Article
Reference
Differential attribution of personality based on multi-channel presentation of verbal and nonverbal cues
SCHERER, Klaus R., et al.
Abstract
Subjects made personality judgements of stimulus persons on the basis of auditory and visual cues presented in isolation and/or combination. In a 3 × 4 factorial design either no visual cues or photos or video clips were presented in the visual channel, whereas in the auditory channel either transcript excerpts (content cues) or electronically filtered speech (sequence cues) or random spliced speech (frequency cues) or normal speech samples were presented.
The results show that presence or absence of visual cues affects the attribution of conscientiousness and emotional stability. Except for some within-channel cue combinations with overlapping information content (cue generality), personality inferences seem to be cue-specific. The predictive power of these inferences for three types of personality attribution (relationship-based peer ratings, interaction-based coparticipants' ratings, and observation-based judge ratings) was explored. For some types of cues within and across channels and for some traits, cue additivity effects were found (increase of predictive power for cue summation) whereas for some cue combinations [...]
SCHERER, Klaus R., et al . Differential attribution of personality based on multi-channel presentation of verbal and nonverbal cues. Psychological Research , 1977, vol. 39, no. 3, p.
221-247
DOI : 10.1007/BF00309288
Available at:
http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:101857
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P s y c h o l . Res. 39, 2 2 1 - 2 4 7 (1977)
© b y S p r i n g e r - V e r l a g 1 9 7 7
Differential Attribution of Personality Based on Multi-Channel Presentation of Verbal and Nonverbal Cues*
K L A U S R. S C H E R E R , I U R S U L A S C H E R E R , I J U D I T H A. H A L L , 2 a n d R O B E R T R O S E N T H A L 3
I U n i v e r s i t y o f G i e s s e n , F e d e r a l R e p u b l i c o f G e r m a n y 2 T h e J o h n s H o p k i n s U n i v e r s i t y , B a l t i m o r e , M a r y l a n d , U S A 3 H a r v a r d U n i v e r s i t y , C a m b r i d g e , M a s s a c h u s e t t s , U S A R e c e i v e d J a n u a r y 24, 1 9 7 7
S U M M A R Y . S u b j e c t s m a d e p e r s o n a l i t y j u d g e m e n t s o f s t i m u l u s p e r - s o n s o n t h e b a s i s o f a u d i t o r y a n d v i s u a l c u e s p r e s e n t e d i n i s o l a - t i o n a n d / o r c o m b i n a t i o n . I n a 3 x 4 f a c t o r i a l d e s i g n e i t h e r n o v i s u a l c u e s o r p h o t o s o r v i d e o c l i p s w e r e p r e s e n t e d i n t h e v i s u a l c h a n n e l , w h e r e a s i n t h e a u d i t o r y c h a n n e l e i t h e r t r a n s c - r i p t e x c e r p t s ( c o n t e n t c u e s ) o r e l e c t r o n i c a l l y f i l t e r e d s p e e c h
( s e q u e n c e c u e s ) o r r a n d o m s p l i c e d s p e e c h ( f r e q u e n c y c u e s ) o r n o r m a l s p e e c h s a m p l e s w e r e p r e s e n t e d . T h e r e s u l t s s h o w t h a t p r e s e n c e o r a b s e n c e o f v i s u a l c u e s a f f e c t s t h e a t t r i b u t i o n o f c o n s c i e n t i o u s n e s s a n d e m o t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y . E x c e p t f o r s o m e w i t h i n - c h a n n e l c u e c o m b i n a t i o n s w i t h o v e r l a p p i n g i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t e n t
(cue g e n e r a l i t y ) , p e r s o n a l i t y i n f e r e n c e s s e e m t o b e c u e - s p e c i f i c . T h e p r e d i c t i v e p o w e r o f t h e s e i n f e r e n c e s f o r t h r e e t y p e s o f p e r - s o n a l i t y a t t r i b u t i o n ( r e l a t i o n s h i p - b a s e d p e e r r a t i n g s , i n t e r a c - t i o n - b a s e d c o p a r t i c i p a n t s ' r a t i n g s , a n d o b s e r v a t i o n - b a s e d j u d g e r a t i n g s ) w a s e x p l o r e d . F o r s o m e t y p e s o f c u e s w i t h i n a n d a c r o s s c h a n n e l s a n d f o r s o m e t r a i t s , c u e a d d i t i v i t y e f f e c t s w e r e f o u n d
( i n c r e a s e o f p r e d i c t i v e p o w e r f o r c u e s u m m a t i o n ) w h e r e a s f o r
This research was supported by NIMH grant MH 19 569-O1 to K.R. Scherer and by NSF grant GS-2654 to R. Rosenthal. The experiment was run while the
first two authors were at the University o~,Pennsylvania. Requests for offprints should be directed to K.R. Scherer, whose present address is Fachbereich Psychologie, Universit~t Giessen, Otto-Behaghel-Stra~e iO, D-63OO Giessen, Federal Republic of Germany
s o m e c u e c o m b i n a t i o n s (mostly t h o s e i n v o l v i n g s t a t i c p h y s i o g n o m i c cues) an a t t e n u a t i o n of p r e d i c t i v e p o w e r s e e m e d to r e s u l t f r o m d i s c r e p a n t i n f e r e n c e s f r o m a u d i t o r y a n d v i s u a l cues. I m p l i c a - t i o n s for p e r s o n p e r c e p t i o n a n d n o n v e r b a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n are d i s c u s s e d .
I N T R O D U C T I O N
P e r s o n a l i t y i n f e r e n c e s can be m a d e f r o m a l a r g e n u m b e r of d i f - f e r e n t c u e s p r o v i d e d b y a p e r s o n ' s b e h a v i o r o r a p p e a r a n c e , a n d m a n y of t h e s e c u e s s e e m to o v e r l a p in t e r m s of t h e i r i n f o r m a - t i o n v a l u e (Tagiuri, 1969; H a s t o r f et al., 1970). M a n y s t u d i e s h a v e a t t e m p t e d to a s s e s s the d e g r e e to w h i c h a p e r s o n ' s p e r s o n - ality, as d e f i n e d b y s o m e e x t e r n a l c r i t e r i o n s u c h as self o r p e e r r a t i n g s , c a n b e j u d g e d a c c u r a t e l y on t h e b a s i s of a v a r i e t y of c u e s p r e s e n t e d in m a n y d i f f e r e n t w a y s (real p e r s o n s , m o t i o n p i c t u r e s or v i d e o t a p e s o f b e h a v i o r s e q u e n c e s , p h o t o g r a p h s , v o i c e a n d s p e e c h s a m p l e s , t r a i t d e s c r i p t i o n s , b e h a v i o r a l d e s c r i p t i o n s , s c h e m a t i c d r a w i n g s , a n d m a n y m o r e ) . V e r y f e w o f t h e s e a c c u r a c y s t u d i e s h a v e s y s t e m a t i c a l l y i n v e s t i g a t e d t h e r e l a t i v e e f f e c t s of t h e s e d i f f e r e n t cues, and t h e m e a n s of p r e s e n t i n g them, o n t h e p e r s o n a l i t y j u d g e m e n t s of n a i v e r a t e r s (cf. W a r r & K n a p p e r , 1968). T h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f c u e s c a n h a v e d i f f e r e n t e f f e c t s o n p e r s o n a l i t y a t t r i b u t i o n m a y h a v e b e e n n e g l e c t e d d u e to t h e s t r o n g i n f l u e n c e o f e a r l y t h e o r i e s o n t h e
" u n i t y o f p e r s o n a l i t y " . It w a s a s s u m e d in t h e s e t h e o r i e s t h a t p e r s o n a l i t y d i s p o s i t i o n s a f f e c t e x p r e s s i v e b e h a v i o r i s o m o r p h i - cally, i m p l y i n g r e d u n d a n c y or i n t e r c h a n g e a b i l i t y o f d i f f e r e n t c u e s of p e r s o n a l i t y ( A l l p o r t & V e r n o n , 1933; W o l f f , 1943).
O n l y a f e w s t u d i e s d e a l d i r e c t l y w i t h the a t t r i b u t i o n o f p e r - s o n a l i t y t r a i t s o n t h e b a s i s o f s p e c i f i c c u e s t r a n s m i t t e d in d i f f e r e n t c o m m u n i c a t i o n c h a n n e l s as c o m p a r e d to t h e p r o b l e m of j u d g e m e n t a l a c c u r a c y . In a s t u d y b y B e i e r & S t u m p f (1959), s t u d e n t s w e r e e x p o s e d t o j a n i t o r s in t h e c l a s s r o o m u n d e r se- q u e n t i a l c o n d i t i o n s o f e x p o s u r e to a u d i t o r y a n d / o r v i s u a l cues;
t h e s t u d y s h o w e d t h a t the i m p r e s s i o n s f o r m e d w e r e a f f e c t e d b y t h e m o d e o f p r e s e n t a t i o n . M o r e r e c e n t l y , a few s t u d i e s h a v e b e e n c o n d u c t e d in w h i c h g r o u p s o f j u d g e s h a v e d i f f e r e n t i a l l y o r s e q u e n t i a l l y r e c e i v e d p a r t i a l i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t the s a m e p e r s o n s , in the f o r m of b e h a v i o r a l d e s c r i p t i o n s , p h o t o g r a p h s , m o t i o n p i c t u r e s , s p e e c h s a m p l e s , d r a w i n g s , o r p e r s o n a l i t y s k e t c h e s . T h e s e s t u d i e s h a v e found, g e n e r a l l y , t h a t t h e t y p e of c u e a n d t h e c h a n n e l o r the m o d e o f p r e s e n t a t i o n h a d a s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t o n t h e p e r s o n a l i t y i m p r e s s i o n s r e p o r t e d b y the j u d g e s (Hult,
1970; B o y d & P e r r y , 1972; S e l i g m a n e t al., 1972; C l i n e et al., 1972). H o w e v e r , in t h e s e s t u d i e s no a t t e m p t w a s m a d e t o i s o l a t e p a r t i c u l a r t y p e s o f c u e s w i t h i n a c o m m u n i c a t i o n c h a n n e l a n d to
s y s t e m a t i c a l l y p l o t t h e e f f e c t s o f v a r i o u s k i n d s of c u e s a n d w i t h i n - o r c r o s s - c h a n n e l c u e c o m b i n a t i o n s a g a i n s t e a c h o t h e r .
