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The use of psychological theories by ‘naive’ judges: A study in implicit personality theory
Author(s) -
Bierhoff Hans Werner,
BierhoffAlfermann Dorothee
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2420060403
Subject(s) - psychology , social psychology , implicit personality theory , unconscious mind , personality , personality theory , stimulus (psychology) , cognitive psychology , variance (accounting) , imitation , accounting , business , psychoanalysis
Sixty‐three subjects judged the behaviour of one of two fictitious stimulus persons by means of five different types of explanation which corresponded with specific psychological theories. These types of explanation based behaviour on adaptation to external conditions, reward/punishment, fulfilment of role expectations, effects of unconscious motives and the imitation of models. The explanations were evaluated on graphic rating scales as to their truth and convincingness. Two‐way analyses of variance with repeated measures on one factor showed significant main effects for type of explanation and interaction effects of stimulus person × type of explanation for both dependent variables. The results are discussed in the light of studies done so far in implicit personality theory.