‘Pluralistic accountability’ for the psychological therapies? Holding the tension between diversity's virtues and the need for accountability

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that the field of counselling and psychotherapy needs to find values-congruent ways of managing, and creatively engaging with, the challenging tension between accountability and diversity in therapy work. The authors strongly support the preservation of pluralism and diversity in therapy practice, in the face of the increasingly urgent, anxiety-driven demands for audit, regulation and accountability typifying Late Modernity. It is argued that if accountability itself is to be ‘evidence-based’, then incorporating a relational dimension is essential; for if relationship factors are central to successful therapy, then accountability frameworks must themselves be founded on/in ‘relationship’. The arguments against formal institutional regulation of the psychological therapies in relation to the ineffectiveness of systems are rehearsed, and alternative, more values-congruent approaches considered. In making a case for ‘pluralistic accountability’, a detailed case-study of Bristol's developing local directory of therapists is offered, illustrating how local initiative can deliver good-enough accountability, avoiding the many negative side-effects of more didactic, centralised systems. The paper concludes that innovation and diversity in the field are more likely to be preserved if approaches can be found that hold and embrace the tensions between accountability and diversity, rather than seeking ‘solutions’ that prematurely and inappropriately resolve them.     

Effects of procedure and outcome accountability on interview validity

This study tested effects of holding interviewers accountable for either the procedure they follow to make interview judgments (procedure accountability) or the accuracy of their judgments (outcome accountability) on interview validity. Undergraduates (N = 338) simulated employment interviewers in an experiment that crossed 2 levels of procedure accountability with 2 levels of outcome accountability. They watched videotapes of 60 managers answering an interview question and rated the managers on leadership potential. The dependent variable was the correlation between their interview judgments and supervisory ratings of the managers' actual leadership performance on the job. Results showed that procedure accountability increased interview validity and outcome accountability lowered it. Participants' apparent attentiveness fully mediated effects of procedure accountability on interview validity.     

The effects of process and outcome accountability on judgment process and performance

This article challenges the view that it is always better to hold decision makers accountable for their decision process rather than their decision outcomes. In three multiple-cue judgment studies, the authors show that process accountability, relative to outcome accountability, consistently improves judgment quality in relatively simple elemental tasks. However, this performance advantage of process accountability does not generalize to more complex configural tasks. This is because process accountability improves an analytical process based on cue abstraction, while it does not change a holistic process based on exemplar memory. Cue abstraction is only effective in elemental tasks (in which outcomes are a linear additive combination of cues) but not in configural tasks (in which outcomes depend on interactions between the cues). In addition, Studies 2 and 3 show that the extent to which process and outcome accountability affect judgment quality depends on individual differences in analytical intelligence and rational thinking style.     

An investigation of factors influencing accountability and performance ratings

The authors explored whether accountability has implications for performance ratings and investigated factors that may influence both accountability and performance ratings. Specifically, they investigated (a) whether feelings of accountability are directly related to performance ratings, (b) whether experimental manipulations that have been proposed to manipulate accountability in fact do so, and (c) the role of motivation-related constructs. They developed and tested a model of factors proposed to influence accountability and performance ratings. Results from 334 raters in an upward feedback situation in a classroom context provide empirical support that feelings of accountability influence rating level, as do perceptions of anonymity and the importance raters place on their jobs. However, neither anonymity nor importance perceptions were related to feelings of accountability.     

‘The less I trust,the less I contribute (or not)?’ The effects of trust,accountability and self‐monitoring in social dilemmas

The present research examined the influence of trust, accountability, and self‐monitoring on individual decision makers' willingness to contribute in a give‐some game and in an experimental public goods dilemma. Previous research has shown that trust and contributions are positively related such that high trusters generally contribute more than low trusters. The present research questions the pervasiveness of this relation by arguing that low trusters may increase their contributions to the same level as those of high trusters, but only under circumstances where their decisions are highly identifiable to their interaction partner(s). Both studies showed that strong perceptions of trust, high accountability and high self‐monitoring influenced contributions positively. In line with predictions, individuals low in trust contributed up to the same level as high trusters when accountability was high rather than low. Moreover, this interaction between trust and accountability was only found among those classified as high self‐monitors. Our results suggest that the well‐known positive relation between trust and contributions may take a different form when situational cues and individual predispositions are taken into account. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preventing Dual Relationships in Pastoral Counseling

The practice of pastoral counseling provides many opportunities for dual relationships. Churches and church-related institutions are contexts in which such relationships are easily formed. Some pastoral counselors cope by entering private practice, which may exacerbate the problem by removing resources for collegiality and accountability. Pastoral counselors can avoid dual relationships by understanding their vulnerability, subscribing to and communicating a clear code of professional ethics, becoming aware of personal limitations, and building networks of accountability.     

