THE EFFECTS OF COUNSELOR CLOTHING UPON COLLEGE STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF COUNSELOR CORE DIMENSIONS AND WILLINGNESS TO DISCUSS VARIOUS CONCERNS

The major purpose of this study was to determine whether counselors' clothing would significantly affect college students' perceptions of counselor core dimensions and students' willingness to discuss academic, career and personal concerns. Another purpose was to determine if the sex of the student and the sex of the counselor were significantly related to the students' perceptions of counselor core dimensions and students' willingness to discuss concerns.; The subjects consisted of 58 female and 53 male undergraduate students at the University of North Dakota. A 2 x 5 x 2 (sex of student x form of clothing x sex of counselor) factorial design was employed. Subjects viewed photographs of counselors in various clothing and rated the dependent variables, core dimensions and willingness to discuss concerns, on a series of semantic differential scales.; Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance, univariate analysis of variance and Duncan's Multiple Range Test. The .05 level was used to evaluate significance.; Sex of student significantly affected student perceptions of counselor positive regard and empathy. Female students perceived counselors as possessing more positive regard and empathy than did male students. Sex of counselor also affected student perceptions of positive regard and concreteness. Male counselors were viewed as possessing more positive regard than female counselors while female counselors were perceived as more concrete than their male counterparts.; Form of counselor dress significantly affected ratings of all four core dimensions. Since form of counselor dress interacted significantly with sex of counselor, its effects were reported with respect to this interaction. While students were capable of differentiating among various clothing forms certain forms tended to elicit rather stable response patterns. Student ratings revealed that a male counselor clothed in "young, casual, comfortable" attire conveyed the highest degree of each core dimension with the female counselor in "very casual" clothing communicating a comparable level on the core dimensions. Students were most willing to discuss concerns with a male or female counselor in "young, casual, comfortable" attire.; The results indicated that perception of counselor clothing many be more complex than previously thought. This called into question the number and types of clothing forms employed in past research. Comparison with previous literature indicated that client perceptions of counselor clothing may be dependent upon the setting in which the counselor is employed. Based upon this analog study, practicing counselors may need to be more attuned to appearance as clothing does affect students' perceptions of core dimensions and their willingness to discuss concerns.