The Primacy-of-Warmth Effect on Spontaneous Trait Inferences and the Moderating Role of Trait Valence: Evidence From Chinese Undergraduates

Abstract. Past research has demonstrated that perceivers are more likely to draw spontaneous trait inferences (STIs) from stereotype-consistent behaviors than from stereotype-inconsistent behaviors. Four studies were conducted to examine the moderating role of power in stereotype effects on STIs. Priming power using the scrambled sentence task, Study 1 found that high-power participants drew STIs from elderly stereotype-consistent but not from elderly stereotype-inconsistent sentences, while low-power participants did not draw STIs from elderly stereotype-consistent or stereotype-inconsistent behaviors. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 by exploring the moderating role of power in gender stereotype effects on STIs. Measuring participants’ dispositional power via the Personal Sense of Power, Study 3 found that dispositional power also moderated the effects of gender stereotype on STIs. Study 4 found that compared with the baseline condition (no-power manipulation), the low-power condition inhibited STIs from stereotype-consistent behaviors, but the high-power condition did not facilitate STI formation from stereotype-consistent behaviors. The current study is the first to show that power influences the reliance on stereotypes when spontaneously inferring traits from behaviors.

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The effect of stereotype activation on spontaneous inferences

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.7470 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 47 (8) ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Pei Wang ◽

Ai-hua Tao ◽

Fan Gao ◽

Yi-wen Xie

Keyword(s):

Chinese People ◽

Stereotype Activation ◽

Spontaneous Trait Inferences ◽

Probe Recognition ◽

Trait Inferences ◽

Situational Information ◽

Chinese Undergraduates

We adopted the probe recognition paradigm to examine the effect of stereotype activation on spontaneous inferences among Chinese undergraduates (N = 48). First, behavioral sentences involving trait-implying behavior and corresponding situational information were simultaneously presented. We then selected stereotype labels of the actor's behavior that were consistent or inconsistent with the behavior, and which were activated either supraliminally or subliminally. The results showed that whether a stereotype was activated supraliminally or subliminally, the influence on spontaneous inferences was the same. Specifically, when the stereotype was inconsistent with the actor's behavior, spontaneous situational inferences were facilitated, and when the stereotype was consistent with the actor's behavior, spontaneous trait inferences were not facilitated. As Chinese people may be more prone to spontaneous (vs. trait) inferences, this indicates that human inferences are deeply influenced by culture.

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The Effect of Face Consciousness on Consumption of Counterfeit Luxury Goods

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.2014.42.6.1007 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 42 (6) ◽

pp. 1007-1014 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Yun-Qing Chen ◽

Hong Zhu ◽

Meng Le ◽

Yi-Zhen Wu

Keyword(s):

Purchase Intention ◽

Laboratory Experiments ◽

Positive Influence ◽

Luxury Goods ◽

Intention To Purchase ◽

Luxury Item ◽

Moderating Role ◽

Chinese Undergraduates ◽

Significant Positive Influence

We conducted 3 laboratory experiments to determine how face consciousness influences consumption of counterfeit luxury goods, along with the moderating roles of usage occasion and brand prominence. The participants in the first study were 138 Chinese undergraduates who were allocated to a 2 × 2 design to evaluate their intention to purchase a counterfeit luxury item that would be used either in public or in private. In Studies 2 and 3, using two 2 × 2 designs we evaluated the purchase intention of the participants (132 and 136, respectively) in order to investigate the moderating role of brand prominence. The results showed that participants' face consciousness had a significant positive influence on intention to purchase counterfeit luxury goods. In addition, the products' usage occasion and brand prominence positively moderated the influence that face consciousness had on counterfeit luxury item purchase intention of our participant groups.

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Acknowledging the Role of Word-Based Activation in Spontaneous Trait Inferences

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2919048 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Diana Orghian ◽

TTnia Ramos ◽

Joana Reis ◽

Leonel Garcia Marques

Keyword(s):

Spontaneous Trait Inferences ◽

Trait Inferences

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Two Roads to Updating Brand Personality Impressions: Trait versus Evaluative Inferencing

Journal of Marketing Research ◽

10.1509/jmkr.2005.42.4.458 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 42 (4) ◽

pp. 458-469 ◽

Cited By ~ 107

Author(s):

Gita Venkataramani Johar ◽

Jaideep Sengupta ◽

Jennifer L. Aaker

Keyword(s):

Personality Trait ◽

Dynamic Process ◽

Brand Personality ◽

Inference Making ◽

New Information ◽

Trait Inferences ◽

Moderating Role ◽

Do So

This research examines the dynamic process of inference updating. The authors present a framework that delineates two mechanisms that guide the updating of personality trait inferences about brands. The results of three experiments show that chronics (those for whom the trait is accessible) update their initial inferences on the basis of the trait implications of new information. Notably, nonchronics (those for whom the trait is not accessible) also update their initial inferences, but they do so on the basis of the evaluative implications of new information. The framework adds to the inference-making literature by uncovering two distinct paths of inference updating and by emphasizing the moderating role of trait accessibility. The findings have direct implications for marketers attempting to understand the construction of brand personality, and they emphasize the constantly evolving nature of brand perceptions and the notion that both the consumer and the marketer have important roles to play in this process.

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