In a d d i t i o n , m o s t s t u d i e s in t h i s a r e a e m p l o y e d a m i x t u r e o f s a m p l e s of t h e s t i m u l u s p e r s o n ' s a c t u a l b e h a v i o r (in a f i l m e d i n t e r a c t i o n , for e x a m p l e ) a n d b e h a v i o r a l d e s c r i p t i o n s of p e r - s o n a l i t y s k e t c h e s p r o v i d e d b y t h e r e s e a r c h e r a b o u t the s t i m u l u s p e r s o n . A l t h o u g h it is i n t e r e s t i n g to c o m p a r e p e r s o n a l i t y j u d g e - m e n t s b a s e d on f i r s t - h a n d o b s e r v a t i o n o f t h e s t i m u l u s p e r s o n ' s b e h a v i o r w i t h t h o s e b a s e d o n s e c o n d a r y m a t e r i a l s u c h as b e h a v i o r o r t r a i t d e s c r i p t i o n s in v e r b a l form, t h i s p r o c e d u r e d o e s n o t a d d r e s s i t s e l f t o t h e r e l a t i v e c o n t r i b u t i o n of v a r i o u s t y p e s o f v e r b a l a n d n o n v e r b a l c u e s e m i t t e d in t h e c o u r s e o f a s i n g l e b e h a v i o r a l s e q u e n c e t h a t is o b s e r v e d b y t h e j u d g e s in d i f f e r e n t m 0 d a l i t i e s o r c h a n n e l s of c o m m u n i c a t i o n .
A f e w s t u d i e s c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l e f f e c t of d i f f e r e n t t y p e s of b e h a v i o r a l c u e s in d i f f e r e n t c h a n n e l s of c o m m u n i c a t i o n h a v e a p p e a r e d r e c e n t l y in the a r e a o f n o n v e r b a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n . M a n y of t h e s e h a v e g r o w n o u t of t h e i n t e r e s t in t h e r o l e of c u e or c h a n n e l d i s c r e p a n c i e s in t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n o f e m o t i o n a l s t a t e s , s i t u a t i o n s in w h i c h i n f e r e n c e s of a p e r s o n ' s a f f e c t b a s e d on c u e s c a r r i e d in o n e c o m m u n i c a t i o n c h a n n e l c o n f l i c t o r a r e i n c o m p a t i b l e w i t h i n f e r e n c e s b a s e d o n c u e s c a r r i e d in a n o t h e r c h a n n e l (Davitz, 1964; E k m a n , 1965; M e h r a b i a n , 1970; B u g e n t a l e t al., 1970). T h e e x i s t e n c e of s u c h c u e or c h a n n e l d i s c r e p a n c i e s i m p l i e s t h a t (I) t h e r e are s t a b l e a n d i n d e p e n d e n t p a t t e r n s o f i n f e r e n c e f o r p a r - t i c u l a r e x p r e s s i v e c u e s in p a r t i c u l a r c h a n n e l s as far as e m o t i o n s a n d a f f e c t i v e s t a t e s a r e c o n c e r n e d (cf. E k m a n , 1972; S c h e r e r et al., 1972; S c h e r e r , 1974a) a n d t h a t (2) t y p e s of c u e s r e s u l t i n g in
d i s c r e p a n t i n f e r e n c e s m a y o c c u r j o i n t l y in a s a m p l e of b e h a v i o r . M o r e r e s e a r c h to s u p p o r t t h e s e a s s u m p t i o n s is c l e a r l y c a l l e d for.
T h e l a c k of s t u d i e s in w h i c h p a r t i c u l a r t y p e s o f c u e s are m a n i p u - l a t e d o r i s o l a t e d w i t h i n c h a n n e l s of c o m m u n i c a t i o n , o v e r a n d a b o v e c h a n n e l s e p a r a t i o n b y p l a y i n g j u s t v i d e o t a p e or j u s t a u d i o / t a p e s a m p l e s of i n t e r a c t i v e b e h a v i o r , c a n b e e x p l a i n e d b y t h e r a t h e r o b v i o u s c o n c e p t u a l a n d t e c h n i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s of d o i n g so.
In t h i s s t u d y an a t t e m p t h a s b e e n m a d e to u s e s o m e r e c e n t l y d e v e l o p e d t e c h n i q u e s o f c o n t e n t m a s k i n g of s p e e c h to i s o l a t e c o n t e n t c u e s , s e q u e n c e c u e s (e.g., r h y t h m a n d c o n t i n u i t y ) , a n d f r e q u e n c y c u e s (voice q u a l i t y ) of s p e e c h in t h e a u d i t o r y c h a n n e l , a n d to u s e s t i l l p h o t o g r a p h s v e r s u s v i d e o t a p e c l i p s to o b t a i n a r o u g h s e p a r a t i o n o f s t a t i c , p h y s i o g n o m i c c u e s a n d d y n a m i c c u e s in t h e v i s u a l c h a n n e l of c o m m u n i c a t i o n f o r v e r y s h o r t s a m p l e s o f i n t e r a c t i v e b e h a v i o r of 15 s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s in g r o u p d i s c u s - sions. In w h a t f o l l o w s , t h e s e i s o l a t e d cues, p r e s e n t e d o u t Of t h e c o n t e x t o f c o - o c c u r r i n g cues, a r e c a l l e d " p a r t i a l c u e s "
T h i s s t u d y w a s d e s i g n e d t o a d d r e s s i t s e l f t o t h e f o l l o w i n g s p e - c i f i c q u e s t i o n s :
I. T o w h a t e x t e n t d o e s s e l e c t i v e e x p o s u r e t o p a r t i c u l a r t y p e s o f c u e s o r c r o s s - c h a n n e l c u e c o m b i n a t i o n s r e s u l t i n s y s t e m a t i c e f f e c t s o n p e r s o n a l i t y i m p r e s s i o n s a s s h o w n i n g e n e r a l l y h i g h e r o r l o w e r r a t i n g s o f t h e s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s o n s p e c i f i c t r a i t s i n p a r t i c u l a r e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n s ? I f s u c h s y s t e m a t i c e f f e c t s a r e f o u n d , t h i s c a n b e i n t e r p r e t e d a s s h o w i n g t h a t p r e s e n c e o r a b - s e n c e o f c e r t a i n c u e s w i l l a f f e c t t h e l e v e l o f p e r s o n a l i t y
a t t r i b u t i o n a c r o s s s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s ( i . e . , a p a r t i c u l a r c u e m a y a l w a y s l e a d t h e o b s e r v e r t o i n f e r a h i g h d e g r e e o f a p a r t i c u l a r t r a i t ) . I n a d d i t i o n , i t m a y o r m a y n o t d i f f e r e n t i a l l y a f f e c t r a t i n g s o f p a r t i c u l a r s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s , i . e . , i n t e r a c t w i t h p a r t i c u l a r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s .
2. D O s y s t e m a t i c e f f e c t s o f p a r t i a l c u e e x p o s u r e p e r s i s t e v e n w h e n m o r e c o m p l e t e i n f o r m a t i o n b e c o m e s a v a i l a b l e ? T h i s m a y b e
s e e n a s a p r i m a c y e f f e c t i n w h i c h a f i r s t i m p r e s s i o n i s s o p o w e r - f u l t h a t i t w i l l b e m a i n t a i n e d e v e n i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f s u b s e q u e n t - l y o b t a i n e d d e t a i l e d ( a n d p o s s i b l y c o n t r a d i c t o r y ) i n f o r m a t i o n .
