Effect of Experimentally Induced Sets of High and Low ‘Expertness' During Brief Vocational Counseling

Abstract

A study was designed to evaluate the effects of an experimentally induced set of “expertness” on clients' evaluations of their selected experiences during brief vocational counseling. Thirty‐one college freshman males were randomly assigned to two induced sets of high and low expertness, and client responses to both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the interview were obtained. The results suggested that (a) clients responded more favorably to relationship aspects of the interview with a counselor who was introduced as a nonexpert than with a counselor who was introduced as an expert, (b) informational recall was greater for clients interviewed by the expert counselor, and (c) global ratings of counselor effectiveness did not differentiate between expert and nonexpert counselors. Implications for counselor training and counselor practice are discussed.