Beyond the actor's traits: forming impressions of actors, targets, and relationships from social behaviors

Perceivers who observe social behaviors may form impressions not only of actors' traits but also of people as targets and of interpersonal relationships. In Study 1, Ss read about 4 individuals' behaviors under instructions to form actor-, target-, and relationship-based impressions. Ss then read additional behavioral information that they later tried to recall. Ss accurately perceived actor, target, and relationship effects in the presented information, and they better recalled subsequent behaviors that were consistent with all 3 types of impressions. In Study 2, Ss thought of 4 people they knew and judged how much each liked the other 3. These ratings revealed actor, target, and relationship effects as well as individual and dyadic reciprocity. Perceivers can form relatively accurate impressions of people as actors and as targets and accurate impressions of relationships between people, and these impressions influence memory for further behaviors.     

Gender-related traits, stereotypes, and schemata.

We conducted two experiments, patterned after a study reported by S. L. Bem (1981), to test the implications of Bem's unifactorial gender schema theory, H. Markus's (Markus, Crane, Bernstein, & Siladi, 1982) two-factor theory, and J. . Spence's (1985) multifactorial theory of gender identity. Subjects were presented with and asked to recall a list of words varying in both gender (masculine, feminine, neutral) and semantic category. Contrary to the Bem and Markus theories but congruent with gender identity theory, scores on the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ; Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1975), a measure of gender differentiating traits, were unrelated to number of gender-associated words recalled or to amount of gender clustering. Similarly negative results for the PAQ were found in a third experiment using a release-from-proactive-interference design patterned after C. J. Mills and D. J. Tyrell (1983). However, as anticipated by the gender identity theory, several significant relations were found with measures of sex role attitudes and behaviors and occupational stereotypes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of applicant stereotypes, order, and information on interview impressions.

Replicated R. E. Carlson's (see record 1971-21928-001) study of the effects of favorability, order, and type of information on interviewers' decisions. Raters were 80 psychology students in introductory and upper-level courses. Results showed that unfavorable information was more important to interviewers' ratings than favorable information. However, this effect was moderated by the expected typical applicant-an applicant of high caliber leading to a more favorable 1st impression of unfavorable information. Unfavorable information showed contrast effects moderated by the type of information. Interviewers' confidence in evaluations was greater for favorable than for unfavorable information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A unified theory of implicit attitudes, stereotypes, self-esteem, and self-concept.

This theoretical integration of social psychology's main cognitive and affective constructs was shaped by 3 influences: (a) recent widespread interest in automatic and implicit cognition, (b) development of the Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998), and (c) social psychology's consistency theories of the 1950s, especially F. Heider's (1958) balance theory. The balanced identity design is introduced as a method to test correlational predictions of the theory. Data obtained with this method revealed that predicted consistency patterns were strongly apparent in the data for implicit (IAT) measures but not in those for parallel explicit (self-report) measures, Two additional not-yet-tested predictions of the theory are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Agreement on initial impressions: Differences due to perceivers, trait dimensions, and target behaviors.

Assesses agreement as a function of the trait being judged, the information presented, and individual differences to spontaneously use particular trait dimensions. In Experiment 1, there was a reliable amount of agreement in rating the targets, but this was greater if the traits were related to extraversion (Factor 1 traits) than to intelligence, honesty, or conscientiousness (Factor 2 traits). In Experiment 2, Ss viewed videotapes of interviews in which the questions focused on information relevant to either Factor l or Factor 2 traits. Again there was greater agreement in ratings of Factor 1 than Factor 2 traits, but this difference was reliably reduced if Ss saw the tape that focused on Factor 2 information. Regardless of the tape viewed, Ss who frequently used Factor 2 traits gave ratings on these that were in greater agreement with those of judges as a whole. Ss judged Factor 2 traits as more difficult to clearly confirm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender-related traits and helping behaviors.

Explored the relation between gender-related instrumental and expressive traits and bystander intervention. 91 male and 83 female undergraduates participated in either a 2- or a 4-person group discussion, carried on via an intercom, during which one of the purported participants (18 undergraduate confederates served) supposedly fainted and fell to the floor. Relationships were determined between helping behavior and scores on the M (instrumentality) and F (expressiveness) scales of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire. In both experimental conditions, men high in instrumentality were less likely to respond than low-scoring men, thus replicating findings obtained by D. M. Tice and R. F. Baumeister (see record 1986-01161-001) with a group of men and women. A high degree of expressiveness in men was also associated with lesser responding. These results were contrary to those reported by P. Senneker and C. Hendrick (see record 1984-12171-001), who found with a group of women that instrumentality facilitated helping behaviors. Nonsignificant results were found in females, but the trends were in the same direction as those reported by Senneker and Hendrick. A theoretical analysis integrating these disparate findings is presented. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality traits, perceived risk, and risk-reduction behaviors: A further study of smoking and radon.

