Impressions of counselors as a function of counselor physical attractiveness.

Assessed the effects of counselor physical attractiveness and interactions between attractiveness and counselor and S sex. 40 male and 40 female undergraduates rated their 1st impressions of a counselor and their expectations for counseling outcome on the basis of a photograph of either an attractive or an unattractive person and a brief, audiotaped self-introduction by either a male or a female counseling psychologist. Attractiveness did not show main effects but did interact with sex variables, which did show several main effects. Female counselors, particularly in the attractive condition, received higher ratings than male counselors on several impression variables, and female Ss gave higher ratings on impression variables than did male Ss. Both attractive and unattractive counselors were within the normal range of attractiveness, however. It is suggested that within the natural setting, sex of counselor and client may play a more important role independently and in conjunction with attractiveness than does attractiveness alone in influencing impressions and expectations. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Black and White student preferences for counselor roles.

28 Black and 28 White students from 2 university programs viewed a brief videotape of a counseling sesson in 1 of 4 conditions defined by (a) 2 female counselors (1 Black, 1 White); and (b) 2 counselor roles (active, passive). Analysis of Ss' ratings of counselor performances reveal (a) no differences among conditions in perceived attentiveness or friendliness; (b) significant differences between roles in perceptions of counselor behavior (as intended); (c) significantly higher ratings of competence and helpfulness for counselors in the active vs the passive role, regardless of counselor or S role; and (d) a main effect for counselor, which could not be unequivocally attributed either to counselor role performance or to counselor role. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectations and preferences for counselor race and their relation to intermediate treatment outcomes.

The expectations and preferences of 26 White and 8 Black male veterans for the race of their counselor were investigated at the time the clients entered treatment in a midwestern outpatient mental health clinic. In addition, Ss' satisfaction with treatment, measured by a 3-factor self-rating scale and dropout status, were analyzed in relation to Ss' expectations and preferences for counselor race and the racial makeup of the treatment dyad. Results indicate that White and Black clients alike expected their counselor to be White. About half of the White Ss and half of the Blacks indicated that they had no preferences. However, the significant association between race and S preference for counselor race suggests that Ss expressing preferences preferred counselors of their own race. Dropout and satisfaction with treatment were not related to the nature of Ss' racial expectations and preferences or to the racial makeup of the treatment dyads. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial and attitudinal factors affecting the perceptions of counselors by Black adolescents.

Presented to 247 Black male and female high school students racial and attitudinal information about a hypothetical male or female counselor and asked them to express their perceptions of the counselor. Attitudinal information about a counselor had a stronger effect than racial information on Ss' perception of the counselor: Counselors portrayed as attitudinally similar were rated significantly higher in attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertness, and social attraction than those portrayed as attitudinally dissimilar. Racial information also influenced perceived attractiveness: White counselors were rated higher than Black ones in attractiveness, although there was no difference in ratings of trustworthiness or expertise. White female counselors were perceived as more expert than their Black female counterparts, whereas the ratings of male counselors were not influenced by the racial variable. Implications for counselor–client relationships and the development of mental health services for minority populations are discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of self-disclosing versus self-involving counselor statements across counselor–client gender pairings.

60 male and 60 female undergraduates listened to 1 of 8 audiotaped recordings of a counseling interview between either an experienced male or female counselor and a male client, for male Ss, or a female client, for female Ss. One half of the male and female Ss heard a tape containing counselor self-disclosure statements; the other half heard a tape containing counselor self-involving statements. Ss rated counselors' expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness, and generated written responses to each self-disclosing or self-involving counselor statement. Across all counselor–client gender pairings, self-involving counselors were rated as significantly more expert, attractive, and trustworthy than were self-disclosing counselors. Further, client responses to self-disclosing counselor statements contained significantly more questions about the counselors, were significantly longer responses, and were significantly more likely to be phrased in the past or future rather than in the present tense. Finally, client responses to the self-involving counselor statements contained significantly more client self-referents. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of counselor self-referent responses and counselor status.

