Why Is 'Choice Theory' Controversial Among Psychologists?

Question

Psychology debates over Choice Theory's empirical support vs. its appeal for narrative-driven fiction about personal responsibility and decision-making.

taa Amarilla · Answer

There is much controversy surrounding the Choice Theory of human behavior and the way that some psychologists attribute to individuals all responsibility for their choices and failures. By minimizing the impact of many external and given factors, such as the effects of poverty and serious mental illness, Choice Theory has been said to encourage a ‘blame the victim’ attitude. However, as a tool for exploring internal landscapes of characters who are trying to make decisions while operating within the boundaries of their perception of choice, it is a very interesting one. This is why I have chosen to feature the book Choosing You by Agent . The novel explores the life of a single character and the alternative ways in which his life has evolved as a result of a single traumatic and agonizing choice that he had made earlier in his life. His choices have had enormous consequences for him and so a reader is able to see clearly the results of a person’s choices and the internal and external agency that they have.

Emily · Answer

'Choice Theory' anger's the theory that blames people for their misery. Glasser's 'black and white' take on responsibility to choice will naturally bring anger to those working with trauma sufferers, including rape survivors, as they will deny the sufferer's PTSD symptoms are a result of their 'choice'. The theory ignores issues of poverty and racism and so limits the choices of people in these situations. Its overly positive approach to human nature reminds one of someone starving to death being told to 'choose happiness'.

The popularity of Choice Theory in fields such as education and coaching does not warrant protection from its obvious shortcomings. For psychologists who seek more complexity and a more nuanced approach, Choice Theory consists of bromides, not substance. Most tellingly, the theory shows a callous disregard for established findings in neuroscience and genetics, akin to a flat-earther dismissing proofs of gravity.

Quinn · Answer

A number of psychologists strongly dislike Glasser’s theory of psychology because it is extremely individualistic. Now, many years into the social determinants of health for children and young people, coming from a very poor childhood environment, etc, etc. choices and decisions made by an individual are 100% their responsibility, is a very old-fashioned view of human behavior. Saying that people with schizophrenia are suffering from their poor choices is to neglect the theory’s main strength – its simplicity. Life is just too complicated and messy to be reduced to five basic human needs.

Owen · Answer

William Glasser’s ‘Choice Theory’ has caused quite a lot of controversy within traditional psychology. Firstly, it suggests that all behavior is a result of an individual’s choices, which many argue simplifies mental illness and views conditions such as depression as a choice that the individual has made. Furthermore, the theory also has issues with diagnostic labels, often contradictory to the standard practices of the majority of psychologists today.

While Choice Theory has much to recommend it for issues of empowerment, for example enabling people to take control of their lives when they feel trapped, the lack of rigor of Glasser’s empirical investigations into the theory in order to verify his claims leaves many researchers unimpressed. It lack of grounding in the unconscious influences, such as past trauma, that drive human behavior has also, however, been deeply abhorrent to psychodynamic practitioners, inspirational as Choice Theory may be for self-help formats.

Zayn · Answer

There is so much controversy surrounding Choice Theory that it sticks to the theory of William Glasser like glue. People either love it or hate it. Fans of the theory say that it gives solutions to problems rather than excuses. Detractors say that it is toxic positivity and have no basis in fact. Many of the critics are psychologists from the cognitive/behavioral or biological perspective. They view Glasser’s work in rejecting external causation as denying the existence of gravity. Sometimes Choice Theory is inspiring but rarely scientifically sound.

Danielle Maroon · Answer

The dogmatism in this approach kills it. I knew of a counselor who was a total Glasser aficionado. When a client reported feeling depressed, this counselor would get on his high horse and tell the client that he or she was choosing to engage in depressing behaviors. Reframaming, the counselor called it. Bullying with words, I called it. Big difference between acknowledging that our actions can affect our mood and denying the reality of how one feels. The model is toxic when it refuses to acknowledge the client’s experience and instead insists that the client sees things the therapist’s way.

By taking a dogmatic stance to the viewpoint of the client the therapist can create a power imbalance where he or she gets to use the correct words, and the client is wrong until they use the ‘correct’ language. Many see Glasser’s model in controversy with the concept of empathy in client-centered therapy. The core of Glasser’s model is that the client chooses their behaviors and therefore causes their depression. As a therapist, can you genuinely be empathetic towards someone’s suffering and also hold the viewpoint that they are causing their depression through their poor behaviors? Much of the controversy within the field regarding Glasser’s model and other deterministic models revolves around the issue of whether or not they are a truly healthy form of therapy or if they just provide a very tough-love form of coaching. For some people, yes. But for many people, especially those with intense feelings of shame, they can confirm the client’s negative belief about themselves being fundamentally flawed and that their suffering is all their fault. This is an area that is of great controversy within the field and many people debate the ethics of such therapies.

Yaksha Premraj · Answer

The killer for Reality Therapy, however, is the weak research base. There are few randomized controlled trials which support Reality Therapy for specific mental health problems. In an age of evidence-based practice, a method without strong empirical support will eventually cease to be offered by therapists, reimbursed by insurance, taught as a principal method by graduate programs and adopted by hospitals and other treatment programs. In journals, the controversy surrounding Reality Therapy has ceased because there is no support for its grand claims from empirical research.

Supporters of Reality Therapy can point to case studies of the method in action and share the success they’ve experienced with it. However, when up against more researched psychotherapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for instance, these anecdotal success stories just don’t hold much water. Hence the debate surrounding Reality Therapy has largely migrated from academic journals to the fringes of mainstream psychology and is, for the most part, currently supported by a band of loyal True Believers; this is a particularly relevant group amongst school counselors and life coaches where in addition to a lack of rigorous controlled trials a full range of more than sufficient evidence-based practices already exist. As such the bulk of mainstream psychological practitioners consider Reality Therapy to be of historical interest providing some useful strategies for certain situations but not, in and of itself, an appropriate evidence-based treatment for a particular mental health problem. The debate surrounding Reality Therapy is basically one of faith against science.

H. Linton · Answer

The language used is in some ways very prescriptive and even capitalistic. For example, the quality world picture is arranged in a photo album. In dealing with others one ‘negotiates’ to have one’s needs met. Relationships are presented in rather cold and even business-like terms. These ways of looking at human relationships can at times be very helpful in specifying clear boundaries. At other times, however, they present a cold and even selfish view of human connections, such as love, compared to for example purely functional friendships. The question remains whether or not our views of love in some way reflect our need to have our pictures met. Can love not consist of selfless giving and sacrifice, even of putting another’s needs before one’s own?

One of the main areas that this theory has difficulty with is altruism, sacrifice, and unconditional love. They are viewed only as ways to meet one’s own needs for love or power. This is a very controversial view as it is contrary to the way most people view love and close relationships. Many would argue that this view makes us out to be a collection of self-optimizing robots. Most humanistic psychologists believe that there is good in every person and that they have tremendous growth potential. The view of human nature offered by this theory is quite bleak and is not an accurate view of most people.

Why Is 'Choice Theory' Controversial Among Psychologists?

8 Answers

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