Counselor power base, influence attempt, and behavior change in counseling

Abstract

Gave a 30-min individual interview to 48 college males, all of whom described themselves as "procrastinators." The interview explored current and historical difficulties stemming from Ss' procrastination, and ended with an interviewer attempt to influence Ss to take some specific action on the procrastination issue of greatest current concern. 8 experimental conditions were defined by (a) the 2 interviews, (b) "expert" or "referent" roles, and (c) delivery of influence attempt in a manner congruent with the "expert" or "referent" power base. Results show that (a) Ss perceived interviewers as intended, (b) Ss were induced to perform important behaviors outside the interview situation, (c) the expert and referent power bases were not differentially effective in inducing S compliance, and (d) the frequency of differential conformity in the power-congruent vs power-incongruent conditions approached statistical significance. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1973 American Psychological Association.