Supervisor attraction as a function of level of supervisor skillfulness and supervisees' perceived similarity.

Abstract

This laboratory analogue investigated the effects of supervisor skillfulness and supervisor-supervisee attitude similarity on the attraction of the supervisee to the supervisor. The subjects were 29 graduate students receiving training in counseling. The experimental procedure varied the similarity of the supervisee with the supervisor by means of an attitude scale purportedly filled out by the supervisor. After the supervisee compared the bogus protocol with his own, each supervisee viewed a videotape of one of two simulated supervisory sessions showing the supervisor working either at a high or low level of skill with two supervisees. Results showed a main effect of supervisor skillfulness on attraction but did not show attraction to vary as a function of supervisor-supervisee attitude similarity. It was concluded that skillfulness was a primary determinant of attraction, but, in contrast to previous findings, similarity did not exert a significant attraction effect under the conditions of this experiment. Supervisor skillfulness appeared to eliminate the similarity attraction effect. The data indicated that the supervisee was willing to tolerate dissimilarity if the supervisor was skillful.If the skills and personal qualities requisite for successful counseling practice were known, questions about training, desiderata would not have to be raised. At present, however, convictions about training tend to reflect theoretical predilections which, in turn, depend largely on personal preference and one's most charismatic supervisor. Thus, analytic apprentices are taught to be aloof and incisive, aspiring humanists are annointed in self-liberating experiential encounters, and neophyte social engineers are shaped to be judicious distributors of This paper is based on the first author's doctoral dissertation.

Competitiveness and the Similarity of Preferred Coworkers1

“…Coworkers selected for the skill-development condition possessed similar and only slightly higher skills than the participant, thus failing to support that part of the hypothesis. Such results were only partly consistent with findings from Grush et al (1975) and Hester et al (1976), where attraction toward instructors and supervisors was related to those persons possessing the necessary skills and attributes for those positions, rather than similarity. It seems logical for individuals who want to learn or improve their skills to seek a person with a higher level of skill than their own.…”

“…When no reference was made to competition or need for skill improvement, selected coworkers were more similar, consistent with the traditional S-A relationship (Byme, 1971). These findings suggest that the traditional S-A relationship holds under some conditions but not others (e.g., Glaman et al, 1996; Grush et al, 1975;Hester et al, 1976; Turban et al, 1990). The rewards-of-interaction model views similarity as facilitating interaction and goal attainment.…”

“…Grush, Clore, and Costin (1975) found that students preferred instructors whose qualities were relevant to the goals of the student-instructor relationship over instructors who were merely similar to them. Further, in an experimental study, attractiveness of a supervisor was related to the degree of skill the supervisor possessed and not to the level of similarity between the supervisor and participant (Hester, Weitz, Anchor, & Roback, 1976). The context and the goals of the interaction apparently moderated the role of similarity such that both similarity and dissimilarity contributed to positive interactions.…”

Current Trends in Practicum Supervision Research

“…The more and better the communication between student and supervisor, the greater the satisfaction of the trainee. Hester et al (1976) found a similar relationship between the skill of a supervisor and trainee satisfaction. In their study, high skill supervisors had consistently more satisfied trainees than did low skill supervisors.…”

Value System Similarity and the Supervisory Relationship

“…Wayne Lanning is an associateprofessor at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming. (Hester, Weitz, Anchor, & Roback, 1976). Little research has been conducted that attempted to identify similar elements in the supervisory relationship.…”