Effects of positive and negative information on self-presentation when that information is relevant or irrelevant to the interaction goal

Mary Ellen Kite, Purdue University

Abstract

This research examined how individuals alter their self-presentation to meet the demands of a specific interaction goal and, further, whether the adopted strategies resulted in successful attainment of that interaction goal. In Experiment 1, 159 male and female subjects were randomly assigned to one of two goal conditions, one representing task competence and one representing likeability. Further, the valence of feedback was manipulated such that some individuals were told that they had positive characteristics and others were told that they had negative characteristics. For half the subjects, this information was relevant to their interaction goal; for half the subjects it was not. Self-presentation to a "partner" (who supposedly also had this information) was assessed on two sets of dependent measures: one set of these measures represented likeability and one set represented task competence. In Experiment 2, 34 judges evaluated the information subjects chose to provide about themselves and assigned a reward to those subjects who best fulfilled their interaction goal. It was predicted that subjects who received negative feedback would try especially hard to compensate for this information and, therefore, would receive the most reward. Contrary to prediction, it was those subjects who received positive feedback who performed best and subsequently received the greatest reward. Results showed that more credit was assigned to those subjects who had received positive feedback. These effects were qualified by subject sex, however. In general, when sex differences occurred, men tended to have higher scores on those dependent measures related to task competence and women tended to have higher scores on the dependent measures related to likeability, a result that is consistent with other work (e.g., Schlenker, 1975; Forsyth, Schlenker, Leary, & McCown, 1985). This suggests that women and men may rely on sex-linked information in their self-presentational strategies, regardless of other situational factors. Methodological limitations of the experiment are discussed.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Eagly, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Social psychology

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