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Durso Dissertation 2018-07-12.pdf (1.1 MB)

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Social Judgments of Others’ Emotions Versus Their Traits as a Function of Expectations

Durso, Geoffrey Royce Oates
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1531417615156007

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Psychology.
Expectations play a fundamental role in influencing how individuals judge other people. When social expectations about another person are disconfirmed by some outcome—for instance, a student who expects to earn a C on an exam but instead earns an A—two seemingly opposing predictions have been proposed from research in social cognition. Specifically, relative disconfirmation of expectations has been predicted and shown to either magnify or attenuate subsequent judgments of the target person in light of some outcome. This dissertation provides arguments and evidence for a theoretical reconciliation of these opposing predictions. It is postulated that judgments of affect—that is, relative happiness versus unhappiness—are magnified as a result of disconfirmed expectations, due to shifting counterfactual comparisons. In contrast, it is postulated that judgments of attribution—that is, attributions about the person’s individual traits that can explain the observed outcome—are attenuated as a result of expectancy disconfirmation, due to reduced confidence in one’s prior expectation or understanding of the outcome. Thus, the student who receives an unexpectedly good grade is judged to be happier but potentially less competent than another student who receives the same grade but who had accurately expected it in advance. These divergent effects of expectancy disconfirmation are proposed to result from the same perceived discrepancy between expectation and outcome but via distinct psychological processes.
Richard Petty (Advisor)
Duane Wegener (Committee Member)
Russell Fazio (Committee Member)
103 p.
Social Psychology
social cognition, expectation, emotion, attribution, surprise

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Durso, G. R. O. (2018). Social Judgments of Others’ Emotions Versus Their Traits as a Function of Expectations [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1531417615156007

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Durso, Geoffrey. Social Judgments of Others’ Emotions Versus Their Traits as a Function of Expectations. 2018. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1531417615156007.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Durso, Geoffrey. "Social Judgments of Others’ Emotions Versus Their Traits as a Function of Expectations." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1531417615156007

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1531417615156007
385
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.