Conducted a study with a 2?×?3 factorial design, the factors being status of counselor (paraprofessional vs professional) and counselor response type (high-intimacy self-disclosing, low-intimacy self-disclosing, and self-involving). Perceptions of and responses to the counselor by 180 female undergraduates were assessed. High self-disclosing and self-involving counselors were rated as more expert and trustworthy than the low self-disclosing counselor. Paraprofessionals were rated as more attractive and trustworthy than professionals. Ss' responses to high self-disclosing and self-involving counselors contained more client self-referents than responses to the low self-disclosing counselors. Responses to the low self-disclosing counselor were more likely to be phrased in the past and future and contained more counselor-focused statements than responses to the high self-disclosing or self-involving counselor. Responses to the high self-disclosing counselor contained more affective words and fewer counselor references than responses to the self-involving or low self-disclosing counselors. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Female counselor–client dyads: Effects of counselor age, client marital status, and intimacy level of presenting problem on perceptions of counselors.

Explored the impact of counselor age, level of intimacy of clients' presenting problems, and client marital status on perception of counselors and the counseling relationship with 48 married females (mean age 21.9 yrs) and 48 unmarried females (mean age 26.3 yrs). Ss viewed a series of 3 videotapes, which were counterbalanced for level of intimacy of client's presenting problems and depicted initial interviews between young female clients and either younger or older female counselors. After viewing each individual vignette, Ss completed a counselor rating form, a client satisfaction form, and manipulation checks for presenting problem intimacy and counselor age. Overall, differences in presenting problems and counselor age were perceived as intended. Ss' marital status was unrelated to any measures. Counselors were judged as most expert, attractive, and trustworthy when dealing with presenting problems that were least intimate. Ss anticipated greater satisfaction with younger rather than older counselors only for the least intimate presenting problem. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Client preferences and anticipations about counselor self-disclosure.

120 female undergraduates were preselected according to high or low preference for counselor disclosure. Ss were then given 1 of 2 forms of instructions about the likelihood of counselors using self-disclosure (high or low anticipation). Finally, Ss viewed a brief videotape of a counseling session in which counselor disclosure was either present or absent. As predicted, Ss gave higher ratings on the Counselor Rating Form to self-disclosing counselors than to nondisclosing ones. Ss whose high preferences and anticipations were confirmed gave higher ratings to disclosing counselors. For Ss who had low preference and anticipation, disconfirmation led to higher ratings of disclosing counselors. Implications for distinguishing between preference and anticipation in research on expectancy are discussed. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor content orientation, counselor race, and Black women's cultural mistrust and self-disclosures.

100 Black women (aged 17–23 yrs) were exposed to Black or White female counselors who used verbal statements reflective of either a cultural or a universal content orientation. The effects of counselor content orientation, counselor race, and participants' cultural mistrust levels on the frequency and depth of participant self-disclosures, ratings of counselor credibility, and willingness to self-refer were examined. Counselor content orientation related significantly to depth of disclosure and willingness to self-refer, with participants revealing more intimately and reporting a greater willingness to return to counselors when exposed to the cultural as opposed to the universal content orientation. Lower cultural mistrust levels also were related to a greater number of disclosures with Black counselors. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of disabled counselors' self-disclosures on client perceptions of the counselor.

In a videotaped counseling analog, 2 male counselors each portrayed (a) an obviously disabled counselor in a wheelchair and (b) a not obviously disabled counselor with visual impairment. Within each condition, counselors did or did not make self-disclosures about their disability. Ss were 169 university students, none of whom was disabled or had close friends or relatives who were disabled. Results indicate that counselors in several of the disability conditions were rated as being significantly more expert and attractive than able-bodied counselors. Counselor self-disclosures did not have a clearly negative or positive effect on Ss' perceptions. The hypothesis that awareness of a counselor's disability may enhance client perceptions of his or her credibility is discussed. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Race and counselor climate in the counselor preference of delinquent girls.

Describes a study with 40 White and 40 Black 14-17 yr old female delinquents. A 2 * 2 * 2 factorial analysis of variance was performed on each of 3 preference criteria: personal-social, educational, and vocational (Counselor Preference Scale). Findings indicate that the strongest preference for a counselor occurred when counseling was related to educational-vocational matters. Significant F ratios revealed that White Ss preferred the Black counselor over the White counselor in terms of the personal-social criterion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The beauty of counseling: Effects of counselor physical attractiveness and self-disclosures on perceptions of counselor behavior.

