Effects of client affective self-disclosure and counselor experience on counselor verbal behavior and perceptions.

60 untrained, trained, and professional counselors (average age 20 yrs, 26 yrs, and 38 yrs, respectively) responded to an audio presentation of client affective self-disclosures consisting of either high or low intimacy content. Quality and type of response were measured. Ss then completed a reaction form to assess their clinical impressions of the client. No intimacy effects were found. In contrast, consistent differences for experience occurred. Results indicate that untrained Ss made lower quality responses than either trained or professional Ss with no differences between professionals and counselors-in-training. In terms of response type, untrained Ss relied on direct guidance and silence; trained Ss preferred reflection, and professionals utilized silence, open question, and reflection. When silence as an initial response was removed from consideration, the preferred mode of responding for untrained and trained Ss was strengthened. In contrast, professionals utilized 2 responses (reflection and open question) equally. Finally, the counselor reaction data indicated that untrained Ss had less liking for the client as a person and viewed the client as less motivated to change than trained or professional Ss. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in self-disclosure to various target persons.

In Exp I, 54 male and 54 female undergraduates reported their willingness to self-disclose about 14 topics to each of 3 same-gender target persons: a stranger, an acquaintance, and an intimate friend. The data show an interaction of S's gender and target person, demonstrating that males are more willing than females to disclose to strangers and acquaintances, but females are more willing than males to disclose to intimates. The results suggest a tendency for men to avoid emotional intimacy with one another. Competition among men and homophobia are offered as explanations for this lack of intimacy among men. A 2nd experiment (69 males, 79 females), which included both same-gender and opposite-gender target persons, replicated the findings of Exp I but did not support the competition or homophobia explanations. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Determining the effects of three counselor verbal responses on client verbal behavior.

Determined the effects of 4 counselor stimulus conditions on 3 measures of client verbal behavior, using 20 female college sophomore clients. The counselor stimulus conditions were reflection of feeling, probe, confrontation, and unspecified responses. The 3 dependent variables were client affect words, self-referent pronouns, and present verb tense. 20 subjects were assigned randomly to 1 of 4 trained Es (2 male and 2 female counselors) for a 42-min session. The 1st 2 min were a preliminary orientation period. The remaining 40 min were divided into 4 10-min counselor stimulus conditions. The sequence of stimulus conditions was randomized for each session. A 2 * 2 factorial analysis with repeated measures on the 2nd factor indicated no significant differences for each dependent variable. The implications for indiscriminate use of these 4 counselor stimulus conditions are discussed with respect to counselor training and research. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of student verbal behavior on classroom teacher behavior.

Investigated the functional relationship between individual student rates of volunteering in the classroom and (a) the differential rates of teacher questions directed to the individual students and (b) the percentage of student volunterring approved by the teacher in 12 high school classrooms ( N = 90) during the 1st and 3rd mo of the term. Teachers did not differentially approve different rates of volunteering; however, those students who volunteered more were more likely to receive a directed question. During the 3rd mo, the rate of directed questions correlated with student volunteering for those who did volunteers. Results imply that students control whether they receive a directed question and, as the term progresses, how frequently the teacher addresses them. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modification of behavior through verbal conditioning: Effects in group therapy.

An hypothesis that seems to be gaining acceptance on the basis of experimental (as opposed to heretofore face) validity, is that the interpersonal relationship in therapy is not only able to modify the patient's behavior, but in a predictable and desirable direction. This hypothesis was cross-validated by using a group of patients in a Veterans Administration hospital, all in group therapy. The experimental condition, the independent variable, involved exposing S to a TAT-like situation outside of therapy. E responded differentially to the emotionally-toned words used by S: (a) by nodding and saying "mm-hm," (b) by communicating to S via a machine that emitted a clicking sound and added on a counter, and (c) a "no reinforcement" group. Change in the patient's behavior, the dependent variable, was assessed by ratings on a scale to measure interpersonal relationships in group therapy. Significant improvement in the measure of interpersonal behavior in the group therapy was noted in Condition A only. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3IG28U. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sex and intimacy level on self-disclosure.

