CONSULTANT VERBAL CONTROL AND CONSULTEE PERCEPTIONS

High verbal control is a way of exercising interpersonal power and may be an important influence on consultation process and outcome. In thi s study, two groups of public school teachers were shown videotapes de picting either high or low levels of consultant verbal control. Depend ent measures included a consultation-acceptance rating, a behavioroid measure assessing consultee commitment to future consultation meetings , and a thought-listing technique soliciting covert cognitive response s occurring while the teachers viewed the consultation exchanges. Resu lts indicated that the verbal control manipulation produced difference s in teachers' perceptions of the consultant's level of verbal control . After viewing the vignettes, 16% of the teachers expressed willingne ss to commit to future consultation. However, there was no apparent de trimental effect of high consultant verbal control: Of those teachers willing to commit, differences between high and low control were not s ignificant. Post hoc analysis of acceptance scale items indicated that participants thought the consultee learned more about the problem dis cussed during the consultation under the high consultant verbal contro l condition. Advantages and limitations of high consultant verbal cont rol as a consultation process variable are discussed, and recommendati ons for future consultation research are offered.