The feature-positive effect in the self-perception process: Does not doing matter as much as doing?

Tested the hypothesis that individuals would infer less extreme attitudes from the nonoccurrence of a behavior than from the occurrence of a behavior. 52 Ss rated cartoons for humor or lack of humor under 4 conditions: 2 similar responses, 2 different types of response, response to humorous cartoon, and response to nonhumorous cartoon. Results confirm the prediction. Relevant investigations from the self-perception literature are discussed in light of this feature-positive effect. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)