Conditioning and Generalization of Influence Behavior

Abstract

Ss were run in 3-person groups. On the basis of a discussion period, Ss rated one another on leadership, quality of ideas, participation, self-confidence, and influence. In a group guessing situation which followed, S with the lowest summed rating was reinforced for his guesses and the other group members for following him. A second discussion was employed to index generalization of the reinforcement effects. Conditioning was successful, and a relative change measure indicated that interpersonal perceptions of the initially lowest rated S rose significantly between discussions. It is not known what precise aspects of Ss' behaviors changed between discussions, but evidence is presented that the shifts in interpersonal perceptions were more than generalized approach responses to a conditioned reinforcer (halo effect) carried over from the conditioning situation.