INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY - APPLICATIONS FROM THE SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGY OF ATTITUDE-CHANGE

This article provides a new conceptualization of the literature on the application of the elaboration likelihood model of attitude change (E LM) to counseling, identifying two waves of this work: (a) early appli cation studies that were essentially parametric extensions of well-est ablished basic laboratory paradigms and (b) later studies that reflect less strong adherence to basic research paradigms and more sensitivit y to the counseling context. In the second wave, the focus shifted awa y from laboratory paradigms, toward important issues in counseling, su ch as enhancing the effectiveness of assertion training and evaluating the validity of people's assessment responses. Results from the secon d wave provide clearer support for the utility of the ELM than first-w ave studies. This article also identifies important methodological dif ferences between the two waves, discusses relevant recent advances, an d provides a list of practice-relevant conclusions from this literatur e and a future research agenda.