THE EFFECTS OF COUNSELOR DISABILITY STATUS AND REPUTATION ON PERCEPTIONS OF COUNSELOR EXPERTNESS, ATTRACTIVENESS, AND TRUSTWORTHINESS

A study examined the influence of counselor disability status and coun selor reputation on participant's perceptions of counselors. A sample of 60 adults with disabilities viewed one of two videotaped vignettes (counselor with or without a disability) portraying a client-counselor interaction. The vignette was crossed with three levels of counselor reputation. Participants rated the counselor's attractiveness, expertn ess, and trustworthiness, using the Counselor Rating Form-Short. A sig nificant effect was found for counselor disability status. Counselors without a disability received consistently higher ratings. There was n o effect for counselor reputation, and no interaction was found betwee n disability status and reputation. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed.