Abstract
Two classes of theories propose that anxious individuals will form either more affect congruent or more stereotypic impressions of others. These theories’ predictions are not mutually exclusive. Eighty-one participants were examined to determine if either class of theories was more descriptive of the effect of anxiety on impression formation or whether a theory combining elements of both was more appropriate. Anxious participants read behavioural descriptions about an Australian Aboriginal target that were stereotypic, non-stereotypic, threatening, and non-threatening, and rated the target on traits that corresponded to the behavioural descriptions. Anxious participants formed impressions that were more affect-congruent, but not more stereotypic, than those formed by control participants. This result was replicated in a field study with 61 participants who were waiting to see a dentist. Future studies should examine the cognitive mechanisms that influence and underlie anxious affect-congruent impression formation.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | British Journal of Social Psychology |
Publication status | Published - 2005 |
Keywords
- anxiety
- attitude (psychology)
- human information processing
- impression formation (psychology)
- social psychology
- stereotypes (social psychology)