Selectivity of Negative Bias in Impression Formation

Summary Prior research has established a bias toward negativity in impressions of moral-ethical character formed from combinations of favorable and unfavorable information. Judgments of other dimensions of personality have not been examined so systematically. In this study, three other dimensions, intelligence, emotional adjustment, and likeability, were investigated in a paradigm previously used with character impressions. Ss (N = 158 university students of both sexes) were given blocks of positive and negative information with order and quantity controlled. They made evaluative judgments based on all available information after each univalent segment and again a week later. For intelligence and likeability as defined here, positive and negative information received equal weight in the final ratings. Emotional adjustment, like character, showed a negative bias.