People often get to know strangers on the basis of limited or r e s t r i c t e d cues such as talking on the telephone, receiving letters, seeing someone at a party. F r e q u e n t l y rather firm impressions have b e e n formed before addi- tional cues become available. A l t h o u g h there has b e e n strong interest in primacy and recency effects in p e r s o n perception, these effects have not generally been e x a m i n e d in terms of t h e r e l a t i v e influence of different types of expressive cues of personality. If different cues are more or less powerful in determining p e r s o n a l i t y impressions, it seems quite obvious that primacy effects w o u l d result if one were to observe the more powerful cues early on in the a c q u a i n t a n c e process, whereas, unless set or e x p e c t a n c y effects are operative, recency effects m i g h t occur if one discovers such cues later in the interaction. Unfortunately, systematic studies of a possible interaction b e t w e e n p r i m a c y / r e c e n c y o Z cue exposure and degree of cue utiliza- tion in information p r o c e s s i n g are very scarce. Furthermore, the relative
"impression power" of different behavioral and appearance cues may depend on the channels or media in w h i c h the cues are conveyed (Warr & Knapper, 1968) and the nature of the traits w h i c h are to be inferred. If powerful first impressions p e r s i s t over time, the nature of the cues and the channel of communication available in a first encounter may strongly influence person- ality attributions and thereby the future nature of the i n t e r a c t i o n or even of the relationship. This p o s s i b i l i t y can be studied here by looking for carry-over effects from ratings under partial cue exposure to ratings under relatively complete cue exposure.
3. D o j u d g e s a r r i v e a t s i m i l a r p e r s o n a l i t y i n f e r e n c e s o n t h e b a s i s o f d i f f e r e n t c u e s , o r d o d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f c u e s y i e l d d i f f e r e n t , c u e - s p e c i f i c i n f o r m a t i o n l e a d i n g t o d i s c r e p a n t o r a t
l e a s t i n d e p e n d e n t i n f e r e n c e s ? T h i s q u e s t i o n c o n c e r n s t h e r e - l a t i v e i n f o r m a t i o n s p e c i f i c i t y o r g e n e r a l i t y o f p a r t i c u l a r t y p e s o f c u e s . A n e x t r e m e f o r m o f t h e " u n i t y of p e r s o n a l i t y " t h e o r y i m p l i e s t h a t a p a r t i c u l a r t r a i t m a n i f e s t s i t s e l f i s o m o r p h i c a l l y i n a l l e x p r e s s i v e c u e s a n d c h a n n e l s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n . I n t h i s c a s e o n e w o u l d e x p e c t " c u e g e n e r a l i t y " , i . e . , p e r s o n a l i t y i n f e r - e n c e s s h o u l d a g r e e w i t h e a c h o t h e r e v e n w h e n b a s e d o n d i f f e r e n t p a r t i a l c u e s . If, o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , j u d g e s a r r i v e a t v e r y d i f - f e r e n t p e r s o n a l i t y a t t r i b u t i o n s w h e n b a s i n g t h e i r i n f e r e n c e s o n d i f f e r e n t p a r t i a l c u e s , a " c u e s p e c i f i c i t y " o r " c u e u n i q u e n e s s "
e x p l a n a t i o n a r g u i n g f o r d i f f e r e n t i a l i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t e n t w o u l d b e c a l l e d for. I E k m a n (1965) h a s p r o v i d e d s o m e e v i d e n c e t h a t
" h e a d c u e s " a n d " b o d y c u e s " m i g h t b e d i f f e r e n t i a l l y e f f e c t i v e as a i d s i n i n f e r r i n g t h e e m o t i o n a l s t a t e o f t h e s e n d e r . L i k e w i s e , t h e e x i s t e n c e o f p a r t i c u l a r l y s t r o n g s t e r e o t y p e s in t h e j u d g m e n t o f p e r s o n a l i t y f r o m v o i c e ( K r a m e r , 1 9 6 3 ; S c h e r e r , 1972) s u g g e s t s t h a t p a r t i c u l a r t y p e s o f a u d i t o r y c u e s m a y b e m o r e p o w e r f u l d e - t e r m i n a n t s o f p e r s o n a l i t y a t t r i b u t i o n s t h a n n o n - v o c a l t y p e s o f c u e s . In t e r m s o f a B r u n s w i k i a n l e n s m o d e l ( B r u n { w i k , 1 9 5 6 ) o n e w o u l d w a n t t o a s s e s s t h e u t i l i z a t i o n o f d i f f e r e n t c u e s or s t i m u l u s d i m e n s i o n s i n t h e j u d g e s ' i n f e r e n t i a l s t r a t e g y .
4. T O w h a t e x t e n t d o e s e x p o s u r e t o n o n v e r b a l c u e s p e r m i t t h e p r e d i c t i o n o f p e r s o n a l i t y c r i t e r i a ? I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e u t i l i - z a t i o n o f s p e c i f i c c u e s i n i n f e r e n c e , t h e e c o l o g i c a l v a l i d i t y o f c e r t a i n c u e s d e t e r m i n e s t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h a j u d g e w i t h a c c e s s t o t h e s e c u e s c a n p r e d i c t a c r i t e r i o n v a l u e . T h e p r o b l e m i n t h i s k i n d o f r e s e a r c h is t o f i n d t h e " t r u e " c r i t e r i o n o f p e r s o n a l i t y i n o r d e r t o a s s e s s t h e " a c c u r a c y " o f t h e j u d g m e n t . In m o s t s t u d i e s o n a c c u r a c y i n p e r s o n p e r c e p t i o n , s e l f r a t i n g s o f p e r s o n a l i t y
w e r e u s e d a s e x t e r n a l c r i t e r i a f o r t h e t r a i t s u n d e r s t u d y (cf.
H a s t o r f e t a l . , 1 9 7 0 ) . H o w e v e r , s i n c e s e l f r a t i n g s m a y b e v a s t l y d i s t o r t e d d u e t o s o c i a l d e s i r a b i l i t y , d e f e n s e m e c h a n i s m s a n d o t h e r f a c t o r s , t h e s e s e l f a t t r i b u t i o n s m a y b e n o m o r e v a l i d a s i n d i c a t o r s o f s t a b l e t r a i t s a s p e r s o n a l i t y a t t r i b u t i o n s b y o t h e r j u d g e s w h o k n o w t h e s t i m u l u s p e r s o n o r w h o h a v e a c c e s s t o s a m p l e s o f t h i s b e h a v i o r . H e r e , w e u s e t h r e e d i f f e r e n t c r i t e r i a o f p e r s o n - a l i t y a t t r i b u t i o n a n d a s s e s s t h e d e g r e e to w h i c h t h e y c a n b e p r e - d i c t e d o n t h e b a s i s o f p a r t i a l c u e e x p o s u r e . E a c h o f t h e s e c r i - t e r i a c o n s i s t s o f a t y p e o f p e r s o n a l i t y a t t r i b u t i o n in t h e f o r m o f t r a i t r a t i n g s . H o w e v e r , c o n t r a r y t o t h e p a r t i a l c u e e x p o s u r e r a t i n g s , t h e s e a t t r i b u t i o n s a r e b a s e d o n m o r e c o m p l e t e i n f o r m a - t i o n a b o u t t h e s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s . T h e t h r e e c r i t e r i a d i f f e r in
Strictly speaking, the terms "cue generality" and "cue specificity" are misleading since i n f e r e n c e s generalize over cues or are specific to cues. However, the terms are used here to avoid lengthy and cumbersome expressions.
t h a t t h e i n f o r m a t i o n u p o n w h i c h t h e c r i t e r i o n r a t i n g s a r e b a s e d d i f f e r s i n t e r m s o f t h e n u m b e r a n d t y p e o f c u e s a v a i l a b l e t o
j u d g e s a n d t h e l e n g t h o f e x p o s u r e o f t h e r e s p e c t i v e j u d g e s t o t h e s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s .
The first criterion, called " o b s e r v a t i o n - b a s e d attribution", is b a s e d on exposure to a person~s behavior in both the auditory and visual channel.
These ratings are supposed to c o r r e s p o n d to a first impression situation in real life: o b s e r v a t i o n of a person's b e h a v i o r in a specific situation w i t h access to both auditory and visual cues. This situation arises, for example, when someone's identity is p o i n t e d out to us a n d we observe a short sample of his or her behavior at this moment, or, for that matter, if we are shown an excerpt of a public figure's behavior on T V (if we have not y e t formed stereotypic e x p e c t a t i o n s about that person). In this study a situation of this kind is represented by exposure to a videotape clip showing about 15-20 s of a person's b e h a v i o r in a group discussion.
T h e second criterion, called " i n t e r a c t i o n - b a s e d attribution", is b a s e d on an interaction of the judges w i t h each p e r s o n to be judged (in the form of a simulated jury d i s c u s s i o n of about one hour's d u r a t i o n after w h i c h the six p a r t i c i p a n t s rated each other in terms of their respective p e r s o n a l i t y traits).
In this case, all cues available in the o b s e r v a t i o n criterion are available b u t for a m u c h longer p e r i o d of time and free from p o s s i b l e media effects
(audio and video recording). To some e x t e n t tactile, olfactory a n d p r o x e m i c cues m a y p l a y a role in the p e r s o n a l i t y inferences made in this situation.
T h e third criterion, the " r e l a t i o n s h i p - b a s e d attribution", consists of p e e r ratings of the stimulus persons. The p e r s o n a l i t y judgments made by these peers or friends are b a s e d on a l o n g - t e r m r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h the p e r s o n a n d m a y be a f f e c t e d by a large number of d i f f e r e n t cues, some of w h i c h m a y o v e r l a p w i t h the cues available for the o b s e r v a t i o n and interaction criteria. This c r i t e r i o n is comparable, of course, to the external criteria of p e r s o n a l i t y w h i c h are sometimes u s e d to assess "accuracy" of p e r s o n a l i t y judgments (cf.
