Applying the Affordance Conception of Traits: A Person Perception Study

Abstract

The authors compared an affordance operationalization to two traditional operationalizations of traits. Following Beauvois and Dubois (2000), it is argued that traits involve a consistency in both the target behaviors (TBs) and others’ behaviors toward the target (OBs). Conceptually, TBs represent descriptive knowledge (what the target tends to do) and OBs represent functional knowledge (what the target tends to afford). To compare the operationalizations, 49 participants were asked to judge videotapes of 12 targets using one of three rating modes: (a) global trait labels, (b) TBs, or (3) OBs. Results showed that (a) targets were more differentiated with OBs than with TBs or trait labels and (b) trait scales were more homogeneous with OBs than with TBs or trait labels. Consequences of a Gibsonian approach to person perception are discussed.