Multidimensional perception of counselor behavior.

This study investigated Strong's prediction of the existence of three dimensions of perceived counselor behavior—expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness. Films of interviews given by Rogers, Ellis, and Perls were watched by 202 subjects, who rated each counselor on 36 bipolar scales. The ratings were then factor analyzed separately for each counselor. Results supported the existence of the hypothesized dimensions for Rogers and Perls but only two dimensions for Ellis. Implications of these results for counseling and for further research are discussed. The client's perceptions of the counselor's behavior determines to a large extent the effectiveness of the counseling interview. Goldstein, Heller, and Sechrest (1966) emphasized how client perceptions of the therapist might be influenced by counselor behavior indicative of expertness, credibility, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Their recommendations for research in each of these dimensions stemmed from earlier research in social psychology that suggested the importance of a communicator's perceived credibility (expertness and trustworthiness) and attractiveness for inducing attitude change (Hovland, Janis, Schmidt & Strong, 1970). Other research has studied these