Believing another likes or dislikes you: Behaviors making the beliefs come true.

Tested the idea that when target persons believe that a perceiver has a general negative evaluation of them, especially after a personal encounter, the targets would be unlikely to believe that the perceiver's behavior can be modified easily, resulting in an expectancy confirmation. This expectancy confirmation should occur regardless of the target's self-perceptions. 60 undergraduates participated in a 2 (expectancy [like or dislike])?×?2 (role [perceiver or target])?×?2 (self-likability [high or low]) factorial study. Results show that falsely leading Ss to believe that another liked or disliked them led Ss to be actually liked or disliked. Ss who believed they were liked after a personal encounter self-disclosed more, disagreed less, expressed dissimilarity less, and had a more positive tone of voice and general attitude than Ss who believed they were disliked. These behaviors led to reciprocal behaviors on the part of the other. No differences were obtained in number of conversations initiated, compliments, eye gaze, forward leaning, or placement of the chair. Being liked was also correlated with self-disclosure, expressions of similarity and dissimilarity, voice tone, and general attitude. Perceived self-likability was correlated with the belief that one was liked and tended to be correlated with actually being liked. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential recall as a function of mood disorder in clinically depressed patients: Between- and within-subject differences.

In Study 1, 23 depressed outpatients (aged over 60 yrs); 23 controls matched to the depressed group on age, sex, education, and SES; and 23 undergraduates rated trigrams as liked or disliked and were asked to recall a portion of these after a study period. Results show that depressed Ss recalled more trigrams they had disliked than ones they had liked. Both control groups had the opposite pattern, but undergraduates recalled significantly more trigrams than did older Ss. In Study 2, 20 of the 23 depressed Ss from Study 1 were administered different trigram packets at the middle and end of therapy using the same procedure. Results show that the change from a depressed to a nondepressed state across therapy correlated with a change from the superiority of disliked trigrams in the recall to a superiority of liked trigrams. It is suggested that this simple differential-recall procedure can be used as a moderate measure of the continuum of depression and success in therapy. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

State anxiety effects on counselor perceptions of dying stages.

Investigated the moderating effect of high and low anxiety on counselor perception of stages of dying. After completing the A-State scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, 31 college students (most of whom were graduate students) enrolled in a death and dying seminar observed a terminally ill speaker. At the completion of the presentation, Ss rated the presenter on denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, and hope. As hypothesized, results indicate that high-anxious Ss, when compared with low-anxious ones, perceived the speaker as more denying, more angry, less accepting, and less hopeful. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of speech style and sex of speaker on person perception.

R. T. Lakoff (1975) has suggested that men and women use different speech styles, with women's speech more polite but less assertive than men's. The assumption that 3 of Lakoff's linguistic variables (tag questions, qualifiers, and compound requests) affect person perception in these ways was tested. Sex of speaker was also varied. In Exp I, 80 undergraduates rated the assertiveness, warmth, and politeness of 2 male and 2 female speakers who used or did not use the 3 linguistic forms. All 3 "female" linguistic forms were rated less assertive than corresponding "male" forms; qualified speech and compound requests were rated warmer and compound requests more polite. Sex of speaker was a significant factor in only one possible comparison. These results were substantially replicated in Exp II, in which older and/or less educated women (32 18–58 yr olds) acted as judges. Findings suggest that Lakoff's intuitions concerning effects of speech styles on person perception are largely correct and that modification of speech styles could allow men and women to affect how they are perceived. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Communicative incompetence and the non-fluent bilingual.

Examined the evaluative reactions during a communication experiment with 32 male native speakers of English who had moderate but nonfluent speaking abilities in French. Ss had to speak to interlocutors in either English or French using either a casual or formal speech register. Results show that Ss evaluated their interlocutor less favorably when using their second language if the sociolinguistic demands of the communication situation required the use of a casual rather than a formal speech register. The reverse pattern was observed when Ss used their native language. Results are discussed in terms of self-perception theory and a communicative competence approach to 1st and 2nd language learning. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social behavior on interracial acceptance.

To test children's use of race and social behavior as cues in social acceptance, 128 Black and White male kindergartners and 1st graders rated 6 unknown videotaped target children for likability. Targets varied factorially on race (Black or White) and exhibited either positive, negative, or neutral classroom social behavior. Across age, socioeconomic status, and race, Ss used behavior as a cue, accounting for 50% of likability variance. Positive targets were liked equivalently, but Black neutral and negative targets were liked less than White counterparts. Racial but not socioeconomic status differences in the use of behaviors as social cues were found. Negative targets were liked more by Blacks than Whites and neutral targets were liked more by Whites than Blacks. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of source magnification of cognitive effort on attitudes: An information-processing view.