Seherer, 1972). The degree to w h i c h the p e r s o n a l i t y inferences b a s e d on nonverbal cues explain the v a r i a n c e o f the respective criterion determines the "predictive power" of these cues for this criterion.
5. A n i m p o r t a n t q u e s t i o n w i t h i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r p r o f e s s i o n a l
" p e r s o n p e r c e i v e r s " s u c h a s j o b i n t e r v i e w e r s o r c l i n i c i a n s , i s t h e n o t i o n o f " c u e a d d i t i v i t y " . C a n w e g e n e r a l i z e f r o m s t u d i e s o n t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f m e d i a m e s s a g e s a n d a s s u m e t h a t " a n i n - c r e a s e i n t h e n u m b e r o f c u e s a v a i l a b l e i n t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n i n c r e a s e s t h e i n f o r m a t i o n g a i n f r o m t h a t c o m m u n i c a - t i o n " ( S e v e r i n , 1 9 6 7 , p. 2 3 8 ) ? I n t h a t c a s e w e w o u l d e x p e c t t h a t c u e s u m m a t i o n w o u l d l e a d t o m o r e a c c u r a t e p r e d i c t i o n s o f t h e p e r s o n a l i t y a t t r i b u t i o n c r i t e r i a . O r i s i t m o r e l i k e l y t h a t s p e c i f i c c u e s c a r r y e x c l u s i v e i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t s p e c i f i c p e r s o n - a l i t y t r a i t s ? I n t h a t c a s e s e l e c t i v e e x p o s u r e t o t h e s e c u e s , i s o l a t e d f r o m o t h e r , i r r e l e v a n t c u e s , w o u l d i n c r e a s e t h e a c c u r a c y
o f p r e d i c t i o n s o f p e r s o n a l i t y a t t r i b u t i o n s s i n c e t h e e s s e n t i a l c u e s a r e n o t m a s k e d o r c o n f u s e d d u e to t h e p r e s e n c e o f i r r e l e v a n t c u e s .
T h e r e is s o m e i n d i c a t i o n t h a t t h e l a t t e r h o l d s t r u e i n s i t u a t i o n s w h e r e a p e r s o n a t t e m p t s t o d e c e i v e o b s e r v e r s a b o u t h i s a c t u a l s t a t e p r o v i d i n g m i s l e a d i n g c u e s in t h e c o u r s e o f i m p r e s s i o n m a n a g e m e n t a c t i v i t i e s (cf. E k m a n & F r i e s e n , 1 9 6 9 ) . In a m u l t i - c h a n n e l s t u d y o f e x p r e s s i v e b e h a v i o r in d e c e p t i o n , E k m a n e t al.
(1976) f o u n d t h a t j u d g e s a c c u r a t e l y i n f e r r e d a m o r e n e g a t i v e a f f e c t s t a t e o f t h e d e c e i v i n g s u b j e c t s w h e n t h e y w e r e s e l e c t i v e l y e x p o s e d t o " l e a k a g e c u e s " ( b o d y m o v e m e n t a n d c o n t e n t - f i l t e r e d s p e e c h ) i n b o t h t h e a u d i t o r y a n d t h e v i s u a l c h a n n e l .
If p e r s o n a l i t y - r e l e v a n t c u e s c o n t a i n c u e s p e c i f i c i n f o r m a t i o n , t h e a d d i t i o n o f m o r e c u e s s h o u l d s t r o n g l y i n c r e a s e p r e d i c t i v e p o w e r w h e n d i f f e r e n t c u e s c o n t a i n c o n g r u e n t a n d c o m p l e m e n t a r y i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t d i f f e r e n t a s p e c t s o f t h e t r a i t b e i n g j u d g e d , w h e r e a s i n t h e c a s e o f c u e g e n e r a l i t y o n e w o u l d e x p e c t o n l y a
s m a l l g a i n i n p r e d i c t i v e p o w e r s i n c e t h e r e is a l a r g e d e g r e e o f o v e r l a p i n t h e i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t e n t . C o n v e r s e l y , a n e g a t i v e
e f f e c t o n p r e d i c t i v e p o w e r w o u l d b e e x p e c t e d f o r a c u e s p e c i f i c i t y s i t u a t i o n w h e n c u e s w i t h d i s c r e p a n t i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t e n t c o n c e r n i n g t h e t r a i t b e i n g j u d g e d a r e j o i n t l y u s e d i n p e r s o n a l i t y i n f e r e n c e
( a s s u m i n g a n a v e r a g i n g p r o c e s s ) . N o e f f e c t s o n p r e d i c t i v e p o w e r w o u l d b e e x p e c t e d i f c u e s a r e i n d e p e n d e n t o f e a c h o t h e r in t e r m s o f i n f e r e n c e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n v a l u e . T h e r o l e o f c u e a d d i t i v i t y in p e r s o n a l i t y a t t r i b u t i o n is s t u d i e d i n t h i s r e s e a r c h b y o b - s e r v i n g w h e t h e r p r e d i c t i v e p o w e r is i n c r e a s e d o r d e c r e a s e d (or r e m a i n s u n a f f e c t e d ) w h e n d i f f e r e n t c u e s a r e a d d e d to e a c h o t h e r w i t h i n o n e c h a n n e l a n d a c r o s s c h a n n e l s , a n d a r e j o i n t l y p r e s e n t e d
t o a g r o u p o f j u d g e s .
M E T H O D
S t i m u l u s P e r s o n s
15 stimulus persons were selected from 30 adult males who had participated in simulated jury discussions in groups of six, in which they debated a criminal case for about i h. Discussions had been audio- and videotaped, and extensive personality ratings consisting of self-ratings, peer ratings, and ratings by the other "jury members" in each group were secured. The details of the recruitment of the subjects, the administration of the per- sonality tests, the procedure followed in the discussion of the criminal ease, and other pertinent information can be found in reports of prior studies
(Scherer, 197Oa, 1972).
Selection o f Stimulus Material
T h e s e l e c t i o n o f s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s for this s t u d y d e p e n d e d e n t i r e l y o n the a v a i l a b i l i t y o f a d e q u a t e a u d i o a n d v i d e o m a t e r i a l . T h e c r i t e r i o n w a s the p o s s i b i l i t y o f e d i t i n g o u t of the o r i g i n a l v i d e o t a p e a n u t t e r a n c e of o n e o r two s e n t e n c e s d u r i n g w h i c h the s p e a k e r w a s n o t i n t e r r u p t e d b y o t h e r s p e a k e r s a n d d u r i n g w h i c h the h e a d a n d the u p p e r p a r t o f the b o d y of the s p e a k e r w e r e f u l l y v i s i b l e o n the v i d e o screen. C a r e w a s t a k e n to s e l e c t v i d e o c l i p s c e n t e r i n g o n o n e s t i m u l u s p e r s o n only, w i t h o u t o t h e r s p e a k e r s b e i n g v i s i b l e in the b a c k g r o u n d , a n d n o t c o n t a i n i n g r a p i d z o o m i n g o r o t h e r d i s t r a c t i n g re- c o r d i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . T h e s a m p l e s o b t a i n e d for the 15 s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s c o n s i s t e d o f s p e e c h a n d b e h a v i o r s a m p l e s o f a b o u t 15 to 20 s each.
Preparation of Stimulus Material
In o r d e r to i s o l a t e p a r t i c u l a r types of c u e s w i t h i n the two m a j o r c h a n n e l s of c o m m u n i c a t i o n a v a i l a b l e to the judges, the m a s t e r v i d e o - a n d a u d i o t a p e s w e r e u s e d to p r e p a r e the f o l l o w i n g v e r s i o n s o f s p e e c h a n d b e h a v i o r in w h i c h p a r t i c u l a r cues w e r e absent, m a s k e d , o r d i s t o r t e d .
In the a u d i t o r y channel, s l i d e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f the s c r i p t o f the s a m p l e u t t e r a n c e w a s u s e d to p r o v i d e " v e r b a l c o n t e n t cues" o n l y (Script O n l y ) . C o n t e n t - f i l t e r i n g o f s p e e c h (CF), u s i n g e l e c t r o n i c f i l t e r i n g p r o c e d u r e s to r e m o v e v o i c e f r e q u e n c i e s a b o v e a b o u t 500 Hz, w h i c h r e n d e r s s p e e c h u n i n t e l l i - g i b l e (cf. R o g e r s et al., 1971), w a s u s e d to i s o l a t e " s p e e c h c o n t i n u i t y cues" o r " s e q u e n c e cues", since the f i l t e r i n g p r o c e d u r e d o e s n o t a f f e c t the p e r c e p t i o n of p a u s e s a n d o t h e r d i s f l u e n c i e s , r a t e of speech, r h y t h m a n d i n t o n a t i o n c o n t o u r s , b u t m a s k s s p e e c h c o n £ e n t a n d v o i c e q u a l i t y . " V o i c e q u a l i t y cues" or "voice f r e q u e n c y cues" w e r e i s o l a t e d b y u s i n g the r a n d o m i z e d -
s p l i c i n g t e c h n i q u e (RS) d e v e l o p e d by S c h e r e r (1971) w h i c h r e n d e r s s p e e c h c o n t e n t u n i n t e l l i g i b l e , e l i m i n a t e s pauses, a n d m a s k s o r s t r o n g l y d i s t o r t s i n t o n a t i o n , s p e e c h rhythm, a n d o t h e r s e q u e n c e cues. T h e u s e o f t h e s e two m a s k i n g t e c h n i q u e s does n o t p r o v i d e c o m p l e t e s e p a r a t i o n o f s e q u e n c e a n d f r e q u e n c y cues, y e t c o n t e n t f i l t e r e d s p e e c h c o n t a i n s p r e d o m i n a n t l y s e q u e n c e cues, r a n d o m s p l i c e d s p e e c h p r e d o m i n a n t l y f r e q u e n c y c u e s (cf. S c h e r e r , 1971).
