| Abstract: | Two studies tested the hypothesis that reduced recall of variability will alter intuitive judgments of change. In the 1st study, 53 undergraduates received a series of values said to represent the mental health of several individuals and were asked to remember either the average or the range of values for each of the individuals. Either immediately thereafter or 1 wk later, Ss assessed the degree of change represented by a new value, based on their recall of the prior series. It was predicted that when recall was delayed, Ss who had been instructed to remember the average would make greater change judgments than those who had been instructed to remember the variability. Results support the hypothesis. Exp II (81 Ss) replicated these effects with a different type of change judgment (change in a city) and provided evidence that natural encoding operated similarly to average encoding. Implications for a variety of social perception processes are discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