In Exp I 120 undergraduates viewed a videotape of 1 or 3 speakers presenting 1 or 3 arguments in favor of a counterattitudinal position. The 3-source/3-argument message produced significantly more persuasion than any of the other conditions, which did not differ from each other. It is suggested that each time a speaker appears, the recipient "gears up" to process the message and that if either speaker or argument is repeated, further thinking about the arguments is minimal. Exp II (30 Ss) excluded an alternative to this processing interpretation by showing that Ss exposed to the multiple-source/multiple-argument message did not infer that the pool of proproposal arguments was larger than that inferred by other Ss. In Exp III (100 Ss), Ss exposed to 3 compelling arguments purportedly produced by 3 different persons generated more positive thoughts and were more persuaded than Ss who read the same high quality arguments presumably generated by 1 person. However, Ss exposed to 3 weak arguments purportedly produced by 3 different persons generated more negative thoughts and were less persuaded than Ss who read the same low quality arguments attributed to 1 source. Overall, results indicate that increasing the number of sources of a message increases thinking about the message content. This increased thinking can result in either increased or decreased persuasion, depending on the cogency of the message arguments. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender, language, and influence.

Mixed- and same-sex dyads were observed to examine effects of gender composition on language and of language on gender differences in influence. Ss discussed a topic on which they disagreed. Women were more tentative than men, but only in mixed sex dyads. Women who spoke tentatively were more influential with men and less influential with women. Language had no effect on how influential men were. In a 2nd study, 120 Ss listened to an audiotape of identical persuasive messages presented either by a man or a woman, half of whom spoke tentatively. Female speakers who spoke tentatively were more influential with male Ss and less influential with female Ss than those who spoke assertively. Male speakers were equally influential in each condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Telling lies.

Men and women (20 each) were videotaped while describing someone they liked, someone they disliked, someone they were ambivalent about, someone they were indifferent about, someone they liked as though they disliked him or her, and someone they disliked as though they liked him or her. Accuracy at detecting that some deception had occurred was far greater than accuracy at detecting the true underlying affect, and Ss who were good at detecting that deception was occurring were not particularly skilled at reading the speakers' underlying affects. However, Ss whose deception attempts were more easily detected by others also had their underlying affects read more easily. Speakers whose lies were seen more readily by men also had their lies seen more readily by women, and observers better able to see the underlying affects of women were better able to see the underlying affects of men. Skill at lying successfully was unrelated to skill at catching others in their lies. A histrionic strategy (hamming) was very effective in deceiving others, and this strategy was employed more by more Machiavellian Ss, who also tended to get caught less often in their lies. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Talking to children, foreigners, and retarded adults.

Examined speech addressed to different categories of listeners in a study in which 80 undergraduate women taught a block design task to either a 5–7 yr old girl (n?=?6), a retarded adult (4 women, aged 20–33 yrs), a peer who spoke English as a 2nd language (4 adult women [foreigners]), or a peer who was an unimpaired native speaker of English (2 women undergraduates). Speech addressed to children differed from the speech addressed to native adults along every major dimension. It was clearer, simpler, more attention maintaining, and included longer pauses. Speech addressed to retarded adults was similar to speech addressed to 6-yr-olds. Speech to the retarded adults did differ in timing from the other styles of speaking in that it included fewer and somewhat shorter pauses. Speech addressed to foreigners was more repetitive than speech addressed to native speakers, but in all other ways it was similar. Results show that speakers fine-tuned their communications to the level of cognitive and linguistic sophistication of their listener. The hypothesis that baby talk (the speech addressed to children) is a prototypical special speech register from which other special registers are derived is discussed. (66 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sex role attitudes and similarity on men's rejection of male homosexuals.

Investigated 120 male undergraduates' reactions to homosexuals. Ss preselected on the basis of their profeminist, moderate, or antifeminist scores on the Attitude Toward Feminism Scale were assigned at random to 1 of 4 experimental conditions. Using a standard attraction paradigm design, Ss rated a bogus "partner," who was represented as either homosexual or heterosexual and as having attitudes either similar or dissimilar to theirs. Consistent with prediction, similar partners were liked more than dissimilar partners, and heterosexual partners were liked more than homosexuals. Homosexuals were seen as more dissimilar to the Ss in all conditions. Liberals were more accepting of homosexuals and dissimilar partners than were traditionals. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship between sex role attitudes and tolerance of dissimilarity. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Language structure in social interaction: Perceptions of direct and indirect speech acts and interactants who use them.

