Date of Award

1999

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

This study examined whether there were significant differences between male and female counselors-in-training (CITs), at three levels of supervised training experience in preference for supervisor characteristics of attractiveness, expertness, or trustworthiness. The Supervisor Rating Form (Heppner & Handley, 1982), renamed the Supervisor Preference Form for the current study, was used to assess these three dimensions. Participants in the study consisted of 70 females and 28 males who met the inclusion criteria of enrollment in a CACREP-accredited Master's or APA-accredited doctoral program in counselingPsychology, or were interns from an accredited program in an APA-accredited internship. The participants were divided into level of experience groups by their self-reported number of semesters of supervised training experience. The groups were designated low (0–3 semesters), medium (4–6 semesters), and high (7–17 semesters) to approximate Master's, Doctoral, or Intern level experiences. Results indicated a MANOVA main effect for expertness between the low and medium groups; the low experience group indicated they would prefer an expert supervisor. The other experience group comparisons revealed no significant differences. These results were consistent with previous research supportive of the developmental theories of supervision. These findings were also consistent with the most recent conceptualization of Stoltenberg, McNeill, and Delworth (1998) of CIT development and have implications for matching supervisory style to CIT level of experience in order to increase the effectiveness of supervision. Conclusions and implications for the absence of gender differences or interaction of gender and experience for preference of supervisor characteristics were also discussed.

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