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Personality feedback and situational norms can control stereotyping processes
1Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|April 1, 1992
Summary
Self-motivation influences how people form impressions. Dispositional feedback affects low self-monitors, while situational information impacts high self-monitors, altering information processing.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Impression formation is driven by motivations from targets, third parties, or the self.
- Understanding self-derived motivations is crucial for explaining impression formation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how self-related motivations influence impression formation.
- To examine the differential effects of dispositional and situational information on impression formation.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted, manipulating self-related feedback (dispositional vs. situational).
- Participants included low and high self-monitors.
- Attention to attributes and information requests were measured.
Main Results:
- Dispositional feedback influenced low self-monitors.
- Situational information influenced high self-monitors.
- Both manipulated conditions altered attention to individuating information and information-seeking behaviors.
Conclusions:
- Flexible self-concepts are a key motivational source in impression formation.
- Self-perception influences how individuals process information to form impressions.
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