There’s a fascinating body of modern research that I believe holds the key to understanding another of the main benefits of the Socratic method. Definitions of our values, such as the goal of life itself or specific virtues, can be understood as verbal rules. Studies carried out by behavioral psychologists have shown that although verbal rules can be useful, they also tend to cause a problem, best described as insensitivity to change in our environment. For example, when participants in an experiment are told to “push this button rapidly to earn points,” (a verbal rule) they are less likely to stop pushing when the points are no longer being awarded than another group of participants who have instead discovered how the button works through trial and error.11 This research finding has profound implications for psychotherapy because many of the psychological problems that therapy clients experience involve rigid persistence in following certain rules, or using certain coping strategies, despite the fact that they’re clearly not working. We can easily get stuck in a rut, doing what we believe we should do, again and again, even when it’s hurting us
