Who’s to blame? Client Problems and the Causal Attributions Made by Counselors-in-training

Abstract

The researchers examined the relationship between cognitive complexity, attribution styles, and demographic variables of 86 counselors-in-training concerning the cause of and solution to clients' problems. A significant relationship was found between counselors' moral attribution styles and cognitive complexity levels. Differences were found in general preferences for specific attribution styles for the counselors studied as well as by training level. Implications of the findings for counselor preparation and training are discussed.