Measurement and generality of response dispositions in person perception.

The article analyses the measurement and generality of response dispositions in person perception. Since the earliest systematic study of person perception, perceivers have been noted to differ in their judgments of others. Consistencies in these differences have been largely attributed to global dispositions or readiness to evaluate others in a consistent direction, like positive or negative. While there are universal aspects to dispositions, for example, a preference for positive descriptions, marked individual differences also exist. The direct measurement of these idiosyncratic dispositions is taken up in this paper. Then, the generality or stimulus specificity of disposition manifestation will be considered. Research will be reviewed which bears on the relationship between measured dispositions, and informational and situational factors. Dispositions are generalized attitudes toward others. As with any global attitude, dispositions represent the pooled evaluative response to the hierarchy of beliefs about the stimulus class being considered. Two methods for measuring perceiver dispositions in person perception were discussed. Both rest on the theoretical premise that attitudes are determined by the evaluative components of beliefs about the object.