TELEVISED MODELLING AND STRATEGIC KNOWLEDGE TRAINING IN BEHAVIORAL CONSULTATION INTERVIEWING

Abstract

A program for the training of graduate student consultants in behavioral interviewing skills is presented. The initial interview of behavioral consultation, problem identification, was taught. The training program involved a videotape interview between a consultant and consultee in which appropriate verbalizations specific to the problem identification interview were modeled and/or specific problem identification objectives were narrated. Sixty graduate student consultants were trained using either or both of these techniques. The consultants later had the opportunity to role-play a problem identification interview to demonstrate the consultation skills acquired through observation of the modeling and/or the narrated instructions. This role-played interview was audio-recorded and the verbalized statements coded on the Consultation Analysis Record, a technique in which independent verbalized statements are coded on four categories. These coded statements were statistically analyzed in order to determine the effectiveness of the training program in training the problem identification interview. The training program was evaluated using a multivariate analysis of variance design. Results of the study indicated that verbal skills specific to problem identification interview were acquired when modeled training alone was used. No skills acquisition resulted in the instruction only or the modeling plus instruction training conditions. The implications of this study for the training of psychologists in behavioral consultation are discussed. This investigation lent support for the use of modeling as a training technique and the Consultation Analysis Record as a systematic method of the behavioral assessment of interviewing skills.