Abstract
Tested the hypothesis that attributes of the persons being perceived can moderate the effect of the perceiver's motivation on impression formation. 175 female and 105 male undergraduates rated, via semantic differential scales, 2 persons whom they had observed (via videotape) working together on a series of tasks. The relative status of these target persons was manipulated through different introductions to the stimulus tape. Results support the hypotheses that the perceivers' dominance and dependency motives would interact with the status of the target persons to affect the favorability of impressions. More specifically, dependency-oriented perceivers evaluated the same person more favorably when she/he was presented as possessing a high rather than a low status, whereas the reverse was true for dominance-oriented perceivers. Results are discussed in terms of their support for a complex approach to understanding person-perception processes, one that takes into account both personal and situational factors. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 789-796 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jan 1981 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- attribute relevance of perceived, dependency & domination motives in impression formation of perceiver, college students
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science