An Analysis of Consultee Verbal Responses to Structured Consultant Questions

Abstract

Consultation is mostly a matter of verbal exchange between a consultant and a consultee (Bergan, 1977). The present study examined the relationship between the content of consultant questions and the content of consultee responses to these questions. Consultants for this study were 24 graduate students who asked a total of 318 adult consultees specific questions about clients. When asked questions about a client's background environment, individual characteristics, behavior problems, events surrounding problem behaviors, or plans to deal with problem behaviors, the content of the consultee's responses tended to match the content of the consultant's questions. The results showed that consultants have a large degree of influence over consultee's verbalizations. Thus, the consultant is able to exert extensive influence over the process, content, and time required for consultation.