The reciprocity hypothesis was investigated within a sex-pairing counseling context using a role-play paradigm. 60 male and 60 female undergraduates exchanged written self-disclosures with an unseen counselor who disclosed items of low, medium, or high intimacy. Results strongly support the reciprocity effect and indicate that females are more willing to disclose than males. Specific suggestions for future research are offered. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of supervisor experience level on planning and in-session supervisor verbal behavior.

Examined the effects of supervisor experience level on presession planning and in-session supervisor verbal behavior. 30 supervisors representing no, low (1? to 3 yrs), and high (4 to 25 yrs) levels of experience (mean ages 27.3, 28.7, and 35.8 yrs, respectively) listened to a 30-min audiotaped counseling interaction and then recorded thoughts and strategies for supervision in a 30-min planning session. Ss then conducted a 30-min supervision session with the counselor. Analyses of audiotapes from the planning and supervision sessions revealed no significant differences between the 3 levels of supervisory experience in planning statements. However, significant differences were observed in the actual supervision session, with low- and high-experience Ss being similar to each other and different from the no-experience group on several dependent measures. Results also indicate that the counselor rated the low- and high-experience Ss more positively than the no-experience Ss. No relation was observed between statements generated during the planning session and those occurring during supervision. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social approval on the verbal behavior of emotionally disturbed and normal children.

96 nondefective Ss in Grades 4-9 who were referred to a child psychiatric clinic were compared with a group of 120 public school Ss of similar intellectual and educational level in terms of their response to a Taffel-type verbal conditioning procedure. 1/2 of the Ss in each group were experimental, to whom E said "good" following their use of a 1st-person pronoun, and 1/2 were controls, to whom E made no verbal response. Normal experimental Ss showed a statistically significant increase in their usage of the reinforced words, while clinic experimental Ss, as a group, failed to show a significant increase in such usage. Verbal approval was shown to have a differential effect depending upon the S's emotional status. In neither group did grade level have an effect upon rate of conditioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subliminally stimulated brain and verbal responses of twins differing in repressiveness.

Combined the average evoked response (AER) technique with subliminal stimulation to investigate unconscious mental processes in an objective and replicable way. Previous work has shown that the AER can discriminate between 2 subliminal stimuli (flashed at 1 msec.), while free associations have been found to contain stimulus-related words. Repressiveness, as rated on the basis of Rorschach performance, appears to be related to a diminution of evoked response amplitude and stimulus-related associates. 12 pairs of 12-21 yr. old twins were used as Ss. 6 pairs differed markedly in repressiveness and 6 pairs were similar in repressiveness. Replicating previous results, it was found that the repressive twins had smaller AER amplitudes than their nonrepressive siblings and associated fewer stimulus-related words. For supraliminal exposures (30 msec.), there was a tendency for amplitude of AER to be reversed as a function of repressiveness. Findings are discussed with respect to attentional and defensive factors. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of negative verbal cues upon verbal behavior.

Research which investigated the capacity to modify behavior, starting from the framework of Skinner's operant conditioning paradigm and utilizing verbal behavior, was found to have primarily explored the effect of positive secondary reinforcement. The present investigation explored the effect of a negative verbal cue presented under different schedules of reinforcement upon verbal behavior. Ss (male VA psychiatric patients) responded to projective techniques. The E varied the frequency of negative verbal reinforcement defined as "unh unh." The hypothesis that such a negative reinforcement would depress verbal behavior was substantiated, with a periodic schedule of reinforcement being more effective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of room environment on self-disclosure in a counseling analogue.

52 undergraduates took part in an investigation of the effects of room environment on self-disclosure in a counseling analog procedure. Intimacy of self-disclosure was significantly higher in a warm, intimate room (pictures on the wall, soft cushioned furniture, rug, soft lighting) than in a "cold," nonintimate room (bare cement, block walls, overhead fluorescent lighting). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Studies of the conditioning of verbal behavior.

"Thirty-one articles reporting studies of the conditioning of verbal behavior were reviewed in terms of setting, verbal responses, reinforcement stimuli, populations, controls, length of sessions, relationships to personality variables, results, and awareness. The majority of the studies report positive results with the use of generalized conditioned reinforcers such as good and mmm-hmmm. The studies reviewed demonstrate that general principles of learning can be fruitfully applied to the experimental analysis of verbal behavior." 108-item bibliography. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of experimental manipulation of self-disclosure on group cohesiveness.

