution of this method was to conceptualize psychological dilemmas as made up of statements involving conditional reasoning, with the person feeling trapped between aversive consequences. In turn, a number of techniques were developed for construing and resolving psychological dilemmas, and these techniques were organized into the Systematic Dilemma Counseling Method (Wagman, 1979).…”