Transfer of rewarded responses in personality judgments

Abstract

A total of 108 students in five high-school psychology classes judged 32 facial photographs on four personality traits. Students worked in pairs, one making the judgments (“performing”), the other checking correct answers (“observing”) when the experimenter called them out after all subjects had judged the face on all four traits (emotionality, intelligence, shyness, and sincerity). Students traded roles after the first 16 items. Male performers selected previously correct traits more often than did male observers when they were asked to select the “most outstanding” trait for each face in a subsequent test. This result provides some support for the predicted strengthening by reward with information controlled. No difference occurred for females.