Perceptions of a sex-fair counselor and her client.

Abstract

A counseling analogue was constructed to investigate the effects of sex-fair counseling on female and male subjects' perceptions of (a) a female counselor, (b) a same-sex client, and (c) their own attitudes. The experimental design was a 2 X 2 factorial in which a female or a male client discussed traditional or nontraditional career plans with the counselor. The only significant findings regarding perceptions of the counselor were that women anticipated that they would feel more comfortable with the counselor who facilitated nontraditional career exploration than did men. Women tended to evaluate traditional and nontraditional clients similarly, whereas men evaluated the traditional client more favorably regarding academic achievement. Subjects' own attitudes regarding occupational choice did not differ significantly between the two types of counseling, although the nontraditional condition did seem to result in greater flexibility among women.