Suchergebnisse

Evaluation of strangers can be based on assessments of either available cues or inferred characteristics. Many studies of interpersonal attraction present subjects with information on Others' psychological characteristics (personality, traits, attitudes), but it is argued that
additional, "external" information about Others is normally available to interacting individuals and provides a basis for evaluative inferences while constituting a context in which the impact of any available psychological information would be assessed. Two experiments are reported:
one in which presentation of external information about a stranger evoked significantly (p < 0.025) higher attraction ratings than available psychological information; and a second where similarity of Subject and Other on external characteristics had greater effects upon attraction
scores than did similarity of psychological characteristics. Results are consistent with the view that external information provides a modifying context in which the attractiveness of psychological information is assessed and suggest two distinct stages in attraction responses.

A hypothesis derived from Festinger's (1954) social comparison theory suggests that in circumstances of uncertainty or ambiguity the perception of a speaker's expertise will be liable to influence by the reactions of an "audience. " As a test of this prediction two groups of subjects were presented with a televised lecture on a technical topic with which they were unfamiliar. One group saw the lecture with positive audience reactions inserted and one with negative audience reactions. In the negative condition the lecturer was rated as less expert (p <0.05), more confusing (p < 0.01), and more shallow (p < 0.05), whilst ratings of personal attractiveness were unaffected. It is concluded that perceived expertise is subject to manipulation and bias under conditions of unfamiliarity and uncertainty.