Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Taking it Personally: Individual Differences in the Interpretation of Negative Evaluations

Peterson, Ashlei Margaret

Abstract Details

2016, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Psychology.
Dispositional feedback, regardless of valence, has various negative behavioral consequences. However, what exactly is evaluated in feedback can be ambiguous and result in different interpretations. Until now, individual differences in subjective processing of feedback have been largely unexplored. Are some people more likely to take feedback personally? In this paper, we proposed that one’s interpretation of negative, ambiguous remarks is associated with his or her attachment security, i.e. their internal working models. This hypothesis was tested via survey methodology. In Study 1, participants differed in their interpretations of ambiguous, negative evaluations based on their attachment status. Fearful individuals, those with negative internal working models of both the self and others, were significantly more likely to take feedback personally than secure participants. In Study 2, participants uniformly rated 30 negative adjectives’ descriptiveness for various referents, ruling out individual differences in the perception of default referents for negative remarks void of context. In Study 3, the type of relationship between individuals globally affected participants’ interpretations of ambiguous, negative remarks and participants displayed attachment differences in their interpretation of evaluations from a third- vs. first-person perspective. These results provide initial evidence of attachment-related differences in the likelihood to take negative evaluations personally.
Susan Johnson (Advisor)
John Gibbs (Committee Member)
Laura Wagner (Committee Member)
72 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Peterson, A. M. (2016). Taking it Personally: Individual Differences in the Interpretation of Negative Evaluations [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1460372882

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Peterson, Ashlei. Taking it Personally: Individual Differences in the Interpretation of Negative Evaluations. 2016. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1460372882.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Peterson, Ashlei. "Taking it Personally: Individual Differences in the Interpretation of Negative Evaluations." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1460372882

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)