Averaging vs Summation in Impression Formation
- 1 December 1968
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Perceptual and Motor Skills
- Vol. 27 (3_suppl) , 1295-1302
- https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1968.27.3f.1295
Abstract
Three experiments were conducted to assess the adequacy of an averaging vs a summation model of impression formation and to explore the effect of varying the degree of implication between impression stimuli. Ss rated their liking for several persons, each described by either one or two personality traits. The results of all three studies strongly supported an averaging model of impression formation rather than a summation model. Liking was less for a person described by a trait-pair containing a highly desirable and a moderately desirable trait than for a person described by only the highly desirable trait. There was no evidence that variation in the degree of implication between the traits in a pair had an effect on liking.Keywords
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