Explaining perceived cross-situational consistency : intuitive psychometrics or semantic mediation?

  • Recent studies at the interface of social cognition and personality theory have stressed lay persons' ability to 'function as intuitive psychometricians' (Epstein and Teraspulsky, 1986). This research argues that lay persons not only show a substantial degree of accuracy in estimating cross-situational generality of behaviour, but also take into account principles of aggregation over time. In contrast, it is argued here that lay persons' perceptions of the degree of relatedness of different behaviours are mediated largely by the decontextualized semantic relationships between behavioural descriptions. This argument finds support in two experimental studies which demonstrate that the main source for subjects' judgments of 'cross-situational consistency' can be found in an abstracted knowledge base which is represented and mediated through language. The implications of the findings are drawn out for personality research. in particular with reference to domain and item selection in questionnaires for research.

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Metadaten
Author details:Barbara KrahéORCiDGND, Gün R. Semin
URN:urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-33847
Publication series (Volume number):Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe (paper 070)
Publication type:Postprint
Language:English
Publication year:1988
Publishing institution:Universität Potsdam
Release date:2009/08/12
Source:European Journal of Personality, 2 (1988) 4, S. 239-252, DOI 10.1002/per.2410020401
Organizational units:Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften / Department Psychologie
DDC classification:1 Philosophie und Psychologie / 15 Psychologie / 150 Psychologie
Institution name at the time of the publication:Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Psychologie
License (German):License LogoKeine öffentliche Lizenz: Unter Urheberrechtsschutz
External remark:
The original publication is available at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com:
European Journral of Personality. - 2 (1988) Issue 4, p.239-252
DOI: 10.1002/per.2410020401
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