This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Baxter, T. L. Articles by Goldberg, L. R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Baxter, T. L. Articles by Goldberg, L. R. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Perceived Behavioral Consistency Underlying Trait Attributions to Oneself and Another

An Extension of the Actor-Observer Effect

University of Oregon and Oregon Research Institute

Lewis R. Goldberg

University of Oregon and Oregon Research Institute

This psychometric study was designed to investigate the hypothesis that people perceive themselves as more variable than others, even when they judge themselves and the other person identically on a trait-rating scale. Using one of two different types of rating formats, subjects described themselves and a person of the same sex and approximate age whom they knew well and liked. Both persons were rated on each of6O trait-descriptive adjectives, with a scale ranging from -3 to +3, plus four middle response options (average, depends on the situation, don't know, term unclear). After each of their trait ratings, subjects assessed the consistency of the person's behaviors associated with that trait. Analyses revealed a highly uniform pattern of self/other differences in the predicted direction: For 72% of the 60 traits, the majority of the subjects described themselves as more variable than the other person.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Krueger Enhancement Bias in Descriptions of Self and Others Pers Soc Psychol Bull, May 1, 1998; 24(5): 505 - 516. [Abstract]

				J. S. Shrauger, D. Ram, S. A. Greninger, and E. Mariano Accuracy of Self-Predictions Versus Judgments by Knowledgeable Others Pers Soc Psychol Bull, December 1, 1996; 22(12): 1229 - 1243. [Abstract]

				Y. Shoda and W. Mischel Cognitive Social Approach to Dispositional Inferences: What if the Perceiver is a Cognitive Social Theorist? Pers Soc Psychol Bull, October 1, 1993; 19(5): 574 - 585. [Abstract]