Explanations for visual cue primacy in judgments of honesty and deceit.

Examined the validity of the distraction hypothesis (Maier & Thurber, 1968). Ss were undergraduate students who watched a videotaped interview and rated the veracity of an actress who played the role of a college student. Study 1 disconfirmed the distraction hypothesis. Ss relied on nonverbal cues to make judgments of veracity, but the presence of nonverbal cues did not distract Ss from processing verbal content. Study 2 tested an alternate explanation, the situational familiarity hypothesis. Study 2 found that judgments in familiar situations were influenced primarily by verbal content cues, whereas those in unfamiliar situations were influenced by both verbal and nonverbal cues. Findings indicate that situational factors influence information processing and affect the relative importance of verbal and nonverbal cues in judgments of veracity. Generalizability of prior deception research is questioned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do people do what they say? Further studies on the situational interview.

In Study 1, an interview consisting of 20 situational questions plus 5 past-experience questions was administered to 29 female clerical workers who had worked for the company an average of 6 yrs, and responses were correlated to the observations of supervisors and peers collected by means of an on-the-job appraisal instrument. S responses and appraisals correlated significantly; however, no relationship was found between what Ss said they had done in the past and current appraisals. In Study 2, the predictive validity of the situational interview with 157 entry-level employees (mean age 28.51 yrs) was tested by comparing interview ratings with performance appraisals 3 yrs later. Results show a significant relationship but, since hired Ss performed no differently than the 192 Ss (mean age 29.76 yrs) who were not hired on the situational interview, it had no practical significance. A follow-up study with 29 of the hired Ss who were reinterviewed showed that the original interviewers had not used the situational interview correctly. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude accessibility as a moderator of autonomic reactivity during decision making.

Attitude functionality was assessed in 2 experiments examining attitude accessibility as a moderator of physiological responses during decision making. In Study 1, experimental Ss but not controls rehearsed attitudes toward novel objects (abstract paintings). Subsequently, all Ss made rapid preference judgments for pairs of the paintings. In Study 2, attitudes were rehearsed by all Ss toward 1 of 2 mutually exclusive sets of abstract paintings. During the subsequent decision-making task, half the Ss made rapid pairwise preference judgments for rehearsed abstract paintings and half for pairs from the unrehearsed set. Autonomic measures were recorded continuously throughout both experiments. As predicted, in both experiments less autonomic reactivity was evident during the criterion pairwise preference task for groups for whom attitude rehearsal was relevant to the criterion task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The utility of theories in intuitive statistics: The robustness of theory-based judgments.

Research on human judgment demonstrates that people's theories often bias their evaluation of evidence and suggests that people might be more accurate if they were unbiased by prior beliefs. In 2 studies using the covariation estimation problem and the t-test problem, judgments made by Ss who had potentially biasing prior information about data were compared to those made by Ss who were not biased by prior information. 265 undergraduates served as Ss in Study 1; 201 undergraduates were Ss in Study 2. The quality of the data was varied to present Ss with data that were either well-behaved or contaminated with outliers. In both studies, Ss' judgments approximated robust statistical measures rather than the conventional measures typically used as normative criteria. The usual biasing effects of prior beliefs were found, along with an advantage for Ss who had prior theories—even incorrect ones—over Ss who were completely "objective." Potentially biasing beliefs both enhanced Ss' sensitivity to the bulk of the data and reduced the influence atypical scores had on their estimates. Evidence is provided that this robustness results from the fact that prior theories make judgment problems more meaningful. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of construal processes in overconfident predictions about the self and others.

Overconfident behavioral predictions and trait inferences may occur because people make inadequate allowance for the uncertainties of situational construal. In Studies 1–3, Ss estimated how much time or money they would spend in various hypothetical, incompletely specified situations. Ss then offered associated "confidence limits" under different "construal conditions." In Study 4, Ss made trait inferences about someone they believed had responded "deviantly," again with situational details unspecified and construal conditions manipulated. In all 4 studies, Ss who made predictions or trait inferences without being able to assume the accuracy of their situational construals offered confidence limits no broader than those of Ss who made their responses contingent on such accuracy. Only in conditions where Ss were obliged to offer alternative construals did they appropriately broaden their confidence limits or weaken their trait inferences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental changes in concept utilization among normal and retarded children.

