An interactive activation and competition model of person knowledge, suggested by proactive interference by traits spontaneously inferred from behaviours

People unconsciously and unintentionally make inferences about others’ personality traits based on their behaviours. In this study, a classic memory phenomenon – proactive interference (PI) – is for the first time used to detect spontaneous trait inferences. PI should occur when lists of behaviour d...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of social psychology 2016-03, Vol.55 (1), p.126-143
Main Authors: Wang, Yuanbo E., Higgins, Nancy C., Uleman, James S., Michaux, Aaron, Vipond, Douglas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Brown-Peterson paradigm
connectionist models
Female
Humans
interactive activation and competition model
Knowledge
Male
Memory
Models, Psychological
person perception
Personality
Personality traits
proactive interference
Social Behavior
Social perception
spontaneous trait inferences
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:People unconsciously and unintentionally make inferences about others’ personality traits based on their behaviours. In this study, a classic memory phenomenon – proactive interference (PI) – is for the first time used to detect spontaneous trait inferences. PI should occur when lists of behaviour descriptions, all implying the same trait, are to be remembered. Switching to a new trait should produce ‘release’ from proactive interference (or RPI). Results from two experiments supported these predictions. PI and RPI effects are consistent with an interactive activation and competition model of person perception (e.g., McNeill & Burton, 2002, J. Exp. Psychol., 55A, 1141), which predicts categorical organization of social behaviours based on personality traits. Advantages of this model are discussed.
ISSN:0144-6665
2044-8309
DOI:10.1111/bjso.12119