Forming impressions of personality.

Abstract

In a series of investigations, students were asked to form impressions and write brief characterizations of the person to whom a short list of trait adjectives applied. To facilitate evaluation, some groups of judges also rated the hypothetical person on a list of bipolar traits. It appears that traits may be central or peripheral, according to their fit in the general configuration of traits. Altering a central trait in a series changes the impression much more than altering a peripheral trait. Interpretation of a single trait varies with the context of other traits, thus denying the validity of independent, additive traits in personality. The order of listing of traits influences the impression formed from the given set of traits, and inconsistent traits produce different impressions on different judges. The 'halo' effect is interpreted as an attempt to organize a simple impression of a unitary person. Despite halo errors, it is probably more accurate to judge whole impressions than to rate isolated traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)