title: The effects of feedback self-consistency, therapist status, and attitude toward therapy on reaction to personality feedback.
abstract: Individuals' reactions to interpersonal feedback may depend on characteristics of the feedback and the feedback source. The present authors examined the effects of experimentally manipulated personality feedback that they--in the guise of therapists--e-mailed to participants on the degree of their acceptance of the feedback. Consistent with Self-Verification Theory (W. B. Swann Jr., 1987), participants accepted feedback that was consistent with their self-views more readily than they did feedback that was inconsistent with their self-views. Furthermore, the authors found main effects for therapist's status and participant's attitude toward therapy. Significant interactions showed effects in which high-status therapists and positive client attitudes increased acceptance of self-inconsistent feedback, effects that were only partially mediated by clients' perceptions of therapist competence. The present results indicate the possibility that participants may be susceptible to self-concept change or to self-fulfilling prophecy effects in therapy when they have a positive attitude toward therapy or are working with a high-status therapist.
authors.affiliation: La Trobe University, School of Psychological Science, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Arthur A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Stukas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001290:Attitude; D002983:Clinical Competence; D030141:Feedback, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012649:Self Concept; D012938:Social Perception