This paper explores the cognitive and behavioral consequences of our impressions of other people in the context of social stereotypes. Social stereotypes are a special case of interpersonal perception. Though they are usually simple and overgeneralized, many social stereotypes concern highly visible and distinctive personal characteristics, such…

Jones and Nisbett (1972) hypothesize that actors attribute their actions to situational requirements whereas observers attribute the same actions to personal dispositions. This hypothesis is critically examined and a reconceptualization is proposed. (Editor/RK)

Of what importance are our impressions and perceptions of others? This empirical investigation suggests that social perceptions can and do exert powerful channeling effects on subsequent social interaction such that actual behavioral confirmation of these beliefs is produced. Outlines a theoretical account of the processes believed to underlie…

A perceiver's knowledge of a target person (T) can be seen as active, initiatory cognitive structures or conceptual schemas that guide and influence: (1) information processing about T; (2) search for and interpretation of new information about T; (3) remembrance and interpretation of previously-learned information about T; (4) social interaction…

People tend to have both public and private selves, creating different images in their own minds, and in the minds of others. High self-monitoring individuals (SMIs), as identified through the Self Monitoring Scale, observe their public images and adapt them to produce desired effects. They tend to see themselves as pragmatic, flexible, and…