The relationship among expectations about counseling and aspects of personality

Students' (N = 109) expectations about counseling and aspects of their personalities were investigated. The two separate aspects of personality examined in this study were personality traits and cognitive schemes. Expectations about counseling were assessed using Tinsley's (1982) Expectations About Counseling-Brief (EAC-B) Questionnaire. Expectations categories are Personal Commitment, Facilitative Conditions, Counselor Expertise, and Nurturance. The personality traits of Extroversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness (Costa & McCrae, 1985) were considered. The cognitive schemes examined in this study were Disconnection, Overconnection, Restricted Gratification, and Insufficient SelfControl. Unexpectedly, results indicated that specific patterns of personality traits and cognitive schemes were not related to the different categories of expectations about counseling. However, a set of personality traits and cognitive schemes was related to expectations in general about counseling. All four EAC-B factors were related to the personality trait of Agreeableness and to the cognitive schema of Restricted Gratification. The personality trait of Extraversion was also related to all EAC-B factors except for Personal Commitment. Therefore, expectations in general about counseling were associated with specific personality traits and cognitive schemes. A principal components analysis of this sample's responses provided some tentative evidence for a model of expectations about counseling which consisted of two EAC-B factors, instead of Tinsiey's (1982) four factors.