Forming Impressions of Personality
Solomon Asch 2017-8-01
II. THE FACTOR OF DIRECTIONIf impressions of the kind here investigated are a summation of the effects of the separate characteristics, then an identical set of characteristics should produce a constant result. Is it possible to alter the impression without changing the particular characteristic? We investigate this question below.
Experiment VI
The following series are read, each to a different group:
A. intelligent—industrious—impulsive—critical— stubborn—envious
B. envious—stubborn—critical—impulsive—industrious—intelligent
There were 34 subjects in Group A, 24 in Group B.
The two series are identical with regard to their members, differing only in the order of succession of the latter. More particularly, Series A opens with qualities of high merit (intelligent— industrious), proceeds to qualities that permit of a better or poorer evaluation (impulsive — critical — stubborn), and closes with a dubious quality (envious). This order is reversed in Series B.
A considerable difference develops between the two groups taken as a whole. The impression produced by A is predominantly that of an able person who possesses certain shortcomings which do not, however, overshadow his merits. On the other hand, B impresses the majority as a "problem," whose abilities are hampered by his serious difficulties. Further, some of the qualities (e.g., impulsiveness, criticalness) are interpreted in a positive way under Condition A, while they take on, under Condition B, a negative color. This trend is not observed in all subjects, but it is found in the majority. A few illustrative extracts follow:
Series A
A person who knows what he wants and goes after it. He is impatient at people who are less gifted, and ambitious with those who stand in his way.
Is a forceful person, has his own convictions and is usually right about things. Is self-centered and desires his own way.
The person is intelligent and fortunately he puts his intelligence to work. That he is stubborn and impulsive may be due to the fact that he knows what he is saying and what he means and will not therefore give in easily to someone else's idea which he disagrees with.
Series B
This person's good qualities such as industry and intelligence are bound to be restricted by jealousy and stubbornness. The person is emotional. He is unsuccessful because he is weak and allows his bad points to cover up his good ones.
This individual is probably maladjusted because he is envious and impulsive.
In order to observe more directly the transition in question, the writer proceeded as follows. A new group (N=24) heard Series B, wrote the free sketch, and immediately thereafter wrote the sketch in response to Series A. They were also asked to comment on the relation between the two impressions. Under these conditions, with the transition occurring in the same subjects, 14 out of 24 claimed that their impression suffered a change, while the remaining 10 subjects reported no change. Some of the latter asserted that they had waited until the entire series was read before deciding upon their impression. The following are a few comments of the changing group:
You read the list in a different order and thereby caused a different type of person to come to mind. This one is smarter, more likeable, a go-getter, lively, headstrong, and with a will of his own; he goes after what he wants.
The first individual seems to show his envy and criticism more than the second one.
This man does not seem so bad as the first one. Somehow, he seems more intelligent, with his critical attitude helping that characteristic of intelligence, and he seems to be industrious, perhaps because he is envious and wants to get ahead. The check-list data appearing in Table 7 furnish quantitative support for the conclusions drawn from the written sketches.
Under the given conditions the terms, the elements of the description, are identical, but the resulting impressions frequently are not the same. Further, the relations of the terms to one another have not been disturbed, as they may have been in Experiments I and II, with the addition and omission of parts. How can we understand the resulting difference?
The accounts of the subjects suggest that the first terms set up in most subjects a direction which then exerts a continuous effect on the latter terms. When the subject hears the first term, a broad, uncrystallized but directed impression is born. The next characteristic comes not as a separate item, but is related to the established direction. Quickly the view formed acquires a certain stability, so that later characteristics are fitted - if conditions permit - to the given direction.
Here we observe a factor of primacy guiding the development of an impression. This factor is not, however, to be understood in the sense of Ebbinghaus, but rather in a structural sense. It is not the sheer temporal position of the item which is important as much as the functional relation of its content to the content of the items following it.
Some further evidence with regard to this point is provided by the data with regard to ranking. We reproduce in Table 8 the rankings of the characteristic "envious" under the two conditions.
Experiment VII
It seemed desirable to repeat the preceding experiment with a new series. As before, we reversed the succession of terms. Unlike the preceding series, there is no gradual change in the merit of the given characteristics, but rather the abrupt introduction at the end (or at the beginning) of a highly dubious trait.
The series were:
A. intelligent—skillful—industrious—determined— practical—cautious—evasive
B. evasive—cautious—practical—determined—industrious—skillful—intelligent
While the results are, for reasons to be described, less clear than in the experiment preceding, there is still a definite tendency for A to produce a more favorable impression with greater frequency. We report below the more extreme protocols in each series.
Series A
He seems to be a man of very excellent character, though it is not unusual for one person to have all of those good qualities.
A scientist in an applied field, who does not like to discuss his work before it is completed. Retiring and careful - but brilliant. Works alone, does not like to be annoyed with questions. A very dynamic man.
A normal, intelligent person, who sounds as if he would be a good citizen, and of value to all who know him.
He seems to have at least two traits which are not consistent with the rest of his personality. Being cautious and evasive contradicts his positive qualities. Altogether, he is a most unattractive person—the two abovementioned traits overbalancing the others.
Series B
This is a man who has had to work for everything he wanted—therefore he is evasive, cautious and practical. He is naturally intelligent, but his struggles have made him hard.
