Impact of counselor gender and counselor sex role orientation on perceived counselor characteristics.

Assessed the influence of counselor (C) gender (male or female), C sex role orientation (traditional or egalitarian), S's sex role orientation (masculine, feminine, or androgynous), and client problem type (sex role related or not sex role related) on female Ss' judgments of their comfort with disclosing to Cs and their perceptions of the C's attractiveness, expertness, and trustworthiness. Results show that (a) S's ratings of comfort in disclosing was greater with female rather than male and with egalitarian rather than traditional Cs; (b) female egalitarian Cs were perceived as most expert, whereas female traditional Cs were perceived as least expert, and (c) male traditional Cs were perceived as least trustworthy. The presence of C gender and C sex role effects and the absence of effects as a function of problem type and Ss' sex role orientation are discussed. Suggestions are made concerning the need for more consistent definition of sex role orientation and designation of problem type. (21 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)     

Self-disclosure flexibility, empathy, and perceptions of adjustment and attraction.

Tested the generalizability of the social perceptiveness hypothesis to in-vivo interactions. Accordingly, 54 male undergraduates completed such measures as the Interpersonal Judgment Scale and were assigned to dyads in 1 of the following conditions: high flex (both members of each dyad high in flexibility); low flex (both members low in flexibility); and mixed flex (one member high and one low in flexibility). All dyads engaged in a structured interview and completed a variety of interpersonal assessments. High-flex dyads evidenced greater predictive accuracy (e.g., empathy) and interpersonal attraction than did low-flex dyads. This supports the generalizability of the social perceptiveness hypothesis to in vivo interactions. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-disclosure flexibility and counseling-relevant perceptions.

Research has suggested that highly flexible self-disclosers evidence a heightened social perceptiveness that enables them to modulate their disclosure according to the subtle social cues mediating disclosure's appropriateness. The present study with 57 undergraduates investigated differences between high, middle, and low flexible disclosers in their perceptions of counseling-relevant behaviors. Results support the application of the hypothesis of counseling-relevant behaviors. Highly flexible disclosers evidenced significantly greater affective empathy and more accurate perceptions of facilitative responding than did less flexible disclosers. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex Role Orientation, Self-Disclosure, and Gender-Related Perceptions.

The level of self-disclosure and the sex-role orientation of 104 males and 91 females was determined in order to assess the impact of these characteristics on interpersonal judgments of gender-related behavior. The subject's own level of disclosure was found to have an impact on perceptions of males and females represented to be moderately high and moderately low in disclosure. Those more similar were viewed to be better adjusted, more likable, and preferred partners in an experiment. There was a failure to find differential standards in the evaluation of male and female disclosure, and a subject's sex role orientation (androgynous or sex role stereotyped) had no effect on perceptions. Gender, however, did have an impact on judgments made and interacted with the gender of the individual perceived. Male subjects rated male and female individuals differentially, whereas female subjects did not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of Counselor Characteristics: Contributions of Counselor Sex, Experience, and Disclosure Level.

Strong proposed that expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness may enhance the counselor's ability to influence clients. In a counseling analogue the present study assessed the effects of counselor sex (male or female), experience (expert or nonexpert), and self-disclosure level (high or low) on perceived expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness. Results indicated that (a) expert counselors were rated more expert than nonexpert; (b) female experts were rated more expert than female nonexperts, but male experts and nonexperts were not different from one another; (c) high-disclosing counselors were perceived as more attractive than low-disclosing counselors; (d) expert and nonexpert high-disclosing counselors were more attractive than expert low-disclosing counselors; (e) low-disclosing counselors were rated more trustworthy than high-disclosing counselors; and (f) low-disclosing female counselors were rated more trustworthy than high-disclosing female counselors, but male high- and low-disclosing counselors were not different from one another. Additional findings are presented, and implications of the results concerning counselor sex are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)