THE EFFECTS OF FEEDBACK ACCOUNTABILITY ON UPWARD APPRAISAL RATINGS

Do subordinates feel and respond differently to upward appraisal procedures depending on whether they are accountable or anonymous? Accountability requires subordinates to identify themselves on the upward appraisal questionnaires they complete. In an experimental field study, 38 managers and their subordinates from an insurance company were randomly assigned to use one of the appraisal procedures. As hypothesized, managers who received feedback from specific individuals in the accountability procedure viewed the upward appraisal process more positively than did managers in the anonymity procedure. However, subordinates felt more comfortable giving anonymous responses. As a result, subordinates who used the accountability procedure rated their managers significantly higher than the subordinates who responded anonymously. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that an upward appraisal procedure in which individuals are accountable for their responses may produce inflated ratings of managers' performance. Further research should compare the accountability and anonymous upward appraisal procedures to determine which procedure produces more accurate ratings.     

Post 2015: a new era of accountability?

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were criticised for failing to address the issue of governance, and the associated notions of responsibility and accountability. The Sustainable Development Goals, we argue, need to recognise the structural constraints facing poor countries – the power imbalances in the global economic system that limit their ability to promote the prosperity and well-being of their people, as was clearly brought out by the Commission on Global Governance for Health, of which we were both members [Ottersen, O. P., J. Dasgupta, C. Blouin, Paulo Buss, Virasakdi Chongsuvivatwong, Julio Frenk, Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, et al. 2014. “The Political Origins of Health Inequality: Prospects for Change.” Lancet 383: 630–667]. This article is divided into three parts. We begin by making the case for a global justice perspective which emphasises the responsibility – and hence also accountability – of international organisations and rule-making bodies. We next demonstrate the limitations of accountability mechanisms of the type adopted in the MDGs. We conclude by arguing for a new approach to accountability that may be better suited to the post-2015 era.     

Accountability Practices of School Counselors: A National Survey

A national survey of practicing school counselors was conducted to obtain information regarding (a) their accountability practices, (b) barriers to the collection of accountability data, (c) the relationship between involvement in accountability efforts and demographic variables, and (d) strategies for increasing activity in the area of accountability. Results indicated that 55% of the 239 respondents were collecting accountability data, often for the purpose of enhancing their professional growth and development. The 108 school counselors not involved in the collection of such data identified lack of familiarity with procedures and time constraints as major barriers. Respondents indicated a need for additional preservice and in-service training, as well as for dissemination of exemplary procedures.     

The effect of accountability on susceptibility to decision errors

Recent research indicates that accountability can influence both what and how people think and might reduce decision makers' susceptibility to a variety of common judgment and choice errors. It is proposed that accountability can reduce decision errors if (1) decision makers are able to anticipate which response will be evaluated as more rational, and without concerns about accountability decision makers tend to select a different response, or (2) the normatively correct response can be identified by the more thorough and complex information processing associated with accountability. Consistent with the first proposition, four experiments demonstrated that accountability can reduce the sunk cost effect. The findings suggest that this debiasing effect reflects the subjects' expectation that they would be evaluated more favorably if they ignored sunk costs. Contrary to the second proposition, the prediction that accountable decision makers, due to their more thorough and multidimensional processing, would exhibit more consistent preferences across preference elicitation procedures was not supported in two studies. Finally, as hypothesized, accountability did not reduce a variety of decision errors for which the correct response was not known and was unlikely to be identified with more thorough information processing. These results are consistent with the notion that accountability effects in decision making are driven by the desire to be favorably evaluated and avoid criticism by others.     

问责能否抑制个体非伦理行为？——调节定向和自我损耗的作用机制

根据以往研究,问责对于非伦理行为的影响可能产生混淆的结论,它既可能降低,也可能促进非伦理行为的产生,即出现“问责失灵”的情况。鉴于此,本文通过实验研究来探究问责失灵的理论边界和内在机制。结果发现：（1）促进定向启动下的个体,问责对于非伦理行为有促进作用;预防定向下的个体,问责对于非伦理行为有抑制作用;（2）促进定向启动下,问责通过增加个体的自我损耗增强了其非伦理行为,即促进定向下个体的自我损耗中介了问责与非伦理行为的关系。     

Ethical clinical practice and sport psychology: when two worlds collide

From their own practices, the authors offer insight into potential ethical dilemmas that may frequently develop in an applied psychology setting in which sport psychology is also being practiced. Specific ethical situations offered for the reader's consideration include confidentiality with coaches, administration, parents, and athlete-clients; accountability in ethical billing practices and accurate diagnosing; identification of ethical boundaries in nontraditional practice settings (locker room, field, rink, etc.); and establishment of professional competence as it relates to professional practice and marketing.     

