Some students of causality in verbs have concluded that ES (Experiencer-Stimulus) verbs such as "... more Some students of causality in verbs have concluded that ES (Experiencer-Stimulus) verbs such as "liking" and "admiring" involve perceived causality in the object (e.g., Rudolph & Försterling, 1994).. However, students of person perception have observed that personality inferences from ES verbs are attributed to the subject and regarded as causal dispositions accounting for the verbs. In this respect Semin & Marsman (1994) have distinguished between instigating causes (in the object) and dispositions (in the subject). In the present study, both types of perceived causality are shown to reflect the operation of two clearly distinct cognitive programs for the processing of relational information including interpersonal verbs. Experimental evidence is derived from previous research completed with a new study showing that inferences regarding personality and instigating causes differ in a way consistent with the operation of distinct cognitive programs.
Causal or dispositional inferences from verbs/relations: Overview of some published and unpublish... more Causal or dispositional inferences from verbs/relations: Overview of some published and unpublished material relevant for the issue of implicit causality in verbs
Proceeding from linguistic universals the "relation-pattern model" is developed mapping patterns... more Proceeding from linguistic universals the "relation-pattern model" is developed mapping patterns of information about persons implied by patterns of relations involving those persons. The model reveals that information about the persons can be derived consistent with two cognitive programs. Experimental research is reported showing that personality inferences are guided by only one of those programs and involve two dimensions that fit analogous dimensions obtained in previous research using different methods.
Positivity bias is approached from three viewpoints: (a) I t may be the effect of purely cognitiv... more Positivity bias is approached from three viewpoints: (a) I t may be the effect of purely cognitive dispositions. (b) As such, it may function as an hypothesis about reality. The related dynamic factor would be a tendency toward cognitive validity which may lead to an orientation toward the negative as a means to test the positivity-hypothesis. (c) Finally, the subject may seek rewarding behavioral interactions with entities within his life space. In this context cognitive positivity bias may reflect a behavioural approach bias which can be related to the dynamics of 'mere survival ' and 'self-actualization'.
National stereotypes drawn from the literature were plotted against two evaluative dimensions con... more National stereotypes drawn from the literature were plotted against two evaluative dimensions connected (in previous studies) with social value orientations and referred to as: SP (Self Profitability or good/bad for the self) and OP (Other Profitability or good/bad for the other). In study 1, 108 stereotypes were plotted using a standardized procedure involving translation of stereotype trait terms into the native language of judges who rated the terms for SP and OP. Study 2 was a reinterpretation and statistical reanalysis of data published in a study on national characteristics . Convergent results from both studies suggest that positive and negative stereotypes are not simply contrasted as opposite poles of a general good/bad dimension. Specifically, positive stereotypes tended to be marked by SP (associated with an individualistic value orientation) and the negative ones rather by OP (associated with aggression). Further, SP valences of stereotypes were more stable than OP valences which fluctuated as a function of changing international relationships. Finally, the SP dimension differentiated between enemy stereotypes contrasting "respected" versus "despised" enemy images.
Participants were presented with hypothetical target persons who had produced personality descrip... more Participants were presented with hypothetical target persons who had produced personality descriptions of an other person. The descriptions varied along two evaluative trait dimensions: likability-related other-profitability (OP) and power-related self-profitability (SP). The participants rated the targets' willingness to engage in 12 social behaviors towards the described other.
A method and data are presented on the mapping of subjective implicit theories underlying individ... more A method and data are presented on the mapping of subjective implicit theories underlying individual perceptions of interpersonal conflict. Building on a previously established "relational information processing paradigm" an experimental questionnaire was developed requiring subjects to rate how conflictive they considered hypothetical situations in which two individuals showed varying patterns of (dis)satisfactions. Data obtained form economy freshmen revealed three major implicit theories: (a) mere dissatisfaction associating conflict with overall dissatisfaction, (b) unilateral dissatisfaction associating conflict with specific dissatisfaction of a key-person, and (c) disagreement associating conflict with dissatisfaction with an other who is satisfied with him/her-self. The selective use of implicit theories did not vary significantly between judgments concerning conflict in formal labour-situations and informal socio-emotional situations but unilateral dissatisfaction was confined to conditions where the identification of a key-person was facilitated by having conflicting parties clearly differentiated. The results are discussed in the light of the relational information processing paradigm in social cognition and possible applications to conflict management.
