Predictors of therapeutic talent in aspiring clinicians: A multivariate analysis.

Three professional clinicians rated 40 advanced undergraduates planning to enter a career in clinical psychology on their videotaped performances on the Group Assessment of Interpersonal Traits (GAIT). The GAIT simulates an initial counseling session in which the participants take turns in their roles as "discloser" and "understander." Ss also completed 2 measures of interpersonal intelligence (a therapy process analysis and a social interpretations task), an adjective checklist, and the Study of Values. Demographic and academic achievement information was also obtained. A stepwise multiple regression was computed to clarify the relative contributions of interpersonal intelligence, demographic information, personality orientation, and academic achievement in predicting therapeutic talent, as measured by the GAIT. Results show that the 2 measures of interpersonal intelligence were the most powerful predictors of therapeutic talent, underscoring the importance of evaluating interpersonal aspects of intelligence when making selection decisions. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)