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11 - Situational influences on interpersonal accuracy

from Part II - Correlates of interpersonal accuracy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2016

By
Petra C. Schmid
Edited by
Judith A. Hall ,
Marianne Schmid Mast  and
Tessa V. West
Judith A. Hall
Affiliation:
Northeastern University, Boston
Marianne Schmid Mast
Affiliation:
Université de Lausanne, Switzerland
Tessa V. West
Affiliation:
New York University
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Summary

Abstract

Forming accurate impressions about others is an important skill that has been associated with better mental health and more successful social interactions. This interpersonal skill varies between people and is also influenced by situational factors. This chapter summarizes the literature on the situational influences that may determine a person’s accuracy when forming impressions about others. The first section (motivational factors) focuses on the impact of motivation, as manipulated with task instructions and framing, incentivized performance, and priming of social power and general behavioral tendencies. The second section (affective factors) covers studies on the impact of positive and negative affect on interpersonal accuracy. In the third section (cognitive factors), the influence of deliberate versus automatic processing and local versus global processing on accurate impression formation is discussed. Finally, a fourth section (motor factors) includes research on how mimicry influences accuracy. After reviewing this literature, findings are integrated and general conclusions are drawn. Overall, empirical findings are heterogeneous and seem to depend on both characteristics of the impression formation tasks and specifics of the manipulations.

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Chapter
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The Social Psychology of Perceiving Others Accurately , pp. 230 - 252
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

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