Examined the concepts employed by 100 normal children in kindergarten-Grade 4 (Study 1), and by 48 retarded vs 48 normal children matched for mental ages ranging from 5 to 11 yrs (Study 2). Ss were required to select pairs of pictures from a large array of pictures depicting common objects and to explain the basis for their pairing responses. Factor analysis of the conceptual responses of normal Ss revealed factors for abstraction (nominal and functional concepts as opposed to perceptible concepts) and complimentarity ("go together" responses as opposed to similarity responses). Retarded Ss differed from normals primarily in their use of more complimentary and fewer similarity concepts. The developmental course of concept utilization for normals was characterized as a change from perceptible to nominal and functional concepts, while that for retarded Ss was characterized as a change from complimentary to similarity concepts. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation to control one's environment in individuals with obsessive–compulsive, depressive, and normal personality traits.

Investigated whether 60 undergraduates, divided equally among sexes and individuals with obsessive-compulsive, depressive, and normal personality styles (as determined by a test battery), were motivated for control and what dispositional and situational factors affect this motivation. Ss were given different levels of information about how to exercise control in an effective manner. Motivation for control was assessed by performance on a task in which the level of performance determined whether S obtained control over an outcome. Feelings of self-efficacy were measured on a 7-point scale. Results show that all groups were motivated for control that could not be accounted for by the variance attributable to feelings of self-efficacy (expectancy of gaining a good outcome by having personal control). Although feelings of self-efficacy were influenced by the level of information provided, for most Ss the motivation for control was not affected. Obsessive-compulsive males, however, were motivated for control only when a higher level of information was provided. The expected effects of personality style were not obtained, and it is concluded that the hypotheses about the relationship between personality and motivation for control need to be reconsidered. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Awareness of social comparison interest and motivations: A developmental study.

Two studies conceptualized interest in social comparison as motivated by situational factors. 200 Ss from 1st, 4th, and 12th grades and college evaluated the social comparison interest of a same-sex, same-age story character working on a task near a coacting peer. Factors relevant to a classroom environment (presence or absence of an objective criterion of ability evaluation and level of competition) were varied in a within-Ss (Study 1) and a between-Ss (Study 2) design. In Study 1, Ss differentially rated the level of social comparison interest among several of the conditions, while in Study 2, the expected effects of the situational variables did not emerge. Additional findings indicate developmental changes in judged motivations toward social comparison behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual construct accessibility and subjective impressions and recall.

In the 1st session of each of 2 studies, 48 undergraduates' accessible traits were elicited by asking them to list the characteristics of different people, with accessibility defined as frequency of output (Study 1) or primacy of output (Study 2). In the 2nd session, held 1 or 2 wks later, Ss read an essay describing the behaviors of a target person. The essay contained both accessible and inaccessible trait-related information for each S, with different traits being accessible or inaccessible for different Ss. Both studies found that Ss deleted significantly more inaccessible than accessible trait-related information in their impressions and reproductions of the target information. This effect on impressions and reproductions was evident 2 wks after exposure to the target information. Implications of this approach for personality differences, interpersonal conflict and attraction, similarity of self and other judgments, and therapeutic intervention are discussed. (55 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal focus and estimates of consensus: An examination of the false-consensus effect.

Examined one of the underlying mechanisms—people's causal attributions for their own behavior—of the "false-consensus effect" (the tendency to overestimate the commonness of one's own attitudes and behavior). It was hypothesized that when people view their responses as the result of external influences, they overestimate the commonness of those responses; when they see their behavior as stemming from their own personal characteristics or experiences, they make more unbiased estimates of consensus. Study 1 tested this notion by having 109 undergraduates make hypothetical behavioral choices and then manipulating their explanations for their choices. As predicted, Ss who were led to cite personal reasons for their choices made lower consensus estimates than Ss who either were led to cite situational reasons or were unconstrained in their explanations. This causal-focus manipulation also had significant effects on Ss' trait ratings of the kind of person who would choose each alternative. Study 2, with 20 undergraduates, extended these results by finding a significant correlation between the extent to which people perceive a false consensus for various issues and the extent to which those issues prompt situational explanations for one's responses. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality effects on children's speech in everyday life: Sociability-mediated exposure and shyness-mediated reactivity to social situations.

