The present study investigated the relative strength of perceiver and target person variables on person information categories used in first impressions. Descriptions of four target persons written by fifty-two females were content analyzed according to person information categories. Comparisons were made in amount of overlap in categories used when one perceiver described two target persons (1 on 2) dressed to convey either similar or different professional images, when two perceivers described the same target person (2 on 1) dressed to convey either similar or different professional images, and when two perceivers described two different target persons (2 on 2) dressed to convey either similar or different professional images. No differences in category usage were found for 1 on 2, 2 on 1, and 2 on 2 descriptions. Data were re-analyzed for valence (positive or negative tone) of the overall descriptions. As with category usage, agreement on valence of descriptions was similar for I on 2, 2 on 1, and 2 on 2. Results are discussed in terms of social perception research and methods used by researchers investigating person perceptions.
Argyle, M., and McHenry, R. (1971). Do spectacles really affect judgments of intelligence . British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 10, 27-29.
2.
Asch, S.E. (1946). Forming impressions of personality. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 41, 258-290.
3.
Bargh, J. (1982). Attention and automaticity in the processing of self-relevant information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 425-436.
4.
Bourne, E. (1977). Can we describe an individual's personality? Agreement on stereotype versus individual attributes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(12), 863-872.
5.
Buckley, H.M. (1983). Perceptions of physical attractiveness as manipulated by dress: Subjects versus independent judges. The Journal of Psychology,114, 243-248.
6.
Buckley, H.M., & Haefner, J.E. (1984). The physical attractiveness stereotype using dress as a facilitator. Journal of Consumer Studies and Home Economics , 8, 351-358.
7.
Christman, L.A., & Branson, D.H. (1990). Influence of physical disability and dress of female job applicants on interviewers. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 8(3), 51-57.
8.
Damhorst, M.L. (1984-85). Meanings of clothing cues in social context . Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 3(2), 39-48.
9.
Damhorst, M.L. (1990). In search of a common thread: Classification of information communicated through dress. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 8(2), 1-12.
10.
Davis, L.L. (1984). Clothing and human behavior: A review. Home Economics Research Journal, 12, 325-339.
11.
Davis, L.L. (1987). Effect of sex, inferred sex-role and occupational sex-linkage on perceptions of occupational success. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 64, 887-898.
12.
Davis, L.L. (1990). Social salience: What we notice first about a person. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71, 334.
13.
Davis, L.L., & Lennon, S.J. (1988). Social cognition and the study of clothing and human behavior. Social Behavior and Personality, 16(2), 175-186.
14.
DeLong, M.R., Salusso-Deonier, C., & Lamtz, K. (1983). Use of perceptions of female dress as an indicator of role definition. Home Economics Research Journal, 11(4), 327-336.
15.
Dornbush, S.M., Hastorf, A.H., Richardson, S.A., Muzzy, R.E., and Vreeland, R.S. (1965). The perceiver and the perceived: Their relative influence on the categories of interpersonal cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1(5), 434-440.
16.
Douty, H.I. (1963). Influence of clothing on perceptions of persons . Journal of Home Economics, 55, 197-202.
17.
Fiske, S.T., & Cox, M.G. (1979). Person concepts: The effects of target familiarity and descriptive purpose on the process of describing others. Journal of Personality, 47, 136-161.
18.
Fiske, S.T., & Taylor, S.E. (1984). Social cognition. New York : Random House.
19.
Fontenelle, G., Phillips, A., & Lane, D. (1985). Generalizing across stimuli as well as subjects: A neglected aspect of external validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70, 101-107.
20.
Forsythe, S.M., Drake, M.F., & Cox, C.A. (1984). Dress as an influence on the perceptions of management characteristics in women. Home Economics Research Journal , 13(2), 112-121.
21.
Forsythe, S., Drake, M.F., & Cox, C.E. (1985). Influence of applicant's dress on interviewer's selection decisions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70(2), 374-378.
22.
Hamid, P. (1968). Style of dress as a perceptual cue in impression formation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 26, 904-906.
23.
Hamid, P. (1972). Some effect of dress cues on observational accuracy, perceptual estimate, and impression formation. Journal of Social Psychology, 86, 279-289.
24.
Higgins, E.T., King, G.A., & Mavin, G.H. (1982). Individual construct accessibility and subjective impressions and recall. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 35-47.
25.
Hollenbeck, A.R., & Small, A.C. (1986). Fundamental research and research fundamentals: A response to Pasnak's comments. Teaching of Psychology, 13(1), 31-32.
26.
Johnson, B.H., Nagasawa, R.H., & Peters, K. (1977). Clothing style differences: Their effect on the impression of sociability. Home Economics Research Journal , 6, 58-63.
27.
Lennon, S.J. (1990). Effects of clothing attractiveness on perceptions . Home Economics Research Journal, 18, 303-310.
28.
Lennon, S.J., & Davis, L.L. (1989a). Categorization in first impressions. The Journal of Psychology, 123, 439-446.
29.
Lennon, S.J., & Davis, L.L. (1989b). Clothing and human behavior from a social cognitive framework Part I: Theoretical perspectives. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 7(4), 41-48.
30.
Lewis, L., & Johnson, K.K.P. (1989). Effect of dress, cosmetics, sex of subject, and causal inference on attribution of victim responsibility . Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 8(1), 22-27.
31.
Littrell, M.A., and Berger, E.A. (1985-1986). Perceiver's occupation and client's grooming: Influence on person perception. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 4(2), 48-55.
32.
Long, T.J. (1978). Influence of uniform and religious status on interviewees . Journal of Counseling Psychology, 25, 405-409.
33.
Markus, H. (1977). Self-schemata and processing information about the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 63-78.
34.
Miller, F.G., Feinberg, R.A., Davis, L.L., & Rowold, K.L. (1982). Measurement of individual differences in sensitivity to appearance. Home Economics Research Journal, 10, 381-390.
35.
Park, B. (1986). A method for studying the development of impressions of real people. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 51(5), 907-917.
36.
Rowold, K.L. (1984). Sensitivity to the appearance of others and projection as factors in impression formation. Home Economics Research Journal, 13, 105-111.
37.
Small, A.C., Hollenbeck, A.R., & Haley, R.L. (1982). The effect of emotional state on student ratings of instructors. Teaching of Psychology, 9(4), 205-208.
38.
Thornton, G.R. (1944). The effect of wearing glasses upon judgments of personality traits of persons seen briefly. Journal of Applied Psychology, 28, 203-207.
39.
Thurston, J.L., Lennon, S.J., & Clayton, R.V. (1990). Influence of age, body type, fashion, and garment type on women's professional image. Home Economics Research Journal, 19(2), 139-150.
40.
Workman, J.E., & Johnson, K.K.P. (1989). The role of clothing in extended inferences. Home Economics Research Journal, 18(2), 164-169.
