Effects of Self-Observation and Self-as-a-Model on Counselor Trainees' Anxiety and Self-Evaluations

Seventeen counselor trainees were videotaped while conducting a practice session with a trained client. Subsequently, the students were randomly assigned to one of two groups and observed either a self-observation (unedited) or self-modeling (edited to include appropriate behaviors only) eight-minute portion of this videotape. Results indicated subjects in the self-modeling group experienced significantly less physiological and experiential anxiety and were less preoccupied with how their performance was being evaluated than those subjects in the self-observation group. There were no differences, however, between the groups on self-evaluations of performance and impact of observation. Implications for the use of video feedback in training programs are discussed as well as limitations of the study.