NEGATIVITY EFFECTS IN IMPRESSION-FORMATION - THE ROLE OF UNIT FORMATION AND SCHEMATIC EXPECTATIONS

The research explored the adequacy of a schematic model of social perception (Reeder & Brewer, 1979) as an explanation of the negativity effect in impression formation. The model holds that when the target of an impression is an individual or a meaningful group, observers will view the target's behavior as an integrated whole (an assumption of unit formation). Observers then rely on a set of schematic expectations that link dispositions with relevant behaviors. These expectations dictate that negative information will receive greater weight in the impression than positive information. In the first study, we asked observers to form an impression of an individual, a meaningful group (two friends), or an aggregate (two unrelated persons). Supporting the schematic model, impressions of both the individual and the meaningful group, but not the aggregate, followed the negativity pattern. A second study directly examined observers' behavioral expectations for the three different types of impression targets. These expectations were consistent with the hypothesized unit formation and schematic assumptions thought to underlie the negativity effect in the individual and meaningful group conditions. © 1990.