" N o r m a l s p e e c h cues" w e r e p r o v i d e d b y j u s t p l a y i n g the u n a l t e r e d a u d i o t a p e e x p o s i n g j u d g e s to s p e e c h content, s p e e c h s e q u e n c e , a n d v o i c e q u a l i t y .
In the v i s u a l t h a n n e l e i t h e r no v i s u a l i n f o r m a t i o n w a s p r e s e n t e d (No V i s u a l Cues), or " s t a t i c v i s u a l cues" w e r e p r o v i d e d v i a a s t i l l p h o t o g r a p h o f the s p e a k e r (Photo), o r " d y n a m i c v i s u a l cues" w e r e p r o v i d e d v i a a v i d e o c l i p o f the b e h a v i o r s a m p l e (Video). S t a t i c cues c o n s i s t e d m a i n l y o f the facial f e a t u r e s of the s p e a k e r (with a g e n e r a l l y n e u t r a l f a c i a l e x p r e s s i o n ) a n d a v i e w of the u p p e r b o d y a n d c l o t h i n g . S t i l l p h o t o s o f the s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s h a d b e e n t a k e n t h r o u g h a o n e - w a y w i n d o w d u r i n g the g r o u p d i s c u s s i o n (in the same w a y as the v i d e o t a p i n g ) , u s i n g a c a m e r a w i t h a t e l e p h o t o lens. T h e s e s h o t s w e r e n o t n e c e s s a r i l y t a k e n d u r i n g the b e h a v i o r p e r i o d c o n t a i n e d o n the v i d e o clip. D y n a m i c cues v i s i b l e in the v i d e o c l i p p r o v i d e d i n f o r m a t i o n o n
c h a n g i n g f a c i a l e x p r e s s i o n , l i p m o v e m e n t s , s h i f t s of the u p p e r body, a n d h a n d m o v e m e n t s , 2
Design of the Rating Conditions
T h e f o u r types o f cues in the a u d i t o r y c h a n n e l (Script Only, C o n t e n t F i l t e r e d S p e e c h , R a n d o m S p l i c e d Speech, N o r m a l Speech) a n d the three t y p e s o f cues in the v i s u a l c h a n n e l (No V i s u a l Cues, Photo, Video) w e r e c o m b i n e d in a 3 x 4 f a c t o r i a l design. 3 E a c h o f the r e s u l t i n g 12 c o n d i t i o n s w a s p r e s e n t e d to an i n d e p e n d e n t g r o u p of r a t e r s w h o j u d g e d all 15 s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s on five p e r s o n a l i t y traits. In a d d i t i o n to r a t i n g the s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s o n the b a s i s o f t h e s e p a r t i a l cues, judges r a t e d all 15 s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s a s e c o n d time in a n a u d i o - v i s u a l " N o r m a l S p e e c h / V i d e o " ( c o m p l e t e a u d i t o r y a n d v i s u a l
i n f o r m a t i o n ) c o n d i t i o n . T h e a n a l y s i s - o f - v a r i a n c e d e s i g n a l l o w s us to s e p a r a t e
" t y p e - o f - c u e - e f f e c t s " (main effects) a n d " c r o s s - c h a n n e l - c u e - c o m b i n a t i o n - e f f e c t s " ( i n t e r a c t i o n effects) o f the d i f f e r e n t i a l p a r t i a l e x p o s u r e to t h e s e t y p e s o f cues a n d cue c o m b i n a t i o n s o n the p e r s o n a l i t y j u d g m e n t of n a i v e ob- servers.
Personality Scales
U s i n g 7 - p o i n t scales, j u d g e s r a t e d the 15 s p e a k e r s o n five p e r s o n a l i t y d i m e n s i o n s : c o n s c i e n t i o u s n e s s , e m o t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y , e x t r a v e r s i o n , a s s e r - t i v e n e s s , a n d a g r e e a b l e n e s s . D e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n s o f the b e h a v i o r a l i m p l i c a - t i o n s o f t h e s e d i m e n s i o n s w e r e g i v e n to t h e r a t e r s b e f o r e s t a r t i n g the r a t i n g p r o c e d u r e . F u r t h e r d e t a i l s on the s e l e c t i o n o f t h e s e d i m e n s i o n s , the n a t u r e o f the scales, a n d i n t e r c o r r e l a t i o n c a n be f o u n d in S c h e r e r (197Oa, 1972).
T h e c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n o f s t a t i c vs. d y n a m i c c o n d i t i o n s is n o t q u i t e a c c u r a t e s i n c e the p h o t o a n d v i d e o c o n d i t i o n s d i f f e r n o t o n l y in t e r m s o f s t i l l vs. m o v i n g p i c t u r e s b u t a l s o in terms o f i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t e n t s i n c e f o r s o m e s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s s e v e r a l c h a n g i n g facial e x p r e s s i o n s a n d g e s t u r e s m a y h a v e b e e n p r o v i d e d in the v i d e o c o n d i t i o n w h e r e a s the p h o t o s s h o w e d g e n e r a l l y a n e u t r a l e x p r e s s i o n . I n a m o r e e l e g a n t m a n i p u l a t i o n o n e c o u l d c o n t r a s t the v i d e o c l i p s w i t h s e r i e s o f p h o t o g r a p h s s h o w i n g s e v e r a l e x p r e s s i o n s .
T h e " S c r i p t O n l y " o r " c o n t e n t cues" type o c c u p i e s a f e n c e - s t r a d d l i n g p o s i t i o n s i n c e it q u a l i f i e s in a w a y as "no a u d i t o r y cues" (since the j u d g e s d o n o t h e a r a n y t h i n g ) a l t h o u g h the cues c o n v e y e d are p a r t o f the n o r m a l s p e e c h signal. E v e n t h o u g h j u d g e s r e a d the s c r i p t (visual input) it d o e s n o t s e e m s e n s i b l e to t r e a t this m o d e as p a r t o f the v i s u a l channel. O b v i o u s l y , t h e r e is a d i s c r e p a n c y h e r e b e t w e e n the s e n d i n g c h a n n e l (cue origin) a n d the r e c e i v i n g c h a n n e l (cue p e r c e p t i o n ) . S i n c e t h e p r e s e n t r e s e a r c h e m p h a s i s e s c u e o r i g i n (in terms o f r e l a t i v e i n f o r - m a t i o n v a l u e ) , S c r i p t O n l y is a n a l y s e d as p a r t o f the a u d i t o r y channel.
Raters
151 u n d e r g r a d u a t e s , 81 m a l e a n d 70 female, a t the U n i v e r s i t y o f P e n n s y l v a n i a took p a r t in the e x p e r i m e n t . W i t h i n the 12 c o n d i t i o n s the m a l e - f e m a l e r a t i o s w e r e r o u g h l y equal, w i t h a s l i g h t p r e p o n d e r a n c e of m a l e raters. G r o u p s i z e v a r i e d f r o m iO to 17. S i n c e no m a i n e f f e c t for sex d i f f e r e n c e s w a s f o u n d in an o v e r a l l a n a l y s i s - o f - v a r i a n c e of the ratings, a v e r a g e r a t i n g s for r a t e r g r o u p s a c r o s s all r a t e r s w e r e c o m p u t e d .
Rating Procedure
R a t e r s w e r e s e a t e d in t h r e e r o w s in f r o n t of a p r o j e c t i o n s c r e e n a n d a t e l e v i s i o n m o n i t o r . A f t e r h e a r i n g a b r i e f live i n t r o d u c t i o n , t h e y c o m p l e t e d a p e r s o n a l b a c k g r o u n d q u e s t i o n n a i r e a n d r a t e d t h e m s e l v e s o n the five p e r s o n - a l i t y d i m e n s i o n s a n d a 3 5 - i t e m p e r s o n a l i t y a t t r i b u t e form. A s s i g n m e n t to e x p e r i m e n t a l c o n d i t i o n s w a s random, a n d o n l y one c o n d i t i o n w a s r u n in e a c h session. R a t e r s w e r e e x p o s e d to the p a r t i c u l a r c o m b i n a t i o n of a u d i t o r y a n d v i s u a l cues r e q u i r e d b y the r e s p e c t i v e e x p e r i m e n t a l c o n d i t i o n , w i t h the cues p r e s e n t e d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y , e x c e p t in the S c r i p t O n l y c o n d i t i o n , in w h i c h for e a c h s t i m u l u s p e r s o n the slide w i t h the t r a n s c r i p t w a s s h o w n first, f o l l o w e d by the p r o p e r v i s u a l s t i m u l u s ("partial cue" rating). S u b j e c t s r a t e d e a c h of the 15 s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s o n five p e r s o n a l i t y d i m e n s i o n s i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r p r e s e n t a t i o n o f the r e s p e c t i v e sample. A f t e r h a v i n g r a t e d all 15 s p e a k e r s in the e x p e r i m e n t a l c o n d i t i o n , r a t e r s w e r e s h o w n the o r i g i n a l v i d e o t a p e clips w i t h the full s o u n d ( " a u d i o - v i s u a l " rating), a n d the r a t i n g p r o c e d u r e w a s r e p e a t e d . Thus, in one c o n d i t i o n (Normal S p e e c h / V i d e o ) , the p a r t i a l cue r a t i n g s a n d the a u d i o - v i s u a l r a t i n g s w e r e b a s e d o n i d e n t i c a l s t i m u l u s e x p o s u r e .
