Dynamics of subjective assessments of personal characteristics of a person in various perceptual situations

Abstract

Introduction . The relevance of the study is due to the need to study the patterns of perception of a person's personal characteristics observed in ecologically valid situations of his interaction with other people. The novelty of the study lies in the disclosure of the features of interpersonal perception, taking into account the context in which the observer perceives the person being evaluated. Methods . As a stimulus material, three scenarios of situations of interpersonal interaction were constructed and the corresponding video clips were filmed, in each of which the same sitter participated. The study involved 20 people randomly divided into two equal groups, one of which was presented with stimulus videos with sound, and the other without it. The task of the study participants was to assess the personal characteristics of the sitter on the 21 scale of the "Personal Differential" methodology. Results . The study revealed a significant influence of perceptual situations related to different areas of interpersonal interaction on the observer's subjective assessment of the personal characteristics of the person included in these situations. The dynamics of subjective assessments is partially marked by the factors "Strength", "Activity" and "Evaluation" of the personality differential, as well as by their separate scales. The presentation of video clips in formats with and without sound made it possible to identify common and various significant patterns of influence of the perceived situation of interpersonal interaction on the subjective assessment of the personal characteristics of the object of perception included in it. The discussion of the results. The results contribute to the understanding of the processes of social perception and, in particular, the dependence of the observer's subjective assessment of the personal characteristics of another person on the situations of interpersonal interaction in which he is perceived. The regularities discovered due to the applied methodical approach demonstrate the adequacy of using the ideas of J. Gibson's ecological approach for the study of perceptual situations.

Keywords

• situation
• perceptual situation
• personal characteristics
• interpersonal perception
• conditions of perception
• interpersonal assessments
• appearance perception
• personality differential
• assessment bias
• ecological approach