Effect of Experimentally Induced Sets of High and Low ‘Expertness' During Brief Vocational Counseling

A study was designed to evaluate the effects of an experimentally induced set of “expertness” on clients' evaluations of their selected experiences during brief vocational counseling. Thirty-one college freshman males were randomly assigned to two induced sets of high and low expertness, and client responses to both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the interview were obtained. The results suggested that (a) clients responded more favorably to relationship aspects of the interview with a counselor who was introduced as a nonexpert than with a counselor who was introduced as an expert, (b) informational recall was greater for clients interviewed by the expert counselor, and (c) global ratings of counselor effectiveness did not differentiate between expert and nonexpert counselors. Implications for counselor training and counselor practice are discussed.     

Characteristics of Female Members of ACES

This article presents data on characteristics of female members of the ACES organization. Data regarding the (a) personal characteristics, (b) education, (c) employment, and (d) participation in national and regional ACES activities of ACES women is presented.     

Relationship Orientation,Is It Unique to Counselors?

One hundred and twenty educators, characterized by three different professional affiliations (counselors, teachers, and administrators) and two levels of experience (experienced and inexperienced), were examined on their degree of relationship orientation, using the Wisconsin Counselor Education Selection Interview (WCESI) as the criterion instrument. Results indicated that (a) counselors were more relationship-oriented than teachers or administrators, (b) teachers were more relationship-oriented than administrators, and (c) inexperienced educators were more relationship-oriented than experienced educators. Implications for counselor education training and selection procedures are discussed.     

Training of Support Personnel in Three Human Relations Skills: A Systematic One-Year Follow-Up

This article reports a systematic, one-year follow-up of trainees taught three human relations skills. Results support the conclusion that response-contingent behavior decreases when supervisor reinforcement is not present. The results and their implications for training support personnel and counselors via the microcounseling paradigm are discussed.     

Generalization of Microcounseling Skills from Training Period to Actual Counseling Setting

This study attempted to measure the generalization of the counseling skills learned via the microcounseling paradigm to the actual counseling setting. Twenty practicum counselors were assigned to two groups: (a) experimental group, training focused on the microcounseling skills of attending behavior, reflection of feeling, and summarization of feeling and (b) control group, no training. Measurements of the microcounseling skills were obtained at four intervals: (1) pretraining, (2) posttraining, (3) counseling session I, and (4) counseling session II. Results indicated that experimental subjects evidenced greater learning and retention of skills in reflection of feeling and summarization of feeling. There were no significant differences between subjects on attending behavior skills. Results are discussed with implications for training counselors via the microcounseling paradigm.