Personality traits and risk perceptions were examined as predictors of changes in smoking behavior. Participants (N = 697) were part of a randomized controlled trial of interventions to reduce exposure to the combined hazard of radon and cigarette smoke. Participants with higher perceived risk at baseline for the combination of smoking and radon were more likely to have a more restrictive household smoking ban in place at 12-month follow-up (p p p     

The actor as context for social judgments: effects of prior impressions and stereotypes

Three experiments identified conditions under which trait judgments made about a behavior were more likely to influence later judgments of the behavior. In Experiment 1, participants made trait judgments about numerous behaviors presented with photos of actors. Some behaviors were repeated, paired with the same or a different actor. All repeated behaviors were judged faster than new behaviors. Facilitation was greatest when repeated behaviors were paired with the same actor, suggesting greater influence of prior judgments in this condition. Experiments 2 and 3 replicated this effect, and the pattern of response times (RTs) suggested a stronger association between the actor and behavior when a prior impression of the actor had been formed (Experiment 2) and when the behavior was stereotypic of the actor's group (Experiment 3). Level of prejudice moderated RT patterns in Experiment 3. Implications for context effects, the nature of trait inferences, and stereotype change are discussed.     

Initial sociometric impressions of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and comparison boys: Predictions from social behaviors and from nonbehavioral variables.

Compared the influence of naturalistic social behaviors and nonbehavioral variables on the development of peer status in 49 previously unfamiliar boys, aged 6–12 yrs. 25 boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 24 comparison boys participated. Physical attractiveness, motor competence, intelligence, and academic achievement constituted the nonbehavioral variables; social behaviors included noncompliance, aggression, prosocial actions, and isolation, measured by live observations of classroom and playground interactions. As early as the first day of interaction, ADHD and comparison Ss displayed differences in social behaviors, and the ADHD Ss were overwhelmingly rejected. Whereas prosocial behavior independently predicted friendship ratings during the 1st wk, the magnitude of prediction was small. In contrast, the Ss' aggression (or noncompliance) strongly predicted negative nominations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The five-factor model of personality traits and organizational citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis.

Using meta-analytic tests based on 87 statistically independent samples, we investigated the relationships between the five-factor model (FFM) of personality traits and organizational citizenship behaviors in both the aggregate and specific forms, including individual-directed, organization-directed, and change-oriented citizenship. We found that Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness/Intellect have incremental validity for citizenship over and above Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, 2 well-established FFM predictors of citizenship. In addition, FFM personality traits predict citizenship over and above job satisfaction. Finally, we compared the effect sizes obtained in the current meta-analysis with the comparable effect sizes predicting task performance from previous meta-analyses. As a result, we found that Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Extraversion have similar magnitudes of relationships with citizenship and task performance, whereas Openness and Agreeableness have stronger relationships with citizenship than with task performance. This lends some support to the idea that personality traits are (slightly) more important determinants of citizenship than of task performance. We conclude with proposed directions for future research on the relationships between FFM personality traits and specific forms of citizenship, based on the current findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes.

Social behavior is ordinarily treated as being under conscious (if not always thoughtful) control. However, considerable evidence now supports the view that social behavior often operates in an implicit or unconscious fashion. The identifying feature of implicit cognition is that past experience influences judgment in a fashion not introspectively known by the actor. The present conclusion--that attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes have important implicit modes of operation--extends both the construct validity and predictive usefulness of these major theoretical constructs of social psychology. Methodologically, this review calls for increased use of indirect measures--which are imperative in studies of implicit cognition. The theorized ordinariness of implicit stereotyping is consistent with recent findings of discrimination by people who explicitly disavow prejudice. The finding that implicit cognitive effects are often reduced by focusing judges' attention on their judgment task provides a basis for evaluating applications (such as affirmative action) aimed at reducing such unintended discrimination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender stereotypes and social inferences: A developmental study.

Investigated changes between childhood and adulthood in reliance on gender stereotypes when making inferences about another person. 36 children from each of 3 age groups (kindergarten [mean age 5 yrs 8 mo], 3rd grade [mean age 8 yrs 9 mo], and 6th grade [mean age 11 yrs 8 mo]) and 36 college students were told that a boy or a girl had chosen activities consistent or inconsistent with gender stereotypes. Ss were asked to predict the actor's future behavior, rate the actor on several traits, and estimate the actor's popularity with peers. College students predicted that the actor's future behavior would be approximately as consistent (or inconsistent) with gender stereotypes as their past behavior. College students' ratings of the actor's traits and their judgments about the popularity of boys were also influenced by the actor's past behavior. Sixth graders showed a similar pattern of social inferences, but the effects of the actor's past behavior were weaker than at college age. By contrast, 3rd graders predicted that the actor's future behavior would be stereotypical, even if his or her past behavior was not. Past behavior had some effect on 3rd graders' trait ratings but not on their popularity judgments. At kindergarten, only predictions for a girl's future behavior were affected by past-behavior information. The age differences are discussed in the context of current models of the development and functioning of gender stereotypes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The BIAS map: Behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes.

