Two Systems, One Grid

Pick the two therapies that sound least alike. Run both through the same eight questions. Then decide whether the difference you assumed was there actually is.

~3 hindividual

What students should get out of it

1Apply the eight-question framework independently to systems not yet taught
2Distinguish a difference in mechanism from a difference in vocabulary
3State a claim in a form that could be shown to be wrong

Materials

The Systems section of the app, for both chosen systems
The Compare grid, for the process and level coding
The Self-Survey of Attitudes and Values (to be completed first, and separately)

The brief

Student-facing. Hand this out, or project it.

Choose two systems from the app that appear, to you, maximally different. Do not choose two you already understand — the assignment is worth more if you are working with unfamiliar material, and nobody is grading you on prior knowledge.

Part one — the grid

Complete the eight-question framework for both systems, side by side. Keep it compressed: two or three sentences per cell. This part is comprehension, and it should take about an hour.

Part two — the argument

Now the actual work. In no more than 800 words, answer one question: is the difference between these two systems substantive, or is it largely a difference of vocabulary?

A strong answer will do four things:

1Identify at least one point where the two systems genuinely disagree about what produces change — not about what to call it.
2Identify at least one point where they appear to disagree and, on inspection, do not.
3State what would have to be observed for your conclusion to be wrong.
4Say which system you found more persuasive, and be honest about whether that is an argument or a temperament.

Also due

Complete the Self-Survey of Attitudes and Values before you do anything else, including the reading. Answer honestly rather than professionally. It is not marked, it will not be read by anyone but you, and you will be asked to re-read it in Unit 20.

Read the case of Daniel Okonkwo and write a two-sentence formulation of what you think is going on. You do not yet have a theory to write it in. That is deliberate — you are recording your untrained intuition so you can find out later what training did to it.

How it runs

1
Self-survey first
25 min
Before the reading, before the systems. Seal it or file it somewhere you will find it in Unit 20.
2
Choose your pair
10 min
Browse the Systems index and pick two that sound least alike. Note in one sentence why you expected them to differ.
3
Complete the grid
60 min
Eight rows, two columns, two to three sentences per cell. Use the Compare page for the process and level coding.
4
Write the argument
45 min
800 words maximum. The word limit is a real constraint and part of the assessment.
5
Daniel Okonkwo
10 min
Two sentences. Do not research first. Do not revise it after next week’s reading.

Deliverable

What: The completed grid, the 800-word argument, and the two-sentence formulation. The self-survey is not submitted.
Length: Grid on one page; argument no more than 800 words; formulation two sentences
Format: Single document. The grid may be a table or exported from the Formulation Lab.

Rubric

Share this with students before they start. A rubric kept secret is not an assessment criterion, it is a trap.

Criterion	Strong	Adequate	Weak
Accuracy of the grid 25%	Both systems represented as their proponents would recognise. The theory of change row states the actual mechanism claim.	Broadly accurate; one or two cells restate the system’s marketing rather than its content.	Cells filled with labels. “Focuses on thoughts” is not a theory of change.
A real disagreement identified 20%	Names a specific point where the two systems make incompatible claims about mechanism, and shows why they are incompatible.	Identifies a difference, but at the level of technique rather than mechanism.	Asserts that the systems are different because they use different words.
A false disagreement identified 20%	Finds a place where different vocabularies describe the same process, and says what the shared process is.	Notes an overlap without analysing it.	Absent, or an unsupported claim that everything is really the same.
Falsifiability 25%	States an observation that would overturn the conclusion, and it is an observation somebody could actually make.	Offers a disconfirming condition that is vague or unobservable.	No disconfirming condition, or hedging presented as nuance.
Self-awareness 10%	Honest about the pull of temperament, and does not mistake preference for evidence.	States a preference with some reasoning.	Presents a temperamental preference as a finding.

Instructor notes

Not for students.

What you will get, and what to reward

The commonest submission runs both systems through the grid accurately and then concludes "both have strengths and weaknesses and an integrative approach is best". That is a non-answer, and it should be marked as one however competent the grid above it is. The criterion that catches it is falsifiability.

Reward the student who reaches a conclusion you disagree with and defends it with a testable claim, over the student who reaches the safe conclusion fluently. Say so in the feedback, or you will get the safe conclusion again next time.

Pair choice tells you something

A student who picks psychoanalytic and behaviour therapy has taken the obvious route and will find the substantive difference easily; the false-disagreement criterion is what will stretch them. A student who picks two cognitive-family systems has taken the harder and more interesting route — the real disagreement will be hard to find, which is itself the finding. Both are legitimate; grade the argument, not the ambition.

The formulation is not marked

Collect the two-sentence Daniel Okonkwo formulation, record that it was submitted, and do not grade it. Its value is entirely as a baseline, and grading it would make students write what they think you want, which destroys the comparison in Unit 20.

Making it work for everyone in the room

The 800-word limit is a ceiling, not a target; there is no minimum.
The grid may be submitted as a table, a list, or bullet points. Presentation is not assessed.
Students who prefer to work aloud may submit the argument as a recorded five-minute audio file instead of prose.
Extensions are granted without explanation on request for this assignment, because it falls in the first week.

Extension

Find a published trial that directly compares your two systems. Report the comparator, the allegiance of the authors, and whether the trial could have detected the difference you argued for.