Boasting and firsthand and secondhand impressions: A new explanation for the positive Teller-Listener extremity effect

This research examined how firsthand impressions of other people differ from those based on secondhand information. Several studies have shown that people who receive secondhand information (listeners) make more extreme impressions (positive and negative) than people (tellers) who learn the information firsthand, directly from the actor. Three studies examined the role of merely hearing personal descriptions presented firsthand (in "I" form) or secondhand (in "She" form) on boasting and liking impressions. Studies 1 and 3 proposed and found that firsthand perceivers; saw the actor as more boastful and unlikable than secondhand perceivers who heard the identical information in "She" form. Study 2 showed that these differential perceptions of boasting explained why secondhand perceivers made more extremely favorable judgments of kind actors than did firsthand perceivers. This boasting explanation provided a better explanation of judgment differences than two prior explanations. Perceptions of boasting did not explain why secondhand perceivers made more unfavorable judgments of unkind actors. Theoretical and social implications are discussed.