Abstracts of 2002 Award Winners' Papers:

Similarity and Attraction in the Diagnostic Process

Amberly R. Panepinto, M. A.
Miami University

Humanistic psychologists have led the critique of the DSM as injury to clients, but no humanistic study has provided data to support that the diagnostic process is one of impression formation. This study explored the relationship between similarity, attraction, and the process of making clinical decisions. Personal construct methodologies were employed to determine therapist-client similarity. Twenty therapists completed questionnaires regarding clinical evaluations after listening to 20 minutes of a taped therapy session. Perceived similarity was significantly correlated with attraction, prognosis, and therapeutic hope. Actual similarity was generally unrelated to clinical decisions. These results emphasize the importance of finding similarities with each client in order to increase attraction for clients and to see therapy as being more hopeful.