S l i d e s w e r e p r o j e c t e d u s i n g a K o d a k c a r o u s e l p r o j e c t o r ; a u d i o t a p e s w e r e p l a y e d u s i n g a R e v o x A 7 7 tape r e c o r d e r , a P i o n e e r a m p l i f i e r , a n d K L H
s p e a k e r s ; v i d e o t a p e s w e r e p l a y e d b a c k u s i n g S o n y i/2 i n c h v i d e o t a p e e q u i p m e n t .
Prediction Criteria
In the p r e s e n t s t u d y two sets of r a t i n g s c o u l d b e u s e d to r e p r e s e n t the o b s e r v a t i o n - b a s e d a t t r i b u t i o n c r i t e r i o n : the p a r t i a l cue r a t i n g s in the N o r m a l S p e e c h / V i d e o c o n d i t i o n o r t h e m e a n r a t i n g s for a l l r a t e r g r o u p s b a s e d o n a u d i o - v i s u a l e x p o s u r e , the s e c o n d r a t i n g p e r f o r m e d b y all groups. S i n c e b o t h sets o f r a t i n g s c o r r e l a t e v e r y h i g h l y w i t h e a c h o t h e r (mean r a c r o s s t r a i t s = 0.89), a n d s i n c e the m e a n a u d i o - v i s u a l r a t i n g s a c r o s s all 12 c o n d i - tions are b a s e d o n N = 151 judges, w h i c h s h o u l d g u a r a n t e e a g r e a t e r r e l i a b i l i t y o f the m e a n r a t i n g s ( c o m p a r e d to the N o r m a l S p e e c h / V i d e o r a t i n g g r o u p w i t h . N = 15), the m e a n a u d i o - v i s u a l e x p o s u r e r a t i n g w a s c h o s e n to r e p r e s e n t the o b s e r v a t i o n c r i t e r i o n .
T h e i n t e r a c t i o n c r i t e r i o n c o n s i s t s of the m e a n r a t i n g s o f the five f e l l o w jurors in e a c h s i m u l a t e d jury d i s c u s s i o n for e a c h of the s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s . T h e s e r a t i n g s w e r e m a d e o n a 3 5 - 1 t e m a d j e c t i v e r a t i n g l i s t y i e l d i n g e i g h t
personality scales. S£nce earlier results have shown very high intercorrela- tions between the five dimensional ratings and these scales (cf. Scherer, 1970a), the respective equivalents of these scales to the five dimensions were used as the interaction criterion value since the jurors did not directly rate each other on the five personality dimensions.
The relationship criterion consists of the mean ratings of two to three peers for each stimulus person. Each juror had been asked to pass complete sets of rating forms on to three acquaintances of the same sex, approximate age, and social class, who had known him for some time, and to ask them to return the completed rating forms directly to the investigator (cf. Scherer, 197Oa, 1972).
R E S U L T S A N D D I S C U S S I O N
i. E f f e c t s o f T y p e s o f C u e s on P e r s o n a l i t y I m p r e s s i o n
T h e f i r s t a n a l y s i s e x a m i n e d s y s t e m a t i c d i f f e r e n c e s in t h e j u d g - m e n t s o n t h e f i v e p e r s o n a l i t y s c a l e s a c r o s s d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f c u e s w i t h i n e a c h c h a n n e l u s i n g f i v e t w o - w a y a n a l y s e s o f v a r i a n c e in w h i c h j u d g e s w e r e u n i t s o f a n a l y s i s , a n d in w h i c h a u d i t o r y c h a n n e l ( S c r i p t O n l y / C o n t e n t F i l t e r e d / R a n d o m S p l i c e d / N o r m a l S p e e c h ) , a n d v i s u a l c h a n n e l (No V i s u a l C u e s / P h o t o / V i d e o ) w e r e b e t w e e n - u n i t s f a c t o r s . F o r c o n s c i e n t i o u s n e s s , t h e r e w a s a s i g - n i f i c a n t v i s u a l c h a n n e l m a i n e f f e c t ( F ( 2 , 1 3 7 ) = 3 . 5 3 , n =
0 . 2 2 , P < 0 . 0 5 ) d u e a l m o s t e n t i r e l y t o t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n n o v i s u a l c u e s p r e s e n t (X = 4 . 7 0 ) a n d e i t h e r p h o t o o r v i d e o
i n f o r m a t i o n p r e s e n t ( c o m b i n e d X = 4 . 9 4 ) . A n a n a l o g o u s m a i n e f f e c t w a s f o u n d f o r e m o t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y ( F ( 2 , 1 3 7 ] = 4 . 8 1 , q = 0 . 2 6 , P < 0 . O 1 ) , w h e r e t h e r a t i n g s w e r e al'so m u c h l o w e r in t h e c o n d i t i o n o f n o v i s u a l i n f o r m a t i o n p r e s e n t (X = 4 . 2 3 ) c o m p a r e d to P h o t o o r V i d e o ( c o m b i n e d X = 4 . 4 8 ) . N o m a i n e f f e c t s e i t h e r f o r t h e v i s u a l o r t h e a u d i t o r y f a c t o r w e r e f o u n d f o r t h e r a t i n g s o f e x t r a v e r s i o n , a s s e r t i v e n e s s , o r a g r e e a b l e n e s s . T h i s s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e p r e s e n c e o f v i s u a l i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e p e r s o n t o b e j u d g e d l e a d s to i m p r e s s i o n s o f a h i g h e r d e g r e e o f e m o t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y a n d c o n s c i e n t i o u s n e s s c o m p a r e d t o s i t u a t i o n s in w h i c h n o v i s u a l c u e s a r e p r e s e n t e d .
E f f e c t s o f c r o s s - c h a n n e l c u e c o m b i n a t i o n s m i g h t b e e x p e c t e d in t h i s a n a l y s i s to y i e l d s i g n i f i c a n t i n t e r a c t i o n e f f e c t s . T h i s w a s f o u n d o n l y f o r t h e r a t i n g s o f c o n s c i e n t i o u s n e s s ( F ( 6 , 1 3 7 )
= 2 . 9 6 , n = 0 . 3 4 , P < O . O 1 ) . E x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e r e s i d u a l e f f e c t s i z e s s h o w e d t h e i n t e r a c t i o n t o b e a l m o s t e n t i r e l y d u e t o t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e r a t i n g s b e t w e e n t h e P h o t o a n d V i d e o c o n d i t i o n s , d e p e n d i n g o n w h e t h e r n o r m a l s p e e c h o r j u s t t h e s c r i p t w a s p r e s e n t e d . T h e s p e a k e r s w e r e r a t e d as m o r e
c o n s c i e n t i o u s w h e n t h e j u d g e s h a d a c c e s s t o e i t h e r V i d e o ( c o m - b i n e d w i t h S c r i p t ) o r N o r m a l S p e e c h ( c o m b i n e d w i t h P h o t o ) b u t l e s s c o n s c i e n t i o u s w h e n t h e y w e r e e x p o s e d t o n e i t h e r ( P h o t o / S c r i p t ) o r b o t h . A l t h o u g h t h e F w a s n o t s i g n i f i c a n t , a s i m i l a r t r e n d w a s o b t a i n e d f o r e m o t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y . S i n c e t h e s e c o m p a r - i s o n s b e t w e e n m e a n s h a d n o t b e e n p l a n n e d a n d s i n c e t h e y a r e d i f - f i c u l t to i n t e r p r e t , w e w a n t t o b e c a u t i o u s in n o t a t t a c h i n g t o o m u c h i m p o r t a n c e t o t h e m .
It might seem surprising that on the whole, type of cue and cross channel cue combinations had little systematic effect on the ratings, particularly for extraversion and assertiveness. One could argue that the judges were unable to make reliable discriminations between speakers on these traits, resulting in highly similar means across all conditions. However, a "speaker" or
"stimulus person" factor was examined in the analyses-of-variance that have been described above. Highly significant main effects and interaction effects involving the speaker factor were found for the ratings of all five traits.
This obviously does not support a lack-of-discriminability explanation.
Another and perhaps more supportable explanation for the lack of strong cue and channel effects might be that there is some degree of redundancy in the expressive cues of various personality traits, such that the absence of certain cues in one channel can be compensated for by cues in another channel.
One would expect this to be particularly true for traits such as extraversion and assertiveness, since their signalling function is most important for the successful conduct of social interaction. Consequently, some degree of redundancy in terms of information-carrying cues is to be expected to assure that the message does not get lost.
