A Moderation Analysis of the Influence of Therapist’s Self-Disclosure on the Real Relationship within the Attachment Framework
Faculty Mentor
Lisa Samstag
Major/Area of Research
Psychology
Description
INTRODUCTION: This analogue experiment examined how therapist self-disclosure (TSD) shapes observers’ perceptions of the real relationship (RR) in psychotherapy, and whether attachment insecurity moderates this effect.
METHOD: A sample of 323 emerging adults (18-29) with prior therapy experience, approximately half identifying as Black, were randomly assigned to view one of two 10-minute rupture-repair therapy clips. Clips were identical in context and number of disclosures, varying only in disclosure type: immediate disclosures (intratherapy disclosures) consistent with Alliance-Focused Training versus non-immediate disclosures (extratherapy disclosures). Participants also completed the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR) and the Real Relationship Inventory Observer Form (RR-O).
RESULTS: Disclosure type predicted RR-O such that participants who viewed non-immediate disclosures reported higher RR ratings than those who viewed immediate disclosures. In addition, attachment avoidance emerged as a strong predictor of RR-O across conditions, but did not interact with disclosure type, whereas attachment anxiety neither predicted RR nor interacted with disclosure type. Race also predicted RR-O, with Black participants rating the therapist as more genuine and real than White participants, independent of disclosure condition.
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that immediate disclosures may require contextual familiarity to be experienced as authentic in analogue settings, that avoidant attachment dampens perceptions of therapist genuineness regardless of technique, and that cultural context meaningfully shapes how therapist openness is evaluated.
A Moderation Analysis of the Influence of Therapist’s Self-Disclosure on the Real Relationship within the Attachment Framework
INTRODUCTION: This analogue experiment examined how therapist self-disclosure (TSD) shapes observers’ perceptions of the real relationship (RR) in psychotherapy, and whether attachment insecurity moderates this effect.
METHOD: A sample of 323 emerging adults (18-29) with prior therapy experience, approximately half identifying as Black, were randomly assigned to view one of two 10-minute rupture-repair therapy clips. Clips were identical in context and number of disclosures, varying only in disclosure type: immediate disclosures (intratherapy disclosures) consistent with Alliance-Focused Training versus non-immediate disclosures (extratherapy disclosures). Participants also completed the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR) and the Real Relationship Inventory Observer Form (RR-O).
RESULTS: Disclosure type predicted RR-O such that participants who viewed non-immediate disclosures reported higher RR ratings than those who viewed immediate disclosures. In addition, attachment avoidance emerged as a strong predictor of RR-O across conditions, but did not interact with disclosure type, whereas attachment anxiety neither predicted RR nor interacted with disclosure type. Race also predicted RR-O, with Black participants rating the therapist as more genuine and real than White participants, independent of disclosure condition.
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that immediate disclosures may require contextual familiarity to be experienced as authentic in analogue settings, that avoidant attachment dampens perceptions of therapist genuineness regardless of technique, and that cultural context meaningfully shapes how therapist openness is evaluated.