What the shadow knows: Person perception in a surveillance situation

• Published in: Journal of personality and social psychology 1976-10, Vol.34 (4), p.583-589
• Main Authors: Olson, James M, Barefoot, John C, Strickland, Lloyd H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Emotional Responses; Guilt; Human; Interpersonal Influences; Interpersonal Interaction; Observers; Social Interaction; Social Perception
• ISSN: 0022-3514; 1939-1315
• DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.34.4.583

Under one of 3 task conditions, 60 male undergraduates observed a prescribed behavior sequence performed by a female confederate. Covert-surveillance Ss followed her in public, having been told that she was randomly chosen as a target and was unaware of the surveillance. Overt-surveillance Ss actively followed the target, but knew of her role as confederate. Inactive Ss viewed a videotape of the behavior sequence. It was hypothesized (a) that active participation in surveillance would lead to emotional arousal in the observer, (b) that overt-surveillance Ss would find the task more aversive than would Ss in the other conditions, and (c) that impressions of the target would be related to the affective experience of the observers. Self-reports revealed that, when compared to inactives, overt-surveillance Ss experienced the task as more aversive. Covert-surveillance Ss also reported aversion, but this was coupled with a high level of reported pleasurable excitement. Impressions of the target were more negative in the overt-surveillance condition than in the other conditions. Discussion centers on possible causes for the diverse emotional experiences and the distinctiveness of surveillance as a form of social interaction.