The informational basis of social judgments: Operations in forming an impression of another person

Abstract

This paper describes four functionally distinct operations carried out in forming an impression of another person: Initial encoding, elaborative encoding, integration, and decision. These processes were identified empirically on the basis of their differential sensitivity to the amount and the consistency of information in a trait description. In Study 1 as the trait set increased in size, processing was hindered to the greatest extent during initial encoding, to a moderate extent during elaborative encoding, and least during the integration-decision interval. Varying consistency produced the opposite pattern of results, that is, an inconsistent trait description hindered processing the least during initial encoding, a moderate amount during elaborative encoding, and the most during the integration-decision interval. In Study 2 the quantity of information was manipulated via implicit knowledge, that is, the associative structure activated by the trait (rather than set size). Because implicit information is "preintegrated," implication-rich traits did not hinder initial or elaborative encoding more than implication-poor traits. The decision operation, however, was performed more rapidly with implication-rich traits than with implication-poor ones, which strongly suggests that once information is intergrated, the "richer" the representation, the easier it is to arrive at a decision.