Implicit Personality Theory

Explanations > Theories > Implicit Personality Theory

Description | Example | So What? | See also | References 

Description

This is the general expectations that we build about a person after we know something of their central traits. For example when we believe that a happy person is also friendly.

Example

I may assume intelligent people are arrogant, quiet people are timid and aggressive people are stupid.

So what?

Using it

Understand the traits that are implicitly linked with traits with which you want to be associated. Then display these traits and by inference, you will assumed to have the other traits. For example, a person who is polite and attentive may well be assumed to be trustworthy also.

Defending

Think carefully about people to whom you are giving trust. Do you have real evidence about their trustworthiness, or are you guessing it from other cues.

See also

Attribution Theory, Illusory Correlation

References

Bruner and Taguiri (1954)

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