PERSONALITY TRAIT ATTRIBUTION: THE ROLE OF TRAITS, SITUATIONS, AND ACTOR - OBSERVER DIFFERENCES IN PERSPECTIVE

An experiment was designed to test the differences in trait ascriptions of actors and observers. Hypotheses were derived from Monson and Snyder's (1977) causal attribution model such that actor's attributions about themselves would be more strongly affected by their behavioral history (i.e., traits), and that the trait attributions offered by observers would be more strongly influenced by the actor's momentary behavior. It was found that extraverted actors attributed more extraverted traits to themselves than did observers. It was also found that observers attributed traits to actors that were consistent with the behavior that actors exhibited. However, it was also found that introverted actors also attributed more extraverted traits to themselves than did observers. It was hypothesized that a strong social desirability component was operating to moderate the expected effects. Implications for the Jones and Nisbett (1972) hypothesis and for future research were discussed.