Positive test strategies and confirmatory retrieval processes in the evaluation of personality feedback

Cognitive-response analysis was carried out to investigate people's acceptance of personality feedback. In 3 studies with 223 male and female college students 18-38 years old, participants generated more confirming than disconfirming evidence for personality feedback. Availability of confirmatory evidence was found to be closely related to the rated accuracy of the feedback. Both rated accuracy and amount of confirmatory evidence were greater for general than specific and for true than false feedback. Analyses of covariance showed that availability of confirmatory evidence accounted for the effects of general versus specific and true versus false feedback on rated accuracy. Findings are discussed in terms of the use of positive test strategies and the influence of confirmatory evidence retrieval on working self-concepts.