Lab to life: impression management effectiveness and behaviors

Abstract

Studies assigning impression goals to achieve in the laboratory typically assume their results translate to social success outside. To test this, 156 participants interacted with a confederate, first with no goal (baseline) and then with a goal (post-goal). Goals were to appear likeable, intelligent, likeable and intelligent, or no goal (Control). Up to 10 friends provided ratings of participants. According to video perceivers, participants achieved their goals on average (relative to Control). Confident-type behaviors mediated Likeability condition assignment (relative to Control) and post-goal likeability, and less smiling/laughing mediated Intelligence condition assignment (relative to Control) and post-goal intelligence. Post-goal perceiver ratings (controlling for baseline) correlated with self-rated and friend-rated social life outcomes, suggesting laboratory impression success translates to outside social success.

Keywords

• impression management
• self presentation
• social life quality
• social effectiveness