An attributional approach to counselor attractiveness.

Two components of counselor attractiveness—perceived similarity and liking—were examined in a comparison of 2 theoretical approaches to attractiveness and influence in counseling. The referent power hypothesis links both similarity and liking to the counselor's ability to influence. An attributional approach specifies instances in which counselor dissimilarity may have more informational value than similarity and thus produce greater influence. 88 undergraduates viewed videotapes of 1 of 2 female counselors purportedly either similar or dissimilar to Ss and displaying either high or low liking in her nonverbal behavior. Effects of counselor agreement or disagreement with S's opinion were assessed on measures of S's subsequent opinion and confidence in that opinion. Results indicate that opinion change was a function of counselor disagreement, and confidence change was a function of counselor dissimilarity. The dissimilar counselor was as influential as the similar counselor but had a greater impact on Ss' confidence. Counselor nonverbal behavior produced differential perceptions but was unrelated to influence. Findings support the attributional approach over the reference power hypothesis. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)