It is often used in working with ambivalence in people who are engaged in behaviours that are harmful to their health (for example, problematic substance use or excessive eating),[1] as part of psychological approaches such as those based on the transtheoretical model of change,[2] and in certain circumstances in motivational interviewing.
Therapists are generally advised to use this sort of phrasing rather than a blunter injunction to think about the negative aspects of problematic behaviour, as the latter could increase psychological resistance.
"[7] Social psychologist Timothy D. Wilson has warned that the Ben Franklin method can be used in ways that fool people into falsely believing rationalisations that do not accurately reflect their true motivations or predict their future behaviour.
[8] In papers from 1959 onwards, Irving Janis and Leon Mann coined the phrase decisional balance sheet and used the concept as a way of looking at decision-making.
For example, looking at the table above, if something were to happen in the individual's marital life (an argument or the partner leaves or becomes pregnant or has an accident), the event can either increase or decrease how much weight the person gives to the elements in the balance sheet that refer to the relationship.
[22] Similarly, Fabio Losa and Valerie Belton combined drama theory and multiple-criteria decision analysis, two decision-making techniques from the field of operations research, and applied them to an example of interpersonal conflict over substance abuse, which they described as follows: A couple, Jo and Chris, have lived together for a number of years.
These options define four possible scenarios or futures...[23]Dialectical behavior therapy includes a form of decisional balance sheet called a pros and cons grid.
[24] Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler created a four-cell matrix similar in appearance to a decisional balance sheet that he compared to a bento box, with cells for self and others, present and future.
[26] In an approach to psychotherapy called focused acceptance and commitment therapy (FACT) the four square tool is a tabular method similar in appearance to a decisional balance sheet.