Who Likes Extraverts? Testing the Interplay Between Perceiver Needs and Target Appearance in Impression Formation

TL;DR

This study explores how personal needs and traits influence how people judge others based on their appearance, but found no clear links.

Contribution

The study contributes by testing and failing to find associations between specific individual differences and likeability judgments of extraverted appearances.

Findings

No association found between affiliative needs and likeability of extraverted targets.

Pathogen concern and sociosexual orientation also did not predict likeability of extraverted appearances.

Bayesian analyses confirmed the lack of significant relationships.

Abstract

The role of perceiver differences in impression formation remains relatively poorly understood. One line of research has tried to understand these differences by exploring the role of perceivers’ needs and motivations, reasoning that perceivers should form more positive impressions of targets who appear more likely to address their needs. For example, a perceiver with a stronger affiliation motive might have a more positive impression of someone who looks more (vs. less) extraverted. We conducted two preregistered replication studies of proposed associations between three individual difference variables and likeability impressions of individuals varying in perceived extraversion. Using the original stimuli and study design (Study 1, n = 273) and two additional stimulus sets and an improved study design (Study 2, n = 367), we did not find that individual differences in (a) affiliative needs, (b) pathogen concern, or (c) sociosexual orientation were associated with likeability impressions of individuals varying in perceived extraversion. Bayesian analyses supported this conclusion. Our findings highlight the need for additional research to understand how individual differences shape social perception.

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