The Effects of Likeability and Physical Attractiveness on Perceptions of the Competency of Counselors Committing Ethical Violations
Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: This study explored the effects of three counselor factors (likeability, physical attractiveness, and ethical behavior) on the ratings of the counselor"s Expertness, attractiveness, and Trustworthiness by participants who read stimulus materials depicting a counseling session.This 2 X 2 X 2 analogue design employed the Counselor Rating Form -Short Form (Corrigan & Schmidt, 1983) to capture participants" perceptions of the counselor from one of eight possible combinations of likeable/unlikeable, physically attractive/physically less-attractive, and ethical/unethical behavior.Eighty one advanced graduate counseling students from a Midwestern university were randomly assigned to one of the eight conditions.Participants read a counselor biography, viewed a photograph, and read a transcript of a counseling session before rating the counselor using the CRF-S.Multivariate analyses and follow-up univariate analyses yielded significantly higher ratings for the likeable counselor (p < .001),for the physically attractive counselor (p < .05),and for the ethical counselor (p < .001).There were no significant interactions among the three independent variables in the multivariate analysis.Univariate analyses revealed that the likeable counselor was rated as significantly more Expert, Attractive, and Trustworthy; analyses for physical attractiveness revealed that the physically attractive counselor was rated significantly more Attractive; and results also showed that the counselor who behaved ethically was rated significantly higher on Expert and Trustworthy subscale items.The limitations of this study, as well as suggestions for further research, are discussed.Effects of likeability 4 who helped care for my daughter Catherine (Cate) throughout my doctoral career.Their time and support were invaluable, as I never once had to worry about her well-being while I was away.And thank you to Cate for being my beacon of inspiration.I did this for her as much as for me.
Author: Michelle E. Flaum
Institution: University of Cincinnati
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2413831045