Effects of Counselor's Ordinal Position When Involved in Role Play Practice in Triads

Abstract

To investigate the effects of the order of being the counselor when involved in role-play practice, 36 novice trainees were assigned to counseling triads and then to the levels of ordinal position-counselor first, second, or third. Each participant also served as a client and as an observer within the triad. No difference among the three ordinal positions was found in the trainees' abilities to produce reflection of feeling responses. Similarly, there were no differences between those trainees who functioned as as observers before being the role-play counselor. There was a significant positive linear trend, however, for ordinal position (i.e., the accuracy of the trainees' reflection of feeling responses steadily improved from first counselor role play to third counselor role play). These results are discussed from a social-learning theory perspective.

The Effects of Order of Stimulus Presentation on Ratings of Counseling Performance

“…Additionally, the relationship of order to stimulus presentation with variables other than quality of performance should be examined. T h e influence of order on practice effects (Robinson & Cabianca, 1985) and on ratings of performance as observed in this study suggest that order may interact with a number of variables. Further investigation of the effects of order on training outcomes is strongly recommended.…”

Role-Playing in Counselor Student Development

“…In addition, supervisors can use prescriptive role-plays such as, "Demonstrate through role-play the confrontation you plan to use with this client" to enhance the cognitive development of a supervisee (Granello, 2000, p. 40). Another study (Robinson & Cabianca, 1985) found that the order of role-play (counselor, client, or observer) yielded no significant differences on the specific skill of reflection of feelings.…”

“…In a traditional role-playing situation, a student might be in one of three roles: the counselor, the client, or an observer (Ivey, Ivey, & Zalaquett, 2010;Robinson & Cabianca, 1985). When acting as the client or observer, the student learns through observation, while in the role of the counselor, the student learns through performance (Robinson & Cabianca, 1985).…”

“…Role-playing has been shown to have many positive benefits including increases in students' empathy (Truax & Carkhuff, 1967), enthusiasm and class participation (Balch, 1983), academic knowledge and empathic understanding (Anderson, Gunderson, Banken, Halvorson, & Schumutte, 1989), performance (Baker, Daniels, & Greeley, 1990;Larson & Daniels, 1998), and reflection of feelings (Robinson & Cabianca, 1985). According to Seligman (2005), role-play practice groups can lead to professional, as well as personal, development in students.…”

“…When acting as the client or observer, the student learns through observation, while in the role of the counselor, the student learns through performance (Robinson & Cabianca, 1985). Furr and Carroll (2003) found that beginning students described their experiences of being both counselor and client in role-playing as important, not because of the skills they developed, but because of the affective impact they experienced while playing the counselor and the client.…”