2. C a r r y - o v e r o f S y s t e m a t i c Effects to Situation o f Complete Cue A v a i l a b i l i t y
A s d e s c r i b e d in t h e m e t h o d s e c t i o n , j u d g e s r a t e d a l l s p e a k e r s a s e c o n d t i m e u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s o f e x p o s u r e t o a l l i n f o r m a t i o n c h a n n e l s ( a u d i o - v i s u a l r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n ) . H e n c e i t w a s p o s s i b l e t o e x a m i n e c a r r y - o v e r o f s y s t e m a t i c e f f e c t s o f p a r t i c u l a r t y p e s o f c u e s a n d c u e c o m b i n a t i o n s t o t h e c o n d i t i o n o f c o m p l e t e i n f o r - m a t i o n a v a i l a b i l i t y . T h e a u d i t o r y b y v i s u a l i n t e r a c t i o n f o r t h e r a t i n g s o n c o n s c i e n t i o u s n e s s w a s a g a i n f o u n d t o b e s i g n i f i c a n t f o r t h e r a t i n g s o f c o n s c i e n t i o u s n e s s u n d e r a u d i o - v i s u a l e x p o s u r e
( F ( 6 , 1 3 7 ) = 4 . 2 5 , D = 0 . 4 0 , P < O . O 1 ) e v e n t h o u g h r a t e r s i n a l l c o n d i t i o n s w e r e e x p o s e d t o e x a c t l y t h e s a m e i n f o r m a t i o n ,
s u g g e s t i n g a c a r r y - o v e r o f t h e s e e f f e c t s f r o m t h e p a r t i a l e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n . T h i s r e s u l t s u g g e s t s t h a t e v e n u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s o f c o m p l e t e e x p o s u r e t o a l l a v a i l a b l e c u e s s y s t e m a t i c e f f e c t s o f f o r m e r p a r t i a l ( c r o s s c h a n n e l ) c u e c o m b i n a t i o n s o n t h e j u d g m e n t o f c o n s c i e n t i o u s n e s s r e m a i n . A t l e a s t f o r t h e t r a i t o f c o n s c i - e n t i o u s n e s s , t h e n , t h e s e f i n d i n g s p o i n t t o t h e p o t e n t i a l i m p o r - t a n c e o f f i r s t i m p r e s s i o n s b a s e d o n p a r t i a l i n f o r m a t i o n . H o w e v e r ,
s i n c e t h e e f f e c t d o e s n o t g e n e r a l i z e o v e r t r a i t s t h e s e r e s u l t s , e v e n t h o u g h s u g g e s t i v e , a r e h a r d l y c o n c l u s i v e .
3. A g r e e m e n t between Ratings across Exposure Conditions
T o w h a t e x t e n t d o i n f e r e n c e s b a s e d o n d i f f e r e n t s e t s o f p a r t i a l c u e s o r c u e c o m b i n a t i o n s a g r e e w i t h e a c h o t h e r ? T h e r e l a t i v e i n f e r e n c e s p e c i f i c i t y o r g e n e r a l i t y o f s p e c i f i c t y p e s o f c u e s f o r p e r s o n a l i t y a t t r i b u t i o n c a n b e a s s e s s e d b y l o o k i n g a t t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s o f t h e m e a n r a t i n g s o f t h e 15 s t i m u l u s p e r s o n s u n d e r e a c h p a r t i a l c u e c o n d i t i o n w i t h t h e m e a n r a t i n g o f t h e s e p e r s o n s u n d e r e a c h o t h e r c o n d i t i o n . U n l e s s a h i g h c o r r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n t w o s e t s o f r a t i n g s is d u e t o c h a n c e , k n o w l e d g e o f h o w a p e r s o n is j u d g e d o n t h e b a s i s o f o n e s e t o f c u e s w o u l d a l l o w us to p r e d i c t , w i t h i n c e r t a i n l i m i t s , h o w t h a t p e r s o n w i l l b e s e e n b y o b s e r v e r s w i t h a c c e s s t o a d i f f e r e n t s e t o f c u e s . T h e c e n t r a l q u e s t i o n t o b e d i s c u s s e d in t h i s s e c t i o n , t h e n , is t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h s i m i l a r i t y o f i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t e n t a n d i n f o r m a t i o n v a l u e o f d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f c u e s a l l o w s s u c h p r e d i c t i o n .
W e a s k e d w h e t h e r i n f e r e n c e s b a s e d o n o n e t y p e o f c u e c a n p r e d i c t i n f e r e n c e s f r o m t h e s a m e t y p e o f c u e if it a p p e a r s in c o m b i n a - t i o n w i t h v a r i o u s c u e s f r o m o t h e r c h a n n e l s . F o r e x a m p l e , d o r a t i n g s b a s e d o n e l e c t r o n i c a l l y c o n t e n t - f i l t e r e d s p e e c h a g r e e h i g h l y w i t h o n e a n o t h e r i r r e s p e c t i v e o f w h e t h e r t h i s a u d i t o r y c u e h a s b e e n p a i r e d w i t h P h o t o , V i d e o , o r N o V i s u a l c u e s ? T o s o m e e x t e n t , t h i s q u e s t i o n i m p l i e s t h e p r o b l e m o f i n f e r e n c e s t r e n g t h a n d i n f e r e n c e s t a b i l i t y o f c e r t a i n c u e s i n d e p e n d e n t o f t h e c u e c o n t e x t in w h i c h t h e y o c c u r . In t h e p r e s e n t c a s e , j u d g e s a g r e e d v e r y h i g h l y w i t h e a c h o t h e r o n a l l f i v e t r a i t s w h e n e v e r t h e y w e r e e x p o s e d t o n o r m a l s p e e c h c u e s i r r e s p e c t i v e o f t h e v i s u a l c u e s w i t h w h i c h t h e y w e r e p a i r e d ( m e a n i n t e r c o r r e l a t i o n o f r = 0 . 7 0 , P < O . O 1 a c r o s s a l l t r a i t s ) . T h i s i m p l i e s t h a t n o r m a l s p e e c h c u e s p r o d u c e s t r o n g a n d r e l i a b l e i n f e r e n c e s r e - l a t i v e l y u n a f f e c t e d b y t y p e o f i n f o r m a t i o n c a r r i e d b y c u e s in t h e o t h e r c h a n n e l s , a l l o w i n g a r e a s o n a b l e p r e d i c t i o n o f h o w a p e r s o n w i l l b e j u d g e d o n t h e b a s i s o f h i s s p e e c h , p o s s i b l y d u e t o s t r o n g c u l t u r a l s t e r e o t y p e s (cf. K r a m e r , 1 9 6 3 ; S c h e r e r , 1 9 7 2 ) . S u c h s t a b i l i t y o f i n f e r e n c e o n t h e b a s i s o f t h e s a m e t y p e o f c u e i n d i f f e r e n t c o n t e x t s w a s a l s o f o u n d f o r f r e q u e n c y - r e l a t e d v o i c e c u e s ( R a n d o m S p l i c e d S p e e c h ) f o r e x t r a v e r s i o n (r = 0 . 5 3 , P < 0 . 0 5 ) a n d a s s e r t i v e n e s s (r = 0 . 5 9 , P < 0 . 0 5 ) as w e l l as f o r V i d e o f o r e m o t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y (r = 0 . 6 2 , P < 0 . 0 5 ) , e x t r a v e r s i o n (r = 0 . 7 6 , P < 0 . O 0 1 ) , a n d a s s e r t i v e n e s s (r = O . 6 1 , P < 0 . 0 5 ) , a n d f o r P h o t o f o r e x t r a v e r s i o n o n l y (r = 0 . 6 2 , P < 0 . 0 5 ) . R a t i n g s b a s e d o n S c r i p t O n l y a n d C o n t e n t F i l t e r e d S p e e c h d i d n o t a g r e e c o n s i s - t e n t l y w i t h e a c h o t h e r a c r o s s d i f f e r e n t c u e c h a n n e l c o m b i n a t i o n s .
T h e s e d a t a c o r r o b o r a t e a n e a r l i e r f i n d i n g s h o w i n g s i g n i f i c a n t l y l o w e r r e l i a b i l i t y f o r j u d g m e n t s o f a f f e c t b a s e d o n e l e c t r o n i - c a l l y f i l t e r e d s p e e c h as c o m p a r e d t o j u d g m e n t s b a s e d o n r a n d o m - s p l i c e d s p e e c h ( S c h e r e r e t a l . , 1 9 7 2 ) . I t a p p e a r s , t h e n , t h a t s t r o n g , r e l i a b l e i n f e r e n c e s i n d e p e n d e n t o f c u e c o n t e x t a r e a f f o r d e d m a i n l y b y v o i c e f r e q u e n c y c u e s in t h e a u d i t o r y c h a n n e l a n d d y n a m i c m o v e m e n t c u e s i n t h e v i s u a l c h a n n e l .
