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Diagnostic Criteria for: Watson's Syndrome*
A. A continuing and persistent avoidance of engaging in the actual writing and completion of one's:
B. Engaging in what appear to be important activities that take the place of completing one's:
* Watson's Syndrome is almost always confined to men and women in the latter stages of studying for a doctoral degree or among men and women holding untenured positions in colleges or universities. Often found among high ability/high achievement-oriented individuals.
I first encountered Watson's Syndrome as a second-year master's student at a prestigious university in the Northeast. The syndrome is named after the first person I observed exhibiting pronounced symptoms of what is now referred to clinically as "Watson's Syndrome." The "Watson" case illustrates the progression to a full blown syndrome:
Mr. Watson was an ABD (All But Dissertation -- see "ABD" for a fuller description of this clinical condition) from a social science doctoral program in the West. He had accepted his first tenure-track position having completed his data collection and needing only to write up the results of his research into a final dissertation. The press of teaching two courses each semester, committee assignments, and relocating his young family to a new city precluded his undertaking the writing of the dissertation during the academic year, so Watson decided to do the final writing in the three months of summer. In September, when asked whether he had completed the dissertation, Mr. Watson said that he had not.
As it turned out, there was no appropriate work-space in his new home, so he spent the summer renovating a spare room into an office. Unfortunately, this task consumed nearly all of his time, so the dissertation was not yet complete. The dissertation writing moved to the back burner during the second academic year as the press of teaching, advising, and committee work consumed Mr. Watson's time again. In addition, Mr. Watson, wishing not to lose ground in his quest for tenure, prepared two papers for presentation at professional meetings. The summer would be the time to tackle the unfinished dissertation. The following September (actually, most people waited until October to ask), Watson was again gently queried about the dissertation.
Unfortunately, the summer was unusually hot and the office was without proper ventilation. Watson decided that the best way to address this deficiency was to install central air-conditioning. He saved money by doing the ductwork himself, but this consumed all of the 92 days of summer, and alas the dissertation was still not complete. The third summer Watson spent packing his home, as his appointment was not renewed because he had not received his doctoral degree.
I thought this was perhaps an idiosyncratic and isolated case, but in the subsequent four decades of my academic career I have found numerous manifestations of Watson's Syndrome -- some odd, some difficult to diagnose, and some truly pathological. The following examples illustrate the various manifestations of thesyndrome.
The Never Ending Literature Review. This manifestation is perhaps the most difficult to diagnose and is typically found among the most talented and motivated graduate students. Dissertation proposals are delayed for months and years as the afflicted person reviews every conceivable article, book, and fugitive publication. Just when it appears something will actually be written, a new book or journal is published, yet again delaying writing.
The Never Ending Data Analysis. Akin to the "never ending literature review." This manifestation is also found among highly motivated and able doctoral students. This manifestation eschews "Word" for "SAS" or "SPSS."
The Ever Changing Proposal. Slightly easier to detect, this version of Watson's Syndrome would not be harmful if a graduate student could simply substitute multiple proposals for an actual dissertation. See "Commitaphobe" for additional diagnostic information.
The Anything but Writing Symptom. A junior faculty member at a New England state university once spent his summer planting and replanting ornamental bushes in his back yard (for more information, see Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). While the physical fitness aspect of this behavior should not be ignored, it led to no publications in the social sciences, or for that matter, in horticulture. (NB: This symptom may also be manifested in training for marathons or triathlons; any attempt to break a world record; cleaning one's room, apartment, or house; rearranging one's books or journals -- by height, color, or subject area; cleaning or rearranging files; or aligning the fringe on an oriental carpet).
The Self-Inflicted Injury. The most dangerous symptom is the self-inflicted injury. A colleague of mine had decided to devote Christmas vacation to writing journal articles based on his dissertation. But first he decided to take on some household repairs he had put off. A nasty four-stitch cut to his right (writing) hand thumb and his preference to hand-write his papers ended any plans for a productive Christmas break. His academic career ended two years later and he is now an industry consultant.
Like many psychological issues, Watson's Syndrome is almost never self-identified. I hope that by alerting dissertation advisors and faculty mentors of this phenomenon and putting a name to it, I can aid those in academe in identifying and applying appropriate interventions for this insidious disorder. (Now it is time for me to get back to the book I am supposed to be working on.)