PROBLEMThe retarding effects of counselor race upon the responses of Negroes have been hypothesized in the areas of counseling and psychotherapy(6, '), test-examination(aB 6, and education(*). This study attempted to determine the effects upon eight Negroes in initial clinical interviews of an inexperienced Negro counselor and three white counselors of varying degrees of experience and types of training.
METHODFour counselors were involved : Counselor A, an inexperienced 20-year old Negro senior undergraduate student who had taken only an undergraduate course in "Counseling Theory and Practice" oriented toward counseling as a communication process between two parties to a relationship(2); Counselor B, a relatively inexperienced 25-year old white second-year graduate student who had previously seen several clients in a counseling psychology program oriented in the same manner; Counselor C, a relatively experienced, 25-year old white third-year graduate student in a separate guidance counselor education program of a differing orientation who had had a year of experience in guidance activities but who also had taken the same undergraduate course as the Negro counselor; and Counselor D, a 32-year old white Ph.D. with eight years' experience from a nationally prominent program with a traditional trait-and-factor counseling system not oriented toward counselorclient differences. The three white counselors were selected by two experienced clinicians to match the personal attractiveness, intelligence, politeness, quietness, and apparent sincerity of the Negro counselor. The Negro counselees included four male and four female undergraduate students at the University of Massachusetts.I n a counterbalanced design, during consecutive weeks, each counselee saw each counselor for an initial clinical interview. Each counselee was given the following instructions: "All of us, in the present or during the past year or so, have had a number of experiences or problems which have been difficult for us. If you feel that the person you will be seeing is helpful, please feel free to discuss these experiences." Most of the problems discussed involved the difficulties in making an adjustment in the educational setting. The counselors were instructed to be aa helpful aa they could with the counselees. The interviews were recorded, and following each interview the counselees filled out inventories on each counselor and following all interviews answered questions concerning all of the counselors.Random excerpts were taken from the tapes and rated by trained raters on five 5-point scales (4) assessing the following dimensions of interpersonal functioning which have been related to constructive client changes in counseling and psychotherapy: Counselor empathy (E) ; counselor respect ( R ) ; counselor genuineness (G) ; counselor concreteness or specificity of expression (C) ; client depth of self-exploration (Ex) (4). E ranges from level 1, where the counselor is unaware or ignorant of even the most conspicuous surface feelings of the counsele...
Fourteen white teachers and 10 black parents were divided into two groups of 7 whites and 5 blacks each and received systematic training in interpersonal skills from a black trainer and a white trainer in counterbalanced order. Significant gains were demonstrated in communication and discrimination on standard helpee stimulus expressions and standard racial problems and in functioning in the helping role with both white and black adults and white and black children. Implications for systematic training in human relations problem areas are considered.
In San Diego, 119 gifted secondary students were interviewed to obtain their recommendations for academic program change. Generally, these students preferred: (a) more freedom in course selection and more emphasis upon a general education philosophy; (b) French, German, humanities, creative writing, general mathematics, chemistry, physics, psychology, and economics courses; (c) more intellectual criticism and discussion of controversial issues; (d) more recognition for their work; and (e) some type of selective academic segregation. It is suggested that other school districts conduct similar interviews to aid them in program planning.
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