Sex and relational communication patterns in counseling.

Abstract

The influence of counselor and client sex on relational communication patterns in counseling was studied within a systems theory framework. Seventytwo audiotaped intake interviews of 36 counselors, each of whom interacted with one male and one female client, were analyzed by the Relational Communication Coding System (Rogers & Parace, 1975). This system operationalizes the constructs of complementarity and symmetry. Transactions involving male clients were characterized by more complementary exchanges in which the use of questions and the provisions of answers provided a basis for attempts to assert or relinquish control in the relationship. Female clients and counselors were found to share more neutral messages in which the issue of control was less salient. Both counselor sex and client sex were significant factors in participants' perceptions of each other during the intake.Although the counseling process has long been acknowledged as an interactional one that emphasizes power and influence as reciprocal exchanges (Danziger, 1976;Jackson & Haley, 1968;Strong & Claiborn, 1982), most empirical investigations of this process have taken the individual as the basic unit of analysis. This focus has endured despite the development of several complex theoretical perspectives that describe transactional patterns in counseling settings. One particularly influential concern of systems theorists (e.g., Haley, 1976;Watzlawick & Weakland, 1977) centers on how verbal communication is used by participants in counseling to define their relative power and control.Key constructs in this area are the notions of complementarity, or relationships in which participants have unequal control (i.e., one assumes a one-up position and the other This research was conducted as part of the doctoral dissertation of the first author submitted to the Psychology Department at the University of Connecticut under the direction of the second author.The authors thank David A. Kenny and Julian B. Rotter for their helpful comments regarding the design and implementation of the study. The authors also thank Jack Davis for statistical consultation and Patty O'Brien for 'her help in scoring the audiotaped interviews.

Gender Roles, Sex, and the Process of Psychotherapy: Many Questions and Few Answers

“…While this fear would potentially be expressed in a variety of in-session behaviors, particularly ancillary behaviors such as fidgeting and averted eye contact, no studies on this class of process variables have been conducted. A study on communication patterns by Heatherington and Allen (1984), however, found that, regardless of therapist sex, interactions involving male clients contained a higher percentage of "client one-up" communication patterns, in which there were high rates of "rapid fire" exchanges of questions and answers. These researchers hypothesized that such communication patterns may be one way in which male clients reduce the threat to their self-esteem that results from entry into a counseling situation.…”

“…Unfortunately, however, few actual studies examining these assertions exist. In their study on communication patterns, Heatherington and Allen (1984) reported that regardless of the sex of the therapist, dyads containing a female client were more likely to contain communication patterns that were neutral, versus subordinate, with respect to the issue of control.…”

“…Studies regarding authority and empathy, however, have been scarce and inconclusive. The one available study on the authority dimension of the counselor role (Heatherington and Allen, 1984) seems to indicate that counselor "one-up communication" is actually quite rare. Nonetheless, a study using structured recall or interviews would help to shed more light on this issue, as would a study on ancillary behaviors, since Kaplan (1979) asserted that female therapists may demonstrate such discomfort with authority by a tendency to smile too frequently, to be indecisive, or to giggle.…”

Patterns of relational communication in conjoint behavioral consultation.

“…As Bergan and Kratochwill (1990) have stated: "The central function of the elicitor in consultation is to infl uence the verbal behavior of the consultee" (p. 62). Second, in a study of the counsel ing process, Heatherington and Alien (1984) noted that the RCCCS's coding of questions as one-down perhaps is not valid. The authors based their conclu sion on the frequent and counterintuitive result that the RCCCS views the party who seeks assistance-the client-as more controlling mainly because he or she asks fewer questions than does the therapist.…”

Les comportements interpersonnels de tuteurs-enseignants et l'intégration des élèves aux études collégiales

“…Par exemple, les hommes auraient davantage que les femmes la possibilité de s'exprimer et de donner leur opinion (Granello, Beamish et Davis, 1997). De plus, il semble que les dyades avec un aidé de sexe masculin sont principalement centrées sur l'aspect hiérarchique et que les dyades avec un aidé de sexe féminin reposent davantage sur une relation égalitaire et réciproque (Heatherington et Allen, 1984). Ce patron relationnel s'applique peut-être également aux tuteurs.…”