| Abstract: | This study was designed to examine the effects of order of stimulus presentation on observer ratings of counseling performance. Two videotaped counseling simulations, determined by judges to represent either high or low quality performance, served as the stimuli. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two levels of the order effect: Group 1 viewed the videotape with low quality performance first, followed by the high quality performance videotape; Group 2 viewed the high quality performance videotape first, followed by the low quality performance videotape. Four widely used measures of counseling performance served as dependent measures. Results revealed a statistically significant interaction between quality of performance and the order in which the performances were rated. |
