NCJ Number
48874
Journal
Journal of Counseling Psychology Volume: 9 Issue: 6 Dated: (NOVEMBER 1972) Pages: 537-541
Date Published
1972
Length
5 pages
Annotation
TO ELUCIDATE SOME DIMENSIONS OF PERCEIVED TRUSTWORTHINESS AMONG BLACK AND WHITE INMATES, 18 BLACK AND 18 WHITE INMATES WERE ASKED TO RATE INTERVIEWER TRUSTWORTHINESS FOR 12 VIDEOTAPED PORTRAYALS OF INTERVIEW SITUATIONS.
Abstract
INMATE GROUPS WERE MALE AND MATCHED FOR AGE AND IQ (INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT). HALF OF THE SUBJECTS WERE PRESENTED WITH WRITTEN DEFINITIONS OF TRUSTWORTHINESS AND UNTRUSTWORTHINESS, WHILE HALF WERE NOT. VIDEOTAPES CONSISTED OF THREE SCENES. FOR EACH, VERBAL CONTENT (C) AND/OR NONVERBAL CONTENT -- MANNERISMS -- (M) WERE EITHER TRUSTWORTHY (T) OR UNTRUSTWORTHY (U), SUCH THAT FOUR COMBINATIONS WERE POSSIBLE: TCTM, TCUM, UCTM, UCUM. INMATES WERE ASKED TO RATE EACH PORTRAYAL ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 8 IN WHICH 1 WAS EXTREME UNTRUSTWORTHINESS. NEITHER RACE NOR THE PRESENCE/ABSENCE OF DEFINITIONS, ALONE OR IN COMBINATION, WERE SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO PERCEIVED TRUSTWORTHINESS. TCTM SCENES RECEIVED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER RATINGS THAN ANY OTHER COMBINATION. NEXT HIGHEST RATINGS WERE GIVEN TO UCTM SCENES, AND THESE RATINGS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THOSE FOR THE TCUM AND UCUM SCENES RESPECTIVELY. ALTHOUGH DEFINITION FAILED TO AFFECT RATINGS AS REPORTED IN A PREVIOUS STUDY, OTHER FINDINGS REPLICATE THOSE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED. THE HIGHER RATINGS GIVEN THE UCTM AS COMPARED TO THE TCUM COMBINATION SUGGEST THAT WHEN VERBAL CONTENT AND MANNERISM PROJECT DISCREPANT MESSAGES, MANNERISM IS A MORE IMPORTANT DETERMINANT OF PERCEIVED TRUSTWORTHINESS. THE NONSIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN TCUM AND UCUM RATINGS AGAIN INDICATE THAT TRUSTWORTHY CONTENT ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH TO RAISE PERCEIVED TRUSTWORTHINESS WHEN VERBAL BEHAVIOR IS DISCREPANT. IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELORS AND INTERVIEWERS ARE BRIEFLY DISCUSSED. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (JAP)