TY - JOUR
T1 - The effects of peripheral message cues on clinicians' judgments about clients' psychological status
AU - Brewer, Neil
AU - Barnes, John
AU - Sauer, James
PY - 2011/3
Y1 - 2011/3
N2 - This research examined the influence of peripheral message cues on clinicians' judgment about the psychological status of clients. The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of social persuasion suggests that peripheral message cues are likely to exert a greater influence on clinicians' judgments when a client's presentation meets some, but not all, diagnostic criteria for a disorder (i.e., when the presentation is ambiguous). Within this theoretical framework, we examined the effects of a peripheral message cue (level of irrelevant detail in the client's presentation) and presentation ambiguity on clinicians' judgments of need for treatment, illness severity, and distress. Consistent with predictions based on the ELM, for both obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder presentations, high levels of irrelevant detail exerted a greater influence on clinicians' judgments of clients' need for treatment when presentation ambiguity was high than when it was low.
AB - This research examined the influence of peripheral message cues on clinicians' judgment about the psychological status of clients. The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of social persuasion suggests that peripheral message cues are likely to exert a greater influence on clinicians' judgments when a client's presentation meets some, but not all, diagnostic criteria for a disorder (i.e., when the presentation is ambiguous). Within this theoretical framework, we examined the effects of a peripheral message cue (level of irrelevant detail in the client's presentation) and presentation ambiguity on clinicians' judgments of need for treatment, illness severity, and distress. Consistent with predictions based on the ELM, for both obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder presentations, high levels of irrelevant detail exerted a greater influence on clinicians' judgments of clients' need for treatment when presentation ambiguity was high than when it was low.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79951883404&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1348/014466510X494097
DO - 10.1348/014466510X494097
M3 - Article
SN - 0144-6657
VL - 50
SP - 67
EP - 83
JO - British Journal of Clinical Psychology
JF - British Journal of Clinical Psychology
IS - 1
ER -