Gender and credibility introduction effects on perceived counselor characteristics

Explored the effects of counselor gender, participant gender, and high or low credibility introduction on 8th graders' perceptions of counselor expertness, attractiveness, trustworthiness, and confidence in the counselor. 240 male and female Ss listened to an audiotape of a high or low credibility introduction and to a counseling session with a male or female counselor and then completed a modified Counselor Rating Form and the Help with Specific Problems Scale. Multivariate and univariate ANOVAs yielded significant main effects for Participant Gender and Credibility Introduction and a significant interaction effect for Counselor Gender × Credibility Introduction. Results are compared with studies of adult Ss, and a new scheme for classifying types of credibility cues is proposed. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).