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Abstrakt
This study was designed to determine if dress style of a school psychologist consultant affects ratings given to that consultant by consultees. Subjects were 109 female elementary education teachers. Subjects viewed one of six videotapes of a consultation session. In three videotapes a female consultant was attired in professional, unprofessional and inappropriate attire, respectively and in the other three videotapes a male consultant was dressed in similar fashions. Subjects rated consultant effectiveness on the Consultant Observational Assessment Form (COAF). A factor analysis of the COAF indicated that the scale measures five consultant variables: (a) Interpersonal Skill, (b) Information Gathering Skill, (c) Concern for Consultee Feelings, (d) Clarification of Communication, and (e) Designating Responsibility for Follow-Up. An analysis of variance was performed on each of the five factors. No significant results were found, indicating that dress style did not affect ratings of consultants by consultees. Of interest was the finding that items added to the scale to determine the validity of the dress style manipulation resulted in significant differences between dress styles. Therefore, subjects noted the difference in consultant dress style but did not use this variable in rating the consultant. Several hypotheses are offered to explain why this variable had a negligible effect on consultee ratings of consultants.