问责能否抑制个体非伦理行为？——调节定向和自我损耗的作用机制

根据以往研究,问责对于非伦理行为的影响可能产生混淆的结论,它既可能降低,也可能促进非伦理行为的产生,即出现“问责失灵”的情况。鉴于此,本文通过实验研究来探究问责失灵的理论边界和内在机制。结果发现：（1）促进定向启动下的个体,问责对于非伦理行为有促进作用;预防定向下的个体,问责对于非伦理行为有抑制作用;（2）促进定向启动下,问责通过增加个体的自我损耗增强了其非伦理行为,即促进定向下个体的自我损耗中介了问责与非伦理行为的关系。     

An Application of Durkheim’s Four Categories of Suicide to Organizational Crimes

This article applies theoretical developments in the phenomena of suicide to shed light on the phenomena of crime. We draw on Durkheim’s theoretical insights on suicide to develop four categories of organizational crimes. We review the concepts of social integration and moral regulation at the societal level and establish their equivalents at the organizational level: socialization and accountability. We argue that socialization programs and accountability systems in organizations influence the nature of the crime rather than prevent it entirely. We highlight four categories of white-collar crimes that occurred in organizations characterized by different socialization programs and accountability systems.     

School administrators’ use of collaborative autobiography as a vehicle for reflection on accountability pressures

This research studied accountability pressures faced by five school administrators, and explored collaborative autobiography as a way for administrators to reflect on and address those pressures. The administrators cycled back and forth between reflective writing and group dialogue as they contemplated accountability pressures, their life histories in relationship to the pressures, and their preferred future. The participants reported that the process helped them to better understand accountability pressures and develop strategies for negotiating those pressures.     

The procedural epistemic value of deliberation

Collective deliberation is fuelled by disagreements and its epistemic value depends, inter alia, on how the participants respond to each other in disagreements. I use this accountability thesis to argue that deliberation may be valued not just instrumentally but also for its procedural features. The instrumental epistemic value of deliberation depends on whether it leads to more or less accurate beliefs among the participants. The procedural epistemic value of deliberation hinges on the relationships of mutual accountability that characterize appropriately conducted deliberation. I will argue that it only comes into view from the second-person standpoint. I shall explain what the second-person standpoint in the epistemic context entails and how it compares to Stephen Darwall’s interpretation of the second-person standpoint in ethics.     

Self-Evaluation Bias of Social Comparisons in Ethical Decision Making: The Impact of Accountability

The purpose of this paper is to examine how accountability and judgment biases that occur in social comparisons may be related to ethical decision making. Using Jones' (1991 ) model as the theoretical framework to investigate this phenomenon, we found that self-enhancing individuals (i.e., those who thought they were more ethical in comparison to their peers) demonstrated higher responsiveness to increases in accountability than did self-effacing individuals (i.e., those who thought they were less ethical in comparison to their peers). We discuss these findings and outline the implications for future ethics research. Further, we provide practical guidance to those who administer ethics compliance programs on effective ways of facilitating ethical behavior in organizations.     

A SITUATIONAL JUDGMENT TEST OF PERSONAL INITIATIVE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO PERFORMANCE

Although situational judgment tests have been found to be valid predictors of performance, they have rarely been used to measure particular constructs. In this study, we apply the situational judgment test method to the measurement of personal initiative, a construct defined as situated action. We used respondents' situated preferences in mental simulations of work scenarios as formative indicators of their overall level of personal initiative at work. Results from a validation study showed that the situational judgment test of personal initiative (SJT-PI) had adequate validity and complemented a Likert-type self-report measure of personal initiative in predicting behavioral criteria. Situated preferences for personal initiative were hypothesized to be proximal predictors of actual behavior and were accordingly found to mediate the relationship between generalized self-efficacy, felt responsibility, and actual behavior. Furthermore, situated preferences for personal initiative could be differentiated empirically from organizational citizenship behavior. We conclude that situational judgment tests are a promising method for measuring personal initiative and may be a general means of improving the validity of measurement in organizations.