Therapeutic attraction as a function of therapist attire and office furnishings.

Eighty-two undergraduates viewed a simulated therapy segment presented on one of four videotapes identical except for contextual formality. Checks confirmed the validity of the four conditions created by varying the traditionalism of the therapist's attire and office. Ratings of attraction were independent of therapist attire, reinforcing findings of interview analogues that did not include a manipulation check or a professional therapist. Subjects' impressions were also largely unaffected by the office arrangements, reaffirming one analogue outcome and clarifying a discrepant finding from a possibly unrepresentative analogue. The data refute formulations that assign therapist accoutrements a major role in priming nonspecific psychotherapeutic effects.