ANONYMITY,STRENGTH OF ATTITUDE,AND THE INFLUENCE OF PUBLIC OPINION POLLS

Subjects were given questionnaires asking their responses to six statements on public issues. On some of the issues subjects were highly committed to their own views, while other issues were selected for the subjects' lack of knowledge and commitment. Some subjects were asked to respond anonymously, and others were led to believe that their responses would be made public. Each questionnaire contained a bogus distribution of responses from students at the subjects’ university. Each statement of interest was supported by the bogus majority in one questionnaire form and rejected by it in the other form. Several types of conformity were considered. For the low-commitment issues, subjects were influenced in the direction of the bogus consensus. For the high-commitment issues, the bogus consensus had no significant effect. Implications for understanding the effect of polls on public opinion are discussed.     

Simulating Culture Shock in Counselor Trainees: An Experiential Exercise for Cross-Cultural Training

The authors describe a bipartite learning exercise designed to increase counselor trainees' sensitivity to cultural differences. The exercise emphasizes extending traditional, cognitive-focused multicultural training to include actual interactions with culturally diverse persons. A 2- month follow-up evaluation indicated that trainees viewed the learning exercise as valuable. Suggestions are made for infusing similar experientially based exercises into diverse counseling courses.     

Counselors,confidences, and the civil liberties of clients

Counselors can and do injure counselees by prying improperly into private matters, by passing information along without the counselees' informed consent, and by using privileged information as a basis for recommendations to others. The danger is especially great where counselors work within organizations, and even greater when their clients are fellow members. Safeguards against this danger would appear to take an uncounselorlike form. Although counselors are not usually sympathetic to a legalistic approach, it is from our constitutional traditions that we can best deduce the kinds of protection that we need.     

Counseling puerto ri cans: some cultural considerations

Puerto Ricans comprise a significant percentage of potential clients for many counselors. The migration of Puerto Ricans to the mainland over the years has created cultural differences between Puerto Ricans raised in Puerto Rico and those raised in the U.S., but both groups are at a disadvantage in the dominant American culture. Migration back to the island in recent years is creating some problems for Puerto Rico, so Puerto Ricans often find prejudice both here and there. In this article the author, who married into a Puerto Rican family, discusses some values and traits that characterize Puerto Ricans and the behaviors that emerge from these traits. He offers practical suggestions for those counselors who have Puerto Rican clients.     

A Story about the Counselors in the Land of Help

Licensure is an issue of interest to many counselors. In some ways, however, the issue of licensure seems to be unresolved among them; in other words, some counselors want licensure, some don't, and others really don't seem to care one way or the other. This article recounts what happened to the counselors in the Land of Help when they were confronted with licensure and what they were able to do about it.