According to speech act theory (J. R. Searle, 1975), speech acts can be performed either directly or indirectly. It is argued that the appropriateness of this choice is affected by the process of face management and the relative status of the speaker and that the choice of how to perform speech acts will encode social information. In 2 experiments with 216 undergraduates, a written scenario format was used. In Exp I, Ss rated direct and indirect questions and replies as a function of the status of the target interactants and the extent to which the requested information was face threatening. Perceptions of the appropriateness of replies, but not the questions, varied as a function of face threat. The effects of status were in the predicted direction for both questions and replies, but they were significant only for the perceived politeness of questions. Ss in Exp II rated the scenario interactants and their relationships as a function of the use of direct and indirect replies and rated possible rejoinders to these replies. Inferences of status, liking, and closeness varied as a function of the reply type used, and indirect replies were more likely to be accepted than to be questioned when there was an obvious reason for their use (i.e., to manage face concerns). Overall findings provide evidence that interactional phenomena are encoded in language. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Listener responsiveness and the coordination of conversation.

To examine how feedback influences conversation, 76 speaker Ss (selected from a group of university moviegoers and students) watched a movie and then summarized it to 1 or 2 listeners. The listeners provided varying amounts of feedback to the speaker. When 2 listeners were present, one could influence the speaker through feedback and the other could only eavesdrop on the conversation. When speakers received more feedback, both listeners understood the movie better. Feedback individuated communication—the listener who provided the feedback understood the movie better than the eavesdropper who listened to the same conversation. In part, feedback produced these effects by coordinating what the speaker said with what the listener needed to know. Listener feedback signaled listeners' prior knowledge of the movie, and speakers talked most efficiently about those sections of the movie about which listeners had prior knowledge. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in evaluations of tobacco and alcohol advertisements.

Examined the relation between gender and reactions to different styles of advertising tobacco and alcohol products among 41 females and 34 males (aged 12–16 yrs) and their parents (39 mothers and 36 fathers). Self-monitoring was also examined as a possible correlate. Ss rated magazine advertisements oriented toward the product's image or qualities. Girls liked image-oriented advertisements more and perceived them to be more persuasive than quality-oriented advertising. This gender difference was not observed among adults. All Ss liked image-oriented more than quality-oriented advertising. Moreover, image-oriented advertisements were seen as more persuasive than quality-oriented advertisements by girls' parents who were high in self-monitoring. Results suggest that girls in early adolescence may be particularly attentive to image-oriented commercials that portray smoking and drinking as desirable behaviors. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of cultural collectivism on reward allocation.

Two studies, with 224 American and 240 Chinese university students, tested the idea that the collectivism of a culture leads to different styles of reward allocation with in- and out-group members. The 1st study used an out-group situation, in which Ss were led to believe that they worked with a partner whom they would not meet, to obtain a group reward. The collectivistic Chinese Ss were found to follow the equity norm more closely in dividing the group reward than the individualistic American Ss when pressure of social evaluation was removed. In the 2nd study, Ss read a scenario in which an allocator worked with either an in- or out-group member. The allocator had either a low or high input and used either the equity or equality norm to divide a group reward. Compared with American Ss, Chinese Ss liked an allocator who divided the group reward equally with an in-group member more and regarded such an allocation as fairer. When Ss were asked to assume that they were the allocator and to hypothetically divide the reward, Chinese Ss followed the equity norm more closely than did American Ss when the recipient was an out-group member or when the Ss' input was low. However, when Ss' input was high and the recipient was an in-group member, Chinese Ss followed the equality norm more than did American Ss. Findings are discussed in terms of the desire for maintaining group solidarity in a collectivist culture. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A different perspective on androgyny: Evaluations of masculine and feminine personality characteristics.

Hypothesized that androgynous Ss would be liked best and perceived as most adjusted (Exp I) and also be perceived to be as instrumental as masculine Ss and as expressive as feminine Ss (Exp II). 179 undergraduates served as Ss in Exp I and 160 undergraduates served in Exp II. Personal Attributes Questionnaires ostensibly filled out by others were the stimuli evaluated. These stimuli were constructed so that the stimulus persons (SPs) were classified as either androgynous, undifferentiated, masculine, or feminine. Male and female Ss evaluated the SPs on dimensions of likeability, adjustment, expressiveness, instrumentality, masculinity, and femininity. Results demonstrate that androgynous persons, regardless of gender, were liked best and perceived as most adjusted, whereas undifferentiated persons were liked least and perceived as least adjusted. Masculine and feminine persons, regardless of gender, were rated midway between androgynous and undifferentiated persons and generally were not evaluated differently on these dimensions. Evaluations of SPs on stereotypically gender-related dimensions revealed that androgynous persons were seen to be as highly instrumental as masculine persons and as highly expressive as feminine persons, but generally less masculine and feminine than sex-typed persons. Implications for self-fulfilling prophecies in social behavior are discussed. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)