The relationship between dogmatism and ability in facilitative communication of counselor trainees

This study was conducted to provide an answer to the following question: Is dogmatism inversely related to ability in facilitative communication of counselor trainees? This question was generated from a review of related literature which suggests that dogmatism and other indices of psychological openness-closedness are related to various indices of counseling effectiveness. The definition of counseling effectiveness adopted in this study was ability in facilitative communication. A review of research findings which suggest that client improvement is related to counselor ability in facilitative communication provided support for such a definition. Age, sex, race, religious affiliation, number of graduate hours in counselor training, and specific counselor training program, were included in this study as covariates, to control for their effects upon the relationship between dogmatism and ability in facilitative communication. It was hypothesized that dogmatism is inversely related to ability in facilitative communication, when the effects of specific counselor training program, number of graduate hours in counseling, age, sex, race, and religious affiliation are controlled. The subjects were 215 Master degree candidates majoring in guidance and counseling at three southwestern universities. Dogmatism was measured by the Opinion Scale, and ability in facilitative communication was determined by application of the Gross Rating of Facilitative Interpersonal Functioning Scale (GRFIF) to written responses of subjects to 16 audiotaped client stimulus statements. Opinion Scales were computer scored and yielded a dogmatism score for each of the subjects, and GRFIF scores were determined by a rating procedure using two trained raters. Multiple regression and partial correlation techniques were used to test the hypothesis, and the results supported the hypothesis. Dogmatism made a significant incremental contribution to the prediction of GRFIF scores, after the influence of the covariates had been taken into account. Controlling for the effects of age, sex, race, religious affiliation, number of graduate hours in counseling, and counseling program, the obtained partial correlation between dogmatism and ability in facilitative communication was statistically significant. Number of graduate hours in counselor training was also found to be a strong predictor of ability in facilitative communication. Though number of hours was found to be significantly related to both ability in facilitative communication (positively correlated) and dogmatism (negatively correlated), it was not found to significantly affect the relationship between these two variables . The results of this study provided support for the contention that dogmatism is inversely related to ability in facilitative communication. The implications of this study for counselor selection, education and supervision were discussed. Recommendations were made to include assessments of the dogmatism of prospective counselor trainees in the selection process, and to develop educational and supervisory strategies that have some promise in reducing the dogmatism of counselor trainees. Several recommendations were made for future research, including a longitudinal study to determine how dogmatism and ability in facilitative communication are influenced by advancement in graduate hours in counselor preparation programs. In conclusion, the relevance of this study to those charged with preparing individuals for a variety of helping roles was underscored.