Title

Congruence of counselor self-disclosure and perceived effectiveness

Abstract

Sixty-seven college students rated a counselor on expertness, trustworthiness and attractiveness based on reading 1 of 2 randomly assigned session transcripts. The desire to choose the depicted counselor was also measured. In both transcripts, the counselor self-disclosed his or her use of prayer. A single-client statement varied across the 2 transcripts such that one contained a congruent counselor self-disclosure (counselor disclosure after client disclosure) and the other included an incongruent self-disclosure (counselor disclosure without client disclosure). A potential covariate, religiosity, was examined but did not draw significant variance. Participants in the congruent group reported a more favorable total perception, a higher attractiveness perception, and a greater desire to choose the counselor than did participants in the incongruent group. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980109603697

Keywords

Counseling process, Prayer, Religiosity, Self-disclosure

Publication Date

1-1-2001

Journal Title

Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied

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