THE EFFECTS OF ADVISING RACE AND SEX PAIRINGS AND SELF-DISCLOSURE ON ADVISEE\u27S WILLINGNESS TO SELF-DISCLOSE USING PHOTOGRAPHIC STIMULI

This research investigated the effects of advising race and sex pairings and advisor self-disclosure on students\u27 willingness to self-disclose using photographic stimuli. Academic advising may be described as a faculty-student interaction in which students are assisted in planning and evaluating their educational endeavors. Self-disclosure may be defined as the verbal presentation of aspects of oneself to others (Taylor, 1979) and is believed to be a reciprocal phenomenon. Intimate self-disclosure is thought to be inversely related to stages of relationship such that it is believed to peak during the middle stages of a relationship and occur least at the early or late stages where commitment is lowest. One hundred seventy-four black and white undergraduate students attending an urban, midwestern university participated in this study. Students were randomly assigned to one of eight conditions and were asked to read and view a photograph and narrative description of a potential advisor. Later, students were asked to complete a 50-item self-disclosure scale which assessed their willingness to discuss certain topics with the portrayed advisor and then to indicate their desire for an interview with that person. A three-way factorial analysis of variance was performed utilizing race match, sex match, and advisor disclosure level as independent variables and willingness to disclose, nonintimate disclosure, and desire for an interview as dependent variables. ANOVA revealed no main effect for race nor sex nor any significant differences on any of the dependent measures. There was no main effect for advisor disclosure level nor any significant interactions on race and sex matches and advisor disclosure level on any of the dependent measures. This study suggests a need to examine fully the self-disclosure process which may accompany academic advising relationships. The implications of this study may help improve advisors\u27 skills and may give clues to students\u27 academic and personal developmental needs