A r e l a t e d t y p e o f a n a l y s i s e x a m i n e s t h e d e g r e e o f a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n i n f e r e n c e s b a s e d o n o v e r l a p p i n g c u e s in t w o c o n d i t i o n s . A n o v e r l a p b e t w e e n c u e s is a s s u m e d w h e n in o n e e x p o s u r e c o n d i - t i o n c u e s a r e p r o v i d e d , f o r e x a m p l e , p a u s e s in c o n t e n t - f i l t e r e d s p e e c h s a m p l e s , t h a t a r e a l s o a u d i b l e i n a n o t h e r e x p o s u r e c o n - d i t i o n , e . g . , N o r m a l S p e e c h . T h u s p a u s e c u e s o v e r l a p i n a c o m - p a r i s o n o f t h e s e t w o c o n d i t i o n s . T h e s a m e is t r u e f o r p h y s i o g - n o m i c c u e s ; b e t w e e n t h e P h o t o a n d V i d e o c o n d i t i o n s , f o r e x a m p l e . S i n c e a t l e a s t s o m e o f t h e c u e s o v e r l a p , o n e w o u l d e x p e c t a h i g h l e v e l o f a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n s u c h c o n d i t i o n s , u n l e s s t h e " o v e r - l a p p i n g " i n f o r m a t i o n is i r r e l e v a n t t o t h e j u d g m e n t s t o b e m a d e . I n t h e p r e s e n t d a t a t h i s is f o u n d o n l y f o r t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n R a n d o m S p l i c e d S p e e c h / N o V i s u a l C u e s a n d R a n d o m S p l i c e d S p e e c h / V i d e o as w e l l as C o n t e n t F i l t e r e d S p e e c h / N o V i s u a l C u e s a n d C o n t e n t F i l t e r e d S p e e c h / V i d e o o n o n e h a n d a n d a l l c o n d i t i o n s w i t h a N o r m a l S p e e c h c o m p o n e n t f o r e x t r a v e r s i o n a n d a s s e r t i v e n e s s
( m e a n r = 0 . 6 1 , P < 0 . 0 5 f o r R a n d o m S p l i c e d S p e e c h / N o V i s u a l C u e s a n d R a n d o m S p l i c e d S p e e c h / V i d e o c o r r e l a t i o n s , r = 0 . 5 7 , P < 0 . 0 5 f o r C o n t e n t F i l t e r e d S p e e c h / N o V i s u a l C u e s a n d C o n t e n t F i l t e r e d S p e e c h / V i d e o c o r r e l a t i o n s ) . T h e r e w e r e n o c o n s i s t e n t s i g n i f i c a n t c o r r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n P h o t o a n d t h e V i d e o c o n d i t i o n , i . e . , p h y s i o g n o m i c a p p e a r a n c e , h a i r s t y l e , c l o t h i n g , e t c . a r e n o t v e r y p o w e r f u l o r a t l e a s t n o t v e r y c o n s i s t e n t d e t e r m i n a n t s o ~ p e r s o n a l i t y i m p r e s s i o n s . B o t h f r e q u e n c y a n d s e q u e n c e r e l a t e d s p e e c h c u e s , h o w e v e r , s e e m s t r o n g l y a n d c o n s i s t e n t l y t o a f f e c t t h e i n f e r e n c e o f e x t r a v e r s i o n a n d a s s e r t i v e n e s s . G e n e r a l l y it a p p e a r s f r o m t h e s e r e s u l t s t h a t c u e s a f f e c t i n g t h e i n f e r e n c e o f t h e s e i n t e r p e r s o n a l t r a i t s (cf. S c h e r e r , 1 9 7 2 , p. 207) h a v e a s t r o n g e r a n d m o r e r e l i a b l e i m p a c t o n p e r s o n a l i t y j u d g m e n t . We now turn to a more systematic analysis of the effect of overlapping cues on agreement between rating conditions. In Table I all 66 possible pairs or comparisons between the 12 partial exposure rating conditions h a v e b e e n cate- gorized into five classes of "cue compatibility" depending on whether the cues in the respective auditory and visual component s were the same (e.g., R a n d o m S p l i c e d S p e e c h ~ P h o t o - R a n d o m S p l i c e d S p e e c h ~ V i d e o ) , different (e.g., R a n d o m S p l i c e d S p e e c h ~ P h o t o - S c r i p t ~ V i d e o ) , or overlapped each other as de-
fined above (e.g., R a n d o m S p l i c e d S p e e c h ~ P h o t o - N o r m a l S p e e c h ~ N o Visual cues).
Due to the fact that there are always two channel components, the following five categories in ascending order of cue compatibility'~an be constructed:
same/overlap, same/different, overlap/overlap, overlap/different, different/
T a b l e i. P r o p o r t i o n o f s i g n i f i c a n t c o r r e l a t i o n s (P < 0.O5) b e t w e e n p a r t i a l e x p o s u r e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s b y cue c o m p a t i b i l i t y o f p a i r e d c o n d i t i o n s
P a i r s
S a m e / S a m e / O v e r l a p / O v e r l a p / D i f f e r e n t / o v e r l a p d i f f e r e n t o v e r l a p d i f f e r e n t d i f f e r e n t
M e a n
C o n s c i e n - 0 . 5 0 0 . 1 5 0 . 1 3 0 . O 4 O . O O O . 1 6 t i o u s n e s s
E m o t i o n a l 0 . 4 2 0 . 3 8 O . 1 3 0 . 0 9 O . O O 0 . 2 0 s t a b i l i t y
E x t r a - 0 . 6 7 0 . 6 2 0 . 2 6 0 . 2 2 0 . O O 0 . 3 5 v e r s i o n
A s s e r t - 0 . 5 0 0 . 6 2 O . 1 3 0 . 3 5 O . i 0 0 . 3 4 i v e n e s s
A g r e e - 0 . 6 7 0 . 2 3 O . 1 3 0 . 0 4 O . O O 0.21
a b l e n e s s
Note: Cue c o m p a t i b i l i t y is d e f i n e d b y w h e t h e r the a u d i t o r y a n d / o r v i s u a l c o m p o n e n t s of the s t i m u l i in two p a r t i a l r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s u n d e r c o m p a r i s o n are the same t y p e s o f cues, e.g., RS-Photo/RS-Video, w h e t h e r o n e c a n a s s u m e t h a t the r e s p e c t i v e cues overlap, e.g., RS-Photo/Normal Speech-No v i s u a l , or w h e t h e r t h e y are d i f f e r e n t , RS-Photo/Script-Video, RS-Photo/CF-No visual. Thus, RS-Photo/Normal S p e e c h - V i d e o w o u l d b e c l a s s i f i e d as overlap/
overlap, C F - P h o t o / C F - N o V i s u a l as same~different, a n d so on. C o m p a r i s o n s a r e a r r a n g e d in the t a b l e in the o r d e r o f d e c r e a s i n g cue c o m p a t i b i l i t y .
d i f f e r e n t . F o r e a c h o f t h e s e c a t e g o r i e s the p r o p o r t i o n or p e r c e n t a g e o f sig- n i f i c a n t c o r r e l a t i o n s o u t o f all p o s s i b l e c o r r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n the p a i r s o f c o n d i t i o n s in e a c h c a t e g o r y w e r e c o m p u t e d for e a c h trait. The d a t a in T a b l e
i s h o w t h a t the p r o p o r t i o n o f s i g n i f i c a n t i n t e r - c o n d i t i o n C o r r e l a t i o n d r o p s w i t h d e c r e a s i n g cue c o m p a t i b l i t y ; the p r o p o r t i o n for all t r a i t s c o m b i n e d
s h o w s a S i g n i f i c a n t d e c r e a s i n g l i n e a r t r e n d (F(I,3) = 37,55, r = 0.96, P < O.Oi) in an a n a l y s i s - o f - v a r i a n c e t r e a t i n g the t r a i t s as r e p l i c a t e s . As one w o u l d expect, the m o r e o v e r l a p o r c o m p a t i b i l i t y b e t w e e n d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f c u e s o r c u e c o m b i n a t i o n s o n w h i c h p e r s o n a l i t y j u d g m e n t s are based, the m o r e a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n j u d g e s is found. O n e m i g h t argue t h a t f i n d i n g h i g h e r
a g r e e m e n t as a p o s i t i v e f u n c t i o n o f the s i m i l a r i t y of the s t i m u l u s s i t u a t i o n s is n o t v e r y p r o f o u n d . H o w e v e r , the s t r e n g t h o f this r e l a t i o n s h i p a n d the l a c k o f a g r e e m e n t w h e n the r e s p e c t i v e c u e s are d i f f e r e n t c l e a r l y i n v a l i d a t e s t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t p e r s o n a l i t y i n f o r m a t i o n is h i g h l y r e d u n d a n t a c r o s s dif- f e r e n t cues. It d o e s n o t s e e m to be the c a s e t h a t a n y O n e of m a n y p o s s i b l e c u e s w i l l be s u f f i c i e n t to i n f e r the r e s p e c t i v e traits, as an e x t r e m e v e r s i o n o f the " u n i t y o f p e r s o n a l i t y " t h e o r y w o u l d hold. O n the c o n t r a r y , we h a v e to a s s u m e t h a t d i f f e r e n t cues c a n give rise to q u i t e d i s t i n c t i v e a n d p o s s i b l y i n c o m p a t i b l e p e r s o n a l i t y i n f e r e n c e s w h e n e n c o u n t e r e d in i s o l a t i o n o r in s p e c i f i c c o m b i n a t i o n s .
