Close encounters: Interpersonal proximity amplifies social appraisals
Authors: Veranic, K., Bayliss, A.P., Zhao, M., Stephen, I.D. and Ewing, L.
Journal: British Journal of Psychology
eISSN: 2044-8295
ISSN: 0007-1269
DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12781
Abstract:Social appraisals reflect the rapid integration of available perceptual information with broader contextual factors (e.g., intentions). While interpersonal distance affects both information availability and social context, how it changes trait impressions remains unknown. Over four experiments, we used a novel paradigm to address this question. In Experiment 1, we assessed participants' attributions of attractiveness, competence, dominance and trustworthiness of life size full body images of people when they appeared at near (1 m) and far (4 m) distances. Proximity amplified the relative magnitude of both positive and negative socio-evaluative impressions. However, this effect of proximity leading to more extreme positive or negative ratings was selectively weaker for aesthetic (attractiveness) judgements. In Experiment 2 (size) and Experiment 3 (spatial frequency), we held distance constant while manipulating visual cues relating to implied distance, revealing broadly similar results to Experiment 1. In Experiment 4, we used the interpersonal comfort distance paradigm to confirm that our life-sized projected images elicited similar comfort distance to interacting with a real person, helping to validate our general approach. These findings demonstrate the crucial role of interpersonal distance in impression judgements.
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/40731/
Source: Scopus
Close encounters: Interpersonal proximity amplifies social appraisals
Authors: Veranic, K., Bayliss, A., Zhao, M., Stephen, I. and Louise, E.
Journal: British Journal of Psychology. General Section
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
eISSN: 0373-2460
ISSN: 0373-2460
DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12781
Abstract:Social appraisals reflect the rapid integration of available perceptual information with broader contextual factors (e.g., intentions). While interpersonal distance affects both information availability and social context, how it changes trait impressions remains unknown. Over four experiments we used a novel paradigm to address this question. In Experiment 1 we assessed participants’ attributions of attractiveness, competence, dominance, and trustworthiness of life size full body images of people when they appeared at near (1m) and far (4m) distances. Proximity amplified the relative magnitude of both positive and negative socio-evaluative impressions. However, this effect of proximity leading to more extreme positive or negative ratings was selectively weaker for aesthetic (attractiveness) judgements. In Experiment 2 (size) and Experiment 3 (spatial frequency), we held distance constant while manipulating visual cues relating to implied distance, revealing broadly similar results to Experiment 1. In Experiment 4, we used the interpersonal comfort distance paradigm to confirm that our lifesized projected images elicited similar comfort distance to interacting with a real person, helping to validate our general approach. These findings demonstrate the crucial role of interpersonal distance in impression judgements.
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/40731/
Source: Manual
Close encounters: Interpersonal proximity amplifies social appraisals
Authors: Veranic, K., Bayliss, A.P., Zhao, M., Stephen, I.D. and Ewing, L.
Journal: British Journal of Psychology
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISSN: 0373-2460
Abstract:Social appraisals reflect the rapid integration of available perceptual information with broader contextual factors (e.g., intentions). While interpersonal distance affects both information availability and social context, how it changes trait impressions remains unknown. Over four experiments we used a novel paradigm to address this question. In Experiment 1 we assessed participants’ attributions of attractiveness, competence, dominance, and trustworthiness of life size full body images of people when they appeared at near (1m) and far (4m) distances. Proximity amplified the relative magnitude of both positive and negative socio-evaluative impressions. However, this effect of proximity leading to more extreme positive or negative ratings was selectively weaker for aesthetic (attractiveness) judgements. In Experiment 2 (size) and Experiment 3 (spatial frequency), we held distance constant while manipulating visual cues relating to implied distance, revealing broadly similar results to Experiment 1. In Experiment 4, we used the interpersonal comfort distance paradigm to confirm that our lifesized projected images elicited similar comfort distance to interacting with a real person, helping to validate our general approach. These findings demonstrate the crucial role of interpersonal distance in impression judgements.
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/40731/
Source: BURO EPrints