Effects of Trait Guilt on Impressions of Character and Prescriptions of Punishment and Guilt

Abstract

In order to determine the effect of trait guilt on impression formation, high and low G-trait Ss read a simulated newspaper story of a student caught cheating on an examination. High and low G-trait males and females, presented with either a male or female stimulus person, indicated ratings of credibility and character, prescribed punishment and appropriate guilt for the offense, and estimated the stimulus person's and their own guilt in the cheating situation. Results indicated that high G-trait Ss prescribed significantly less severe punishment for the female stimulus person. There was also a tendency for high G-trait Ss to impute more intense guilt to the stimulus person and to estimate their own guilt for cheating to be greater than low guilt Ss. These findings and other trends were interpreted from a sex-typing and role-expectation perspective.