The effects of therapists' attractiveness and attributes on clients' inclination toward self-disclosure -- to wear makeup or not to wear makeup?

Abstract

Previous research suggests that more attractive therapists can encourage clients to disclose themselves more. On account of the halo effect, it can be conjectured that this relationship is mediated by other perceived attributes of therapists, such as their counselling competence and empathic understanding. Nonetheless, no study has been undertaken to examine this mediation effect. This study was therefore geared towards testing the indirect effect of therapists’ physical attractiveness on clients’ inclination towards self-disclosure via therapists’ core attributes. In addition, the application of cosmetic makeup, therapist age, and client sex were considered. A total of 129 young adults were recruited to complete the Therapist Attribute Inventory and Jourard Self-Disclosure Questionnaire based on one of the four photographs of female therapists with or without wearing makeup. The data was analysed using 7 PROCESS Macro models. The results indicate that positive ratings on perceived therapist attractiveness can be transferred to other therapist attributes, which in turn promote clients’ inclination towards self-disclosure. The application of cosmetics has an impact on this mediation effect, albeit being in an unexpected fashion. This has implications for whether therapists should wear makeup in a Hong Kong Chinese counselling setting and how it would affect clients’ self-disclosure.