Speech and heart rate were continuously monitored during 7 days from morning to evening in 41 Grade 2 children selected for high or low parental judgments of sociability and shyness. Ss attended school in the mornings and were free in the afternoons; the child's social situations in the afternoon were reconstructed with the child and a caretaker. During the afternoons sociable Ss spent more time in conversations than unsociable Ss, but the groups did not differ in their verbal participation within conversations. Shy Ss spent as much time in conversations and spoke as much in familiar situations as nonshy children but spoke less in moderately unfamiliar situations. Neither sociability nor shyness had an effect on heart rate reactivity. The results show that sociability affects the exposure, and shyness the reactivity, to situations and that these traits are clearly distinct despite some similarity in lay judgments of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple audience problem: A strategic communication perspective on social perception.

Examined how communicators send mixed messages containing an explicit surface content and a covert hidden content. In Study 1, Ss wrote constrained essays presenting either an introverted or extraverted personality. Although authors reported manipulating essay credibility and readers reported relying on credibility to make their judgments, readers succumbed to correspondence bias. In Studies 2 and 3, Ss again prepared either constrained essays (Study 2) or constrained videotapes (Study 3) and included in them a hidden message that would be understood by only their friends but not by strangers. Observers then read these essays or watched these videotapes. Friends detected and decoded the hidden messages, whereas strangers did not. We discuss these findings in terms of social perception and strategic communication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond simple pessimism: Effects of sadness and anger on social perception.

In keeping with cognitive appraisal models of emotion, it was hypothesized that sadness and anger would exert different influences on causal judgments. Two experiments provided initial support for this hypothesis. Sad Ss perceived situationally-caused events as more likely (Exp 1) and situational forces more responsible for an ambiguous event (Exp 2) than angry Ss, who, in contrast, perceived events caused by humans as more likely and other people as more responsible. Exps 3, 4, and 5 showed that the experience of these emotions, rather than their cognitive constituents, mediates these effects. The nonemotional exposure to situational or human agency information did not influence causal judgments (Exp 3), whereas the induction of sadness and anger without explicit agency information did (Exps 4 and 5). Discussion is focused on the influence of emotion on social judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consensus at zero acquaintance: Replication, behavioral cues, and stability.

That observers tend to agree in their ratings of a target even if they have never interacted with that target has been called consensus at zero acquaintance. The basic finding that consensus is highest for judgments concerning a target's degree of extraversion (EV) and somewhat weaker for judgments of conscientiousness is replicated. Several potential observable cues that might be used by judges when rating targets are examined. The finding that ratings of physical attractiveness correlate with judgments of EV is replicated. In Study 1, rapid body movements and smiling were also found to correlate with EV judgments. The level of consensus declined when initially unacquainted Ss interacted 1-on-1 (Study 2), but did not decline—and even increased—when Ss interacted in a group (Study 3). Ss judged as extraverted at zero acquaintance were also seen as extraverted after interacting with others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation, model attributes, and prosocial behavior.

Examined the personality and situational effects that influence prosocial behavior. 112 safety- and esteem-oriented (as measured by a sentence-completion test) undergraduates were exposed to an emergency situation wherein the experimenter was ostensibly injured by an "explosion." Results indicate that there were significant situational and personality determinants of helping and imitative behavior. Overall, there was more help when Ss were interacting with an active vs a passive model. Esteem-oriented Ss were more likely to initiate helping behavior and were more strongly influenced by high-competence models. In contrast, safety-oriented Ss helped less overall and were more influenced by high-status models. Results are discussed in terms of a Person?×?Situation paradigm of prosocial behaviors. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of voice on satisfaction with leaders: Exploring the meaning of process control.

