Diagnostic and confirmation strategies in trait hypothesis testing.

The role of diagnostic and confirmation strategies in trait hypothesis testing is examined. The present studies integrate theoretical and empirical work on qualitative differences among traits with the hypothesis-testing literature. Ss tested trait hypotheses from 2 hierarchically restrictive trait dimensions: introversion-extraversion and honesty-dishonesty. In Study 1, Ss generated questions to test trait hypotheses, and diagnosticity was theoretically defined (e.g., questions associated with nonrestrictive ends of trait dimensions). In Study 2, Ss selected questions from an experimenter-provided list in which diagnosticity was empirically denned. In Study 3, Ss chose between 2 equally diagnostic questions. In each of the studies, Ss showed a primary preference for diagnostic information and a secondary preference for confirmatory information. Ss' preference for diagnostic information suggests that they prefer to ask the most informative questions. The explanation for the confirmation bias is less obvious, and possible reasons for this effect are discussed. Many researchers within social psychology (eg., Snyder, 1981; Snyder Snyder Swann Trope Trope, Bassok, & Alon, 1 984) have investigated the information-gathering strategies that lay interviewers use in testing trait hypotheses about other people (e.g., Is Fred an extravert?)- This research has revealed two major information-gathering strategies that subjects use when testing trait hypotheses: a confirmation strategy and a diagnostic strategy. However, there has been considerable debate within this literature regarding the relative importance of each strategy. The present research is designed to examine the role of both confirmation and diagnostic strategies in trait hypothesis testing.