Employment and Rehabilitation Counselors Characterize one another Using Stereotypes

Thirty employment counselors appraised personal and job‐related attributes of rehabilitation counselors using a 67‐item semantic differential stereotype scale. Thirty rehabilitation counselors rated themselves and also how they believed employment counselors would rate rehabilitation counselors on the same scale. The rehabilitation counselors' self‐ratings revealed a generally positive self‐portrait; however, the self‐ratings, when compared to how they believed employment counselors perceived rehabilitation counselors, yielded statistically significant negative relationships on 60 scales. Comparison of perceived versus actual ratings of rehabilitation counselors by employment counselors showed statistically different ratings on 49 scales, all in a positive direction. That employment counselors perceived rehabilitation counselors much more positively than the latter expected helps explain why placement functions and team cooperation are limited among these professionals, and should therefore be increased. 1981 American Counseling Association