The impact of counselor status and weight on perceived counselor expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness.

Abstract

Forty male and 40 female clients requesting counseling from a university counseling service were assigned to one of eight treatment conditions in a randomized 2 x 2 x 2 MANOVA to determine the effects of counselor status (high, low), counselor weight (normal, overweight), and client gender, on initial perceptions of counselor expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness as measured by the three dimensions of the Counselor Rating Form (CRF). Clients viewed a photograph of either a high status normal weight, high status overweight, low status normal weight, or a low status overweight counselor along with hearing a precounseling audio tape explaining what to expect from counseling. Clients then filled out the CRF as to their initial impressions of the counselor's expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness. The MANOVA yielded a significant main effect for status and effects approaching statistical significance for an interaction between counselor status and counselor weight on the social influence variables of expertness and trustworthiness. No effects due to client gender were found. Results support the positive effects of status on a client's initial impression of a counselor. Results are discussed in terms of social influence and implications for further inresearch.