Explored judgments of procedural justice in 3 studies when Ss had the opportunity to express opinions (process control) or actual influence over the decisions made (decision control). In Study 1, 121 traffic and misdemeanor defendants were interviewed by telephone 2–4 days after their courtroom appearance about their opportunities to present evidence and their control over the way evidence was presented. Results show that most Ss felt that they had some or a great deal of process control but little or no decision control. In Study 2, 137 undergraduates completed a questionnaire that measured process and decision control in a course they had taken the previous quarter. Most Ss felt that they had some process and decision control. In Study 3, 200 university students read a scenario about tax allocation in which the city council had complete control or made recommendations to citizens. Ss completed a questionnaire on the judgments about the scenario. Results were consistent with those of the 1st 2 studies and suggest that increases in process control heighten judgments of procedural justice and leadership endorsement under conditions of low decision control. Heightened process control had as much impact at low as at high decision control. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional personality repertoire as cause of behavior: Specification of personality and interaction principles.

Attempted to specify the concept of personality and how it determines an individual's experience, learning, and behavior. The Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values was administered to 471 undergraduates. The 62 Ss with high and low scores on the Religious Values subtest then participated in a task requiring them to first either physically push away or pull toward them words related to transportation or religion and then rate the words on 7-point pleasant–unpleasant scales. A 3-way interaction among personality type, direction of movement required, and word type was predicted. Ss with religious values experienced stimuli in an emotional sense, differently than Ss with the opposite trait. The approach–avoidance behavior of these 2 personality types differed as a function of their emotional responses. The present approach is a unifying attempt to link behavioral concerns with traditional concerns of personality and personality measurement. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Another look at sex stereotypes and social judgments: An analysis of the social perceiver's use of subjective probabilities.

Reexamined the findings of A. Locksley et al (see record 1981-28048-001) that Ss fall prey to the baserate fallacy when they make stereotype-related trait judgments and that Ss ignore their stereotypes when trait judgments are made in the presence of trait-related behavioral information. A replication of Study 2 by Locksley et al, using 99 undergraduates, was conducted to examine 2 issues: (a) the use of a normative criterion in comparison with Ss' judgments and (b) the level of analysis (group vs individual) of Ss' judgments. Results show no support for the baserate fallacy. When a Bayesian normative criterion was constructed for each S based on the S's own stereotype judgments and was compared with assertiveness judgments made in the presence of individuating information, there was no evidence that Ss ignored or underused their stereotypes as the baserate fallacy predicts. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Content-free speech as a source of information about the speaker.

3groups of 10 Ss each were selected on the basis of their scores on a blood pressure recording and on the basis of a personality score related to high blood pressure. All voice samples were judged on scales labelled "aggressive" and "pleasant." The judgments for all types of information significantly differentiated the voices of the 30 Ss. The group with high blood pressure scores showed a lack of significant verbal-vocal congruence. Judgments of content-free information were related to both the blood pressure measure and the personality measure related to high blood pressure. Judgments of normal information were related only to the personality measure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stereotypic personality inferences following objective versus subjective judgments of beauty.

In 2 experiments, 120 male college students were led to believe either that their judgments of female targets' attractiveness were caused by the women's physical characteristics (objective judgments) or that these judgments were the result of their own personal preferences (subjected judgments). It was hypothesized that if the attractiveness stereotype rests on perceiver's implicit assumption that beauty constitutes a reliable and unbiased criterion from which to infer other characteristics (personality traits), then stereotyping would be less extreme when attractiveness was seen as subjective. Although manipulation checks showed that objectivity–subjectivity was effectively manipulated, Ss in all conditions made personality inferences that were consistent with the attractiveness stereotype (i.e., significantly more favorable for attractive than unattractive targets). Results suggest that utilization of the attractiveness stereotype to generate personality predictions is covert and not amenable to influence by perceivers' conscious attributions about the cause of their attractiveness judgments. (French abstract) (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)