Psychodynamically (n=19) and behaviorally (n=21) trained clinicians observed a taped interview. Half were told the interviewee was a job applicant, and half were told the interviewee was a patient. Judges rated the clinicians' descriptions of the interviewee according to the locus of the problem on a scale from person to situation based. (Author)

Subjects interacted once or twice with a confederate whose behavior in each interaction was friendly or unfriendly and either spontaneous or forced. Single interaction subjects formed impressions reflecting the confederate's behavior but not its cause. Subjects having friendly then unfriendly interactions formed impressions reflecting the cuase of…

College students (N=308) were asked to function in a judgmental activity assumed to correspond to the diagnostic activity of categorizing a target person as "mentally ill." Analysis of scores shows subjects regard the target person as more negative and more "maladjusted" when the interviewer enacts expected appropriate professional interest.…

Male and female subjects (N=186) participated in a simulated jury experiment in which race of the victim, race of the defendant, and amount of evidence against the defendant were varied. Results indicated racial similarity of the defendant and/or victim to subject jurors influenced levels of negative traits attributed to the defendant. (Author)

The influence of empathy on observers' attributions for an outcome achieved by an actor was examined as well as self-presentational strategies when observers either expected to assume the actor's role later (Role-Playing). On videotape, observer-subjects (N=160) watched an actor succeed or fail at an interpersonal influence task, after being given…