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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Observing Virtual Social Interactions
Published on: July 6, 2011
Seeking social connectedness: interdependent self-construal and impression formation using photographic cues of
Marina Milyavskaya1, Jennifer Reoch, Richard F Koestner
1McGill University, Department of Psychology, 1205 Dr Penfield Avenue, Montreal, QC H3A 1B1, Canada. marina.milyavskaya@mail.mcgill.ca
Abstract:
Impression formation research has traditionally focused on either the characteristics of the target or of the participant, failing to examine their interplay. In the present study, we explored the role of interdependent self-construal on ratings of others who are portrayed as alone or connected. We hypothesized that participants with an interdependent view of the self would prefer others who are portrayed as socially connected, while the opposite would be true for participants low on interdependence. Results showed that college students high on interdependence rated a university professor photographed with another person relatively more positively than a professor photographed alone. This pattern was reversed for participants low on interdependence.
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