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)