He is out for himself, is very capable but tends to use his skill for his own benefit.
He is so determined to succeed that he relies on any means, making use of his cunning and evasive powers.
Questioning disclosed that, under the given conditions, the quality "evasive" produced unusual difficulty. Most subjects in both groups felt a contradiction between it and the series as a whole. In response to the question, "Were there any characteristics that did not fit with the others?" n out of 27 in Group A mentioned "evasive" while it was mentioned by 11 out of a total of 30 in Group B.
It is of interest to observe how this crucial term was dealt with by individual subjects. Some in Group A felt unable to reconcile it with the view they had formed; consequently they relegated it to a subsidiary position and, in the most extreme cases, completely excluded it. Others reported the opposite effect: the final term completely undid their impression and forced a new view. The following comments are illustrative:
Series A
I put this characteristic in the background and said it may be a dependent characteristic of the person, which does not dominate his personality, and does not influence his actions to a large extent.
I excluded it because the other characteristics which fitted together so well were so much more predominant. In my first impression it was left out completely.
It changed my entire idea of the person— changing his attitude toward others, the type of position he'd be likely to hold, the amount of happiness he'd have—and it gave a certain amount of change of character (even for traits not mentioned), and a tendency to think of the person as somewhat sneaky or sly.
Similar reactions occur in Group B, but with changed frequencies.
The importance of the order of impressions of a person in daily experience is a matter of general observation and is perhaps related to the process under investigation. It may be the basis for the importance attached to first impressions. It is a matter of general experience that we may have a "wrong slant" on a person, because certain characteristics first observed are given a central position when they are actually subsidiary, or vice versa.
Experiment VIII
We studied the factor of direction in yet another way. Series A of Experiment VI was divided in two parts and presented to a new group as a description of two persons. The new series were:
A. intelligent—industrious—impulsive
B. critical—stubborn—envious
Procedure, (I) Series A was read to this group (Group 1), followed by the written sketch and the check list. (2) The subjects were instructed that they would hear a new group of terms describing a second person. Series B was read and' the usual information was obtained. (3) Upon completion of the second task the subjects were informed that the two lists described a single person. They were instructed to form an impression corresponding to the entire list of terms. Certain questions were subsequently asked concerning the last step which will be described below.
A control group (Group 2) responded only to the entire list of six terms (as in Series A of Experiment VI), and answered some of the final questions.
We are concerned mainly to see how Group 1 dealt with the final task, the establishing of an impression based on the two smaller series. That Lists A and B were widely different will be clear in the check-list results of Table 9.
Most subjects of Group 1 expressed astonishment at the final information (of Step 3) and showed some reluctance to proceed. In response to the question, "Did you experience difficulty in forming an impression on the basis of the six terms," the majority of Group 1 (32 out of 52) replied in the affirmative. The reasons given were highly uniform: the two sets of traits seemed entirely contradictory.
I had seen the two sets of characteristics as opposing each other. It was hard to envision all these contradictory traits in one person.
The person seemed to be a mass of contradictions.
He seemed a dual personality. There are two directions in this person.
On the other hand, only a minority in Group 2 (9 out of 24) report any difficulty. Further, the reasons given by the latter are entirely different from those of Group 1. These subjects speak in very general terms, as:
These characteristics are possessed by everyone in some degree or other. The terms do not give an inclusive picture. Only two subjects in Group 2 mention contradiction between traits as a source of difficulty.
The formation of the complete impression proceeds differently in the two groups. Series A and B are at first referred, in Group 1, to entirely different persons. Each is completed in its direction, and the fact that they come successively seems to enhance the contrast between them. It is therefore difficult for them to enter the new impression. Some subjects are unable to reconcile the two directions completely; in consequence their divergence becomes the paramount fact, as the following protocols illustrate:
The directions reacted on each other and were modified, so that the pull in each direction is now less strong. This gives a Jekyll and Hyde appearance to this person.
I applied A to the business half of the man—as he appeared and acted during working hours. B I referred to the man's social life.
The independent development of A and B is on the other hand prevented in Group 2, where they function from the start as parts of one description.
This conclusion is in general confirmed by the following observation. To the question: "Did you proceed by combining the two earlier impressions or by forming a new impression?" the following responses are obtained: (a) 33 of 52 subjects answer that they formed a new impression, different from either A or B; 12 subjects speak of combining the two impressions, while 7 subjects assert that they resorted to both procedures. The following are typical responses in the first subgroup:
I couldn't combine the personalities of A and B. I formed an entirely new impression.
I can conceive of the two sets of characteristics in one person, but I cannot conceive of my impressions of them as belonging to one person.
As I have set down the impressions, one is exactly the opposite of the other. But I can fit the six characteristics to one person.
That the terms of Series A and B often suffered considerable change when they were viewed as part of one series becomes evident in the replies to another question. The subjects were asked, "Did the terms of the series A and B retain for you their first meaning or did they change?" Most subjects describe a change in one or more of the traits, of which the following are representative:
In A impulsive grew out of imaginativeness; now it has more the quality of hastiness. Industriousness becomes more self-centered. Critical is now not a derisive but rather a constructive activity. Stubborn had an entirely personal meaning; now it refers to being set in one's ideas.
The tenor of most replies is well represented by the following comment: When the two came together, a modification occurred as well as a limiting boundary to the qualities to which each was referred.