The Eye of the Beholder: Romantic Goals and Impression Biases

Four experiments investigated the effects of romantic goals on task and social impression formation. The clouded judgment hypothesis holds that romantic goals encourage positive biases on less relationship-relevant dimensions (e.g., task competence). The default positivity hypothesis holds that roma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental social psychology 2002-05, Vol.38 (3), p.232-241
Main Authors: Goodwin, Stephanie A, Fiske, Susan T, Rosen, Lee D, Rosenthal, Alisa M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
attraction
Bias
Biological and medical sciences
Dating
Experiments
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
goals
Hypothesis
impressions
Interpersonal relations
positivity
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social interactions. Communication. Group processes
Social judgement
Social psychology
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Summary:Four experiments investigated the effects of romantic goals on task and social impression formation. The clouded judgment hypothesis holds that romantic goals encourage positive biases on less relationship-relevant dimensions (e.g., task competence). The default positivity hypothesis holds that romantic goals encourage positivity biases on relationship-relevant dimensions in the absence of relevant information. The selective accuracy hypothesis posits that romantic goals encourage accuracy regarding relationship-relevant attributes (e.g., social competence) when relevant information is available. In four studies, male and female perceivers evaluated opposite-sex targets whom they expected to date (romantic goals) or to meet for nonromantic interaction (baseline). Videotaped targets displayed competence or incompetence on task (Experiments 1 and 2) or social (Experiments 3 and 4) dimensions. All three hypotheses were supported.
ISSN:0022-1031
1096-0465
DOI:10.1006/jesp.2001.1508