Effects of profane language and physical attractiveness on perceptions of counselor behavior.

Abstract

The effects of counselor profanity and physical attractiveness for male and female counselors were examined in a counseling analogue. In a 2 X 2 X 2 factorial design, 72 male and female volunteer subjects were randomly assigned to one of eight experimental conditions of videotaped counseling sessions where they rated the counselor on a variety of dependent measures related to their impressions of counselor professional and personal attributes, likelihood of counseling for a variety of presenting problems, and their satisfaction. Multivariate analyses of the data revealed that counselors using profanity were rated less favorably across all measures regardless of physical attractiveness. A significant multivariate interaction indicated that when profanity was present, female counselors were rated more positively than male counselors. Overall, physically attractive counselors, regardless of their sex or use of profanity, were judged to have more favorable attributes. Implications of these results on the counseling process are discussed.

The Contributions of Appearance to Occupational Outcomes in Civilian and Military Settings1

“…For instance, photos of attractive teachers tend to be rated more positively on dimensions such as warmth, instructive ability, and communication ability (Goebel & Cashen, 1979;Lombard0 & Tocci, 1979), although there is some evidence that providing additional information, such as teaching style, may reduce or eliminate this effect (Buck & Tiene, 1989). Numerous studies have also found that photos of attractive counselors are rated more favorably than unattractive counselors, although providing subjects with demographic or personal disclosures by the counselor again attenuates the effect (Cash, Begley, McCown, & Weise, 1975;Cash & Kehr, 1978;Cash & Salzbach, 1978;Lewis & Walsh, 1978; Paradise, Cohl, & Zweig, 1980).…”

Social influence research in counseling: A review and critique.

“…In 6 studies higher ratings of counselor attractiveness were found for the following variables (again with the positively related descriptor in parentheses): counselor sexual preference (gay; , sex role orientation (egalitarian; Atkinson & Alpert, 1981), ethnicity (Black; Green, Cunningham, & Yanico, 1986;Paurohit et al, 1982), physical attractiveness (attractive; Green et al, 1986;Paradise et al, 1980), and obvious physical disability (disabled; Mallinckrodt & Helms, 1986). Five studies did not find a relationship between the subjects' ratings of counselor attractiveness and counselor characteristics of weight (McKee & Smouse, 1983), physical disability (Strohmer & Biggs, 1983), informal attire (Roll & Roll, 1984), age (Schneider & Hayslip, 1986), and gender (Angle & Goodyear, 1984).…”

“…Other studies that have examined verbal behaviors such as interpretation techniques (Milne & Dowd, 1983) or paradoxical versus nonparadoxical directives (Perrin & Dowd, 1986) have not found significant relationships with perceived attractiveness; the use of profanity, however, did lower ratings of perceived counselor attractiveness (Paradise, Cohl, & Zweig, 1980).…”

Therapist Physical Attractiveness: An Unexplored Influence on Client Disclosure

“…Therapist attractiveness may have an even greater influence on the client's expectations of effective therapy than the therapist's skill level (Vargas & Borkowski, 1982). Although clients might consider other variables, such as gender or use of a specific technique, to be important determinants of a therapist's effectiveness, attractiveness has greater influence on clients' favorable perception of a therapist's personal and professional characteristics (Cash & Kehr, 1978;Paradise, Cohl, & Zweig, 1980).…”