EFFECTS OF COUNSELOR AS AUDIENCE ON INTERNALIZATION OF DEPRESSED AND NONDEPRESSED SELF-PRESENTATIONS

An application of self-presentation theory in an analog counseling intake context is reported. Undergraduates (90 male and 85 female) presented themselves as either depressed or nondepressed clients for a videotaped interview. They were told either before or after their self-presentations that a group of either counseling psychologists or General Psychology students would view their taped session. Results revealed that subjects' self-beliefs, in general, corresponded to their self-presentations: They were more depressed after a depressed presentation and less depressed after a nondepressed presentation. However, this internalization effect did not occur when subjects knew in advance that they would be presenting to a group of counseling psychologists.