Effects of profanity,touch, and sex of the counselor on perceptions of the counselor and behavioral compliance: Implications for rational-emotive therapists

The present study investigated the effects of profanity, touch, and sex of the counselor on perceptions of the counselor and on behavioral compliance. Ninety six undergraduate psychology students attended a self help presentation on principles of mental health, according to rational-emotive theory. At the end of each presentation the counselor recommended that the subject pick up a book request card (initial compliance) and mail it away (delayed compliance) in order to receive a free copy ofA New Guide To Rational Living. The subjects were also asked to rate their preceptions of the counselor on the dimensions of expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness. The results indicated that the use of profanity led to significantly lower perceptions of trustworthiness and a significantly lower level of delayed compliance. Female counselors were rated as more expert, attractive, and trustworthy as compared with male counselors. There was no effect of touch on any of the dependent measures. Implications of these findings for the rational emotive therapist are discussed.This study is based upon a doctoral dissertation completed by the first author, under the direction of the second author.We would like to thank Jean Cirillo who prepared an initial version of the rational emotive, mental health lecture used in this study.Mindy Phillips Ph.D. is a school psychologist in the Farmingdale, N.Y. public schools. She completed her doctoral degree, including her training in RET, at Hofstra University.Howard Kassinove, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology and Director for Clinical Psychology at Hofstra University in New York. He is a Fellow of the Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy and holds the ABPP diploma in Clinical Psychology.