In the present research, consisting of 2 correlational studies (N = 616) including a representative U.S. sample and 2 experiments (N = 350), the authors investigated how stereotypes and emotions shape behavioral tendencies toward groups, offering convergent support for the behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes (BIAS) map framework. Warmth stereotypes determine active behavioral tendencies, attenuating active harm (harassing) and eliciting active facilitation (helping). Competence stereotypes determine passive behavioral tendencies, attenuating passive harm (neglecting) and eliciting passive facilitation (associating). Admired groups (warm, competent) elicit both facilitation tendencies; hated groups (cold, incompetent) elicit both harm tendencies. Envied groups (competent, cold) elicit passive facilitation but active harm; pitied groups (warm, incompetent) elicit active facilitation but passive harm. Emotions predict behavioral tendencies more strongly than stereotypes do and usually mediate stereotype-to-behavioral-tendency links. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of occupational stereotypes.

124 college students checked 5 of a list of 112 adjectives that best described members of each of 10 occupational groups. The correlation between degree of stereotypy (index based on frequency of adjective choices) and order of preference for the occupations was 0.79. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suckling: Determinants, changes, mechanisms, and lasting impressions.

Four facets of suckling behavior are explored: (a) phylogenetic origins, (b) behavioral and physiological controls of nipple (breast) attachment and milk intake, (c) natural opportunities, through suckling and other classes of filiative behavior, in which to learn about mother, siblings, food, and social status, and (d) mechanisms underlying changes in infant state and affect that might cause long-term emotional and behavioral changes, including ones involved in sexual selection. The article provides, therefore, a means for programmatic investigation of behavioral changes that might be directly or indirectly influenced by early parent contacts. It establishes the temporal and opportunistic limitations that constrain these influences and identifies possible behavioral and physiological mechanisms through which these influences might act. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The real relationship: Schemas, stereotypes, and personal history.

A critique of the conventional view of "real" and transferential relationships in psychotherapy is presented. Semantic labels for fuzzy sets contribute to the confusion between what is experienced by therapists vis-á-vis clients. That analogous countertransferential processes occur in therapy in both therapists and clients is proposed, and a line of argument is presented to support this position. A symmetrical model of client-therapist interactions is proposed that affirms that both client and therapist infuse biasing schemas into the therapeutic process. The authors conclude that the real relationship is the so-called transferential relationship, which springs from the personal histories of both therapist and client. This principle enables clinical programs to prepare trainees to accommodate the inevitable dissonances that will be experienced by disparate and cross-cultural participants in this field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Television and adolescents' sex role stereotypes: A longitudinal study.

A 2-yr study examined the relationship between the TV viewing and sex-role stereotypes of 349 6th–9th graders. Among females, the amount of TV viewing was significantly associated with sexism scores 1 yr later, over and above the effects of demographic controls and early sexism levels. There was, however, no evidence that females' degree of sex-typing subsequently led to TV viewing. For males, these patterns were precisely the reverse: TV had no longitudinal impact on sex-role attitudes, but sexism foreshadowed greater viewing. Among females, the effect of TV increased with social class. Both lower-class females and males as a group were more sexist regardless of viewing levels. This suggests that TV viewing is most likely to make a difference among those who are otherwise least likely to hold traditional sex-role views. TV's impact may thus reflect a convergence of disparate perspectives into a more homogeneous "mainstream" commonality of outlooks. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Images and affect: A functional analysis of out-group stereotypes.

Drawing from research on inter-nation images, the authors proposed and tested a functional theory of out-group stereotypes in 3 experiments. In the theory, it is hypothesized that behavioral orientations elicited by specific patterns of intergroup relationships (goal compatibility, relative power, and relative status) give rise to unique schematic representations of an out-group. The representations specified in the theory include 1 positive image (i.e., ally) and 3 differentiated negative images (i.e., enemy, dependent, barbarian). In all 3 experiments, participants read and imagined scenarios describing an intergroup situation in which the structure of relationships between in-group and out-group was varied. Results from Experiments 1 and 2 indicated that relationship cues were sufficient to elicit the predicted images, and some of the images were more likely to be activated under high incidental arousal. In a 3rd experiment an implicit measure was used to demonstrate that the images are activated spontaneously. Overall, results implicate the role of affective state and behavioral intent in shaping the content of social stereotypes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)