Some students of causality in verbs have concluded that ES (Experiencer-Stimulus) verbs such as "... more Some students of causality in verbs have concluded that ES (Experiencer-Stimulus) verbs such as "liking" and "admiring" involve perceived causality in the object (e.g., Rudolph & Försterling, 1994).. However, students of person perception have observed that personality inferences from ES verbs are attributed to the subject and regarded as causal dispositions accounting for the verbs. In this respect Semin & Marsman (1994) have distinguished between instigating causes (in the object) and dispositions (in the subject). In the present study, both types of perceived causality are shown to reflect the operation of two clearly distinct cognitive programs for the processing of relational information including interpersonal verbs. Experimental evidence is derived from previous research completed with a new study showing that inferences regarding personality and instigating causes differ in a way consistent with the operation of distinct cognitive programs.
Causal or dispositional inferences from verbs/relations: Overview of some published and unpublish... more Causal or dispositional inferences from verbs/relations: Overview of some published and unpublished material relevant for the issue of implicit causality in verbs
Proceeding from linguistic universals the "relation-pattern model" is developed mapping patterns... more Proceeding from linguistic universals the "relation-pattern model" is developed mapping patterns of information about persons implied by patterns of relations involving those persons. The model reveals that information about the persons can be derived consistent with two cognitive programs. Experimental research is reported showing that personality inferences are guided by only one of those programs and involve two dimensions that fit analogous dimensions obtained in previous research using different methods.
Positivity bias is approached from three viewpoints: (a) I t may be the effect of purely cognitiv... more Positivity bias is approached from three viewpoints: (a) I t may be the effect of purely cognitive dispositions. (b) As such, it may function as an hypothesis about reality. The related dynamic factor would be a tendency toward cognitive validity which may lead to an orientation toward the negative as a means to test the positivity-hypothesis. (c) Finally, the subject may seek rewarding behavioral interactions with entities within his life space. In this context cognitive positivity bias may reflect a behavioural approach bias which can be related to the dynamics of 'mere survival ' and 'self-actualization'.
National stereotypes drawn from the literature were plotted against two evaluative dimensions con... more National stereotypes drawn from the literature were plotted against two evaluative dimensions connected (in previous studies) with social value orientations and referred to as: SP (Self Profitability or good/bad for the self) and OP (Other Profitability or good/bad for the other). In study 1, 108 stereotypes were plotted using a standardized procedure involving translation of stereotype trait terms into the native language of judges who rated the terms for SP and OP. Study 2 was a reinterpretation and statistical reanalysis of data published in a study on national characteristics . Convergent results from both studies suggest that positive and negative stereotypes are not simply contrasted as opposite poles of a general good/bad dimension. Specifically, positive stereotypes tended to be marked by SP (associated with an individualistic value orientation) and the negative ones rather by OP (associated with aggression). Further, SP valences of stereotypes were more stable than OP valences which fluctuated as a function of changing international relationships. Finally, the SP dimension differentiated between enemy stereotypes contrasting "respected" versus "despised" enemy images.
Participants were presented with hypothetical target persons who had produced personality descrip... more Participants were presented with hypothetical target persons who had produced personality descriptions of an other person. The descriptions varied along two evaluative trait dimensions: likability-related other-profitability (OP) and power-related self-profitability (SP). The participants rated the targets' willingness to engage in 12 social behaviors towards the described other.
A method and data are presented on the mapping of subjective implicit theories underlying individ... more A method and data are presented on the mapping of subjective implicit theories underlying individual perceptions of interpersonal conflict. Building on a previously established "relational information processing paradigm" an experimental questionnaire was developed requiring subjects to rate how conflictive they considered hypothetical situations in which two individuals showed varying patterns of (dis)satisfactions. Data obtained form economy freshmen revealed three major implicit theories: (a) mere dissatisfaction associating conflict with overall dissatisfaction, (b) unilateral dissatisfaction associating conflict with specific dissatisfaction of a key-person, and (c) disagreement associating conflict with dissatisfaction with an other who is satisfied with him/her-self. The selective use of implicit theories did not vary significantly between judgments concerning conflict in formal labour-situations and informal socio-emotional situations but unilateral dissatisfaction was confined to conditions where the identification of a key-person was facilitated by having conflicting parties clearly differentiated. The results are discussed in the light of the relational information processing paradigm in social cognition and possible applications to conflict management.
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