Investigated influences of the physical attractiveness and self-disclosures of nonprofessional counselors in initial counseling interviews. In a 3–2 factorial design, 144 female undergraduates were exposed to audiotaped interviews in which an attractive, unattractive, or physically unidentified male counselor revealed no self-information or expressed an equal and moderate number of demographic or personal similarity self-disclosures. Consistent with previous research evidence, nondisclosing, unattractive counselors elicited less desirable behavioral attributions (including perceived regard, empathy, and genuineness determined by the Relationship Inventory) and counseling expectations than attractive counselors. Demographic and personal disclosures successfully eliminated these attractiveness effects for attribution variables. Additive effects of attractiveness and disclosure were observed for nearly all the expectancy variables. Experimental and applied implications are discussed with regard to the literature on physical attractiveness and counselor disclosure. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of nonprofessional counselors' physical attractiveness and sex on perceptions of counselor behavior.

Previous research has suggested that the physical attractiveness of male counselors differentially affects observers' reactions to brief counselor self-introductions. 96 female undergraduates were exposed to audiotaped counseling interviews conducted by nonprofessional counselors of both sexes who were physically anonymous or were identified photographically as physically attractive or unattractive. Dependent measures including the Relationship Inventory were selected on the basis of their relevance to current counseling theory and research and included counselor trait attributions, perceived facilitative conditions, motivations for continuing counseling, and counseling outcome expectations for a variety of presenting problems. Multivariate analysis of the data produced consistent findings which were unmitigated by counselor sex. The counseling behaviors of unattractive counselors were judged to reflect less desirable traits and conditions and engendered weaker commitment and less optimistic expectations than did identical behaviors attributed to physically attractive or anonymous counselors. Conclusions are discussed in terms of counseling conditions which might potentiate or eliminate these initial effects of counselor physical attractiveness. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Race of counselor, client sex, cultural mistrust level, and premature termination from counseling among Black clients.

Administered an inventory designed to assess the extent to which they trusted White people to 135 27–41 yr old Black clients as they visited a community mental health center for the 1st time. Equal numbers of Ss were assigned to a Black and White counselor for an intake interview. Analyses of counselor's race, mistrust level, and Ss' sex in relationship to premature termination of counseling showed that significant percentages of shared variance were found for counselors' race and trust level. It is suggested that Black clients who are distrustful of White people should be seen by a Black counselor, at least initially. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonverbal behavior and perceived counselor attractiveness and persuasiveness.

Investigated the perception of counselor attractiveness and persuasiveness through the expression of nonverbal behavior. Ss were 20 male and 20 female psychology undergraduates. 2 male and female counselors were trained to portray "affiliative" manner and "unaffiliative" manner. In a repeated measures design, Ss saw 4 different counselors and then rated them on scales measuring perceived attractiveness and persuasiveness. Results indicate that counselors in the affiliative manner condition were perceived as significantly more attractive and persuasive than counselors in the unaffiliative condition. Ss attributed greater attractiveness and persuasiveness to the same nonverbal cues encoded into the roles. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of counselor source characteristics by premature and successful terminators.

Examined 56 premature and 148 successful terminators' perceptions of counselor source characteristics and satisfaction with counseling services at a university counseling center. S-completed measures included the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire and a counselor rating form. Results indicate that Ss who terminated prematurely were less satisfied with counseling services that they received and viewed their counselors as less expert, attractive, and trustworthy than did Ss who terminated successfully. Ss who responded anonymously to the evaluation form viewed the counselors as less attractive and trustworthy and also expressed less satisfaction with counseling than did those who did not respond anonymously. Significant though modest correlations between ratings of source characteristics and client satisfaction were also found. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of self-disclosing versus self-involving counselor statements.

Studied 107 female undergraduates who listened to 1 of 2 audiotaped recordings of a counseling interview between an experienced male counselor and a female client. Half of the Ss heard a tape containing counselor self-disclosure (S-D) statements; the other half heard a tape containing counselor self-involving (S-I) statements. Ss rated the counselor's expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness (Counselor Rating Form) and generated written responses to each S-D or S-I counselor statement. The S-I counselor was rated as significantly more expert and trustworthy than was the S-D counselor. Further, Ss' responses to the S-D counselor statements contained significantly more questions about and references to the counselor, whereas responses to S-I counselor statements contained significantly more self-referents. Ss' responses to the S-I counselor were significantly more likely to be phrased in the present, rather than the past or future, tense. Implications for the practice of counseling and for further research on self-disclosure are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)