ERIC Number: EJ684885
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Oct
Pages: 10
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0167
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Effect of Therapist Color-Blindness on Empathy and Attributions in Cross-Cultural Counseling
Burkard, Alan W.; Knox, Sarah
Journal of Counseling Psychology, v51 n4 p387-397 Oct 2004
Empathy and attributions of client responsibility for the cause of and solution to a problem were examined for 247 psychologists who were identified as having low, moderate, and high color-blind racial attitudes. Participants responded to 1 of 4 vignettes that controlled for client race (i.e., African American, European American) and client attributions regarding the cause (i.e., depression, discrimination) of a problem. Analyses revealed that the therapists' level of color-blindness was directly related to their capacity for empathy and also to their attributions of responsibility for the solution to the problem with an African American client but not with a European American client. No relationship was found between therapist color-blindness and attributions of responsibility for cause of the problem. Implications of these results for counseling practice, training, and research are discussed.
Descriptors: Race, Psychologists, Racial Attitudes, Empathy, Depression (Psychology), Attribution Theory, Counselor Client Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A