Presentation Format in Analogue Studies: Effects on Participants' Evaluations

Abstract

Whether presentation format (video, audio, written transcript, or written transcript with photograph) affects participants' responses to counseling scenarios in an analogue study was examined. After watching a brief counseling session presented in one of four formats, 131 participants completed three instruments measuring counselor credibility and expectations. Results revealed significant differences among the formats on teh COunselor Rating Form (CRF-S; Corrigan & Schmidt, 1983) Trustworthiness and Expertness Scales, with transcripts with pictures rated the highest (higher than videotape and audiotape) and transcripts without pictures rated second highest (higher than video). No significant differences between the presentation formats were revealed on the Expectations about Counseling Questionnaire (EAC; Tinsley, Workman, & Kass, 1980) or 15 Personal Problem Inventory (15PPI; Cash, Begley, McCown, & Weise, 1975). Results suggest that studies using differing formats with the CRF-S are not necessarily comparable and that the four types of analogue approaches may not be interchangeable.

Effect of counselor self-disclosure of religious similarity on client perception of empathy within the therapeutic relationship: an analogue study

“…Psychologists seeking to better understand how the process of counseling helps clients, turned from the more naturalistic studies that had traditionally dominated clinical practice to analogue studies in an attempt to make understandable the complex exchanges between the therapist and the patient (Heller, 1971;Heppner, Kivlighan, & Wampold, 1999). Employed by researchers since the late 1940s, analogue designs have been a staple in counseling literature (Heller, 1971;Johnson, Pierce, Baldwin, Harris, & Brondmo, 1996).…”

Effects of an analogue counselor's religious or financial self-disclosure and observer characteristics on therapeutic processes

“…Analogue designs, experimenter-constructed simulations of therapy, have a long history in counseling psychology process research and have been used by researchers examining therapy since the late 1940s (Heller, 1971;Johnson, Pierce, Baldwin, Harris, & Brondmo, 1996). Traditionally used by researchers either to explicate mechanisms of factors already considered to be of therapeutic importance and/or to clarify the communication patterns which take place in therapy between counselor and client, these experimental studies have used audio/visual, audio-only, written transcript, and written transcript with a headshoulders photograph presentation methods as constructed, independent variable manipulations (Heller, 1971;Helms, 1976;Heppner, Kivlighan, & Wampold, 1999;Johnson, et al, 1996). Analogue studies may also feature different levels of participant involvement ranging from simply reading a simulated counseling session script to quasi-analogue studies in which the participant is in the role of the client; each design has its own unique features and results (McKitrick, 1981).…”