Client perceptions of positive and negative therapist self-disclosure

To investigate two variables thought to influence client perceptions of therapist self-disclosure, an attempt to replicate and extend the study of Nilsson, Strassberg, and Bannon (1979) was performed. The primary variable was that of the valence of disclosure presented by the therapist. Three different types of disclosure were investigated: no disclosure, positive intrapersonal disclosure, and negative intrapersonal disclosure. The second variable considered was sex of subject. One hundred and thirty-eight subjects were solicited from undergraduate psychology courses at the University of Utah. Subjects participating in the study viewed a lO-minute videotape segment of a staged client/therapist interaction. The therapist presented one of the three types of disclosure described above. Subjects were then asked to evaluate the therapist on 16 personal and professional characteristics. Subjects also rated the likelihood of their disclosing to the therapist presented. The data were analyzed in a 3 x 2 multivariate analysis of variance (Disclosure by Sex of Subject). Univariate analyses of variance were considered only where multivariate Is were significant. The results indicated that the valence of disclosure significantly influenced the subjects' perceptions of the therapists. Positive intrapersonal disclosure elicited more positive evaluations than both the no disclosure and the negative intrapersonal disclosure conditions. No disclosure elicited more positive ratings than the negative intrapersonal disclosure. Subjects predicted greater likelihood of disclosure to positive-intrapersonally disclosing therapists than to nondisclosing therapists. Sex of Subject was significant, with female subjects rating therapists more positively than did male subjects. There were no significant effects for the Disclosure by Sex interactions. The theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed. iii