Self-disclosure in 8-hr experiential groups was systematically controlled by providing detailed audiotaped instructions and illustrations through a series of structured exercises. Two levels of self-disclosure (level of intimacy) were established. Four 8-person, heterosexually balanced groups were exposed to encounter group tapes that instructed them to share intimate feelings and experiences. Examples of high self-disclosure and openness were presented to clarify the instructions. In contrast, 4 comparable groups were conducted by encounter group tapes that furnished only moderate levels of personal disclosure and interpersonal sharing. Groups in both the high and low intimacy conditions received the same set of exercises and differed only in the instructions and accompanying behavioral examples. All Ss were undergraduates. Results indicate that higher levels of disclosure produced greater group cohesiveness as hypothesized, on 4 separate measures of the dependent variable. Findings on 3 different types of self-report instruments were corroborated by an unobtrusive behavioral measure of cohesiveness (the group hug). (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety and the conditioning of verbal behavior.

Ninety hospitalized psychiatric patients were administered the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale. The S's were then required to make up sentences in response to a stimulus card on which were printed a verb and one of six pronouns. E reinforced any sentence starting with I or WE by saying "good" or flashing a light. Scores on the Taylor scale showed a relationship to the amount of conditioning produced by "good." Light, as applied in this study, does not function as a reinforcer in a verbal situation. Implications for further research are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associative intrusions in schizophrenic verbal behavior.

Developed 2 multiple-choice vocabulary subtests in which the items of 1 subtest contained associates to the stimulus word as incorrect alternatives, while the items of the other subtest contained no associative distractors. Using a standardization sample of normal Ss (65 firemen with average IQ and 27 prison inmates with below-average IQ), the subtests were matched on coefficient alpha, mean, variance of item difficulty, and shape of the distribution of item difficulty. The subtests were then given to 42 chronic schizophrenics. Results reveal that schizophrenics, unlike normal Ss, showed a significantly greater deficit on the with-associates subtest than on the no-associates subtest. This finding demonstrates heightened susceptibility to associative distraction in schizophrenia, without the possible artifact of generalized deficit coupled with differential discriminating power of tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of situational variables on affective self-disclosure with acquaintances.

Situational variables influencing affective self-disclosure within the acquaintance intimacy level were examined in simulated dyadic interactions with 40 female and 36 male undergraduates. Females expressed more feelings than males, while across sexes, Ss disclosed more positive feelings as respondents than as initiators. Significant interactions revealed that affective self-disclosure is situation specific, with Ss responding with positive feelings being the most facilitative context for disclosure. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Observer effects on teacher verbal classroom behavior.

Investigated whether the presence of an observer has an effect on the verbal behaviors of teachers. 10 female elementary school teachers were each observed for approximately 9 hrs under the following 4 conditions: (a) the information or (b) lack of information a teacher had concerning when an observation would occur; (c) the presence or (d) absence of an observer in the classroom. The dependent variables were the teachers' verbal behaviors as measured by N. A. Flanders's (1965) interaction analysis and their perception of their ideal teacher's behaviors. Results indicate that informing a teacher prior to an observation has minimal effect on classroom verbal behavior. Teacher verbal classroom behavior was found to be more like the perceived ideal when an observer was present in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quantifying self-reports of auditory verbal hallucinations in persons with psychosis.

The Hamilton Program for Schizophrenia Voices Questionnaire (HPSVQ) was developed to address the need for a brief, self-report measure that quantifies a range of the characteristics of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs). Each of the questionnaire's nine scored items utilizes a 5-point rating scale to yield a quantitative assessment of AVHs. The scale was well tolerated by a sample of 20 patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder at baseline and at one and eleven weeks postbaseline. It demonstrated good test-retest reliability over these intervals and good internal consistency. In addition, it demonstrated adequate concurrent validity when compared with the interviewer-rated Psychotic Symptoms Rating Scales Auditory Hallucinations subscale. The results of this pilot study suggest that the HPSVQ is potentially a reliable and useful measure for quantifying AVHs in persons suffering from psychosis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)