dryad Posted October 17, 2003 Posted October 17, 2003 More from the Science Daily archives... (source) Mom Was Right -- If You Don't Have Anything Nice To Say About Someone, Don't Say Anything At All: The Boomerang Effect Of Gossip Is Discovered WASHINGTON -- It appears to go against common sense -- not to mention classic psychological theory -- but researchers writing in the April edition of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology say they have identified a common, but apparently mindless, psychological phenomenon that plays a previously unrecognized role in the way people form impressions of other people. Specifically, they've found that when someone attributes positive or negative traits to someone else, the listener will often attribute those same traits to the speaker. "In other words," the authors write, "politicians who allege corruption by their opponents may themselves be perceived as dishonest, critics who praise artists may themselves be perceived as talented, and gossips who describe others' infidelities may themselves be viewed as immoral." In a recent communication, the authors suggest that this phenomenon could play a role in the public's reaction reaction to participants in the recent White House scandal. "For example," they note, "when Kenneth Starr accuses Bill Clinton of perjury, Starr himself may be seen as more deceitful. Similarly, when Linda Tripp claims that Monica Lewinsky had sex with the President, Tripp herself may be seen as more promiscuous. The gist of our research is that when you gossip, you become associated with the characteristics you describe, ultimately leading those characteristics to be 'transferred' to you." The researchers conducted a series of four studies on the phenomenon they call spontaneous trait transference. Three of the four studies involved participants looking at photographs accompanied by brief statements. In the first study, the statements were ostensibly about someone the person in the photograph knew. In the second, the statements were either about the person in the photograph or about someone else. In the third study, participants were clearly told that the photographs and the statements had nothing to do with each other; they had been paired at random. In the final study, participants watched videotapes of actors answering off-screen questions about themselves or about someone they knew. Some of the statements accompanying the photographs (or made on the videotape) were designed to elicit a positive or negative trait. For example "cruel" was implied by the statement "He hates animals. Today he was walking to the store and he saw this puppy. So he kicked it out of his way." But consistently through the studies, participants attributed the elicited trait to the speakers, even though these speakers described someone other than themselves. This occurred even when participants were specifically told that there was no connection between the speakers and the statements, suggesting, the authors say, that this phenomenon is irrational and largely outside of conscious awareness. Article: "Spontaneous Trait Transference: Communicators Take on the Qualities They Describe in Others" by John J. Skowronski, Ph.D., The Ohio State University at Newark; Donal E. Carlston, Ph.D., and Lynda Mae, M.A., Purdue University and Matthew T. Crawford, Indiana University Bloomington in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 74, No. 4. This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American Psychological Association. Quote
EWolfe Posted October 17, 2003 Posted October 17, 2003 trask said: one sentence please OK. I sentence you to life without spray Quote
allthumbs Posted October 17, 2003 Posted October 17, 2003 Q. How do you annoy your girlfriend during sex? A. Phone her. Quote
Scott_J Posted October 18, 2003 Posted October 18, 2003 Statements that will almost guarantee you won't get any: "Oh, you had a bad day at work? Where's my dinner?" "Are you retaining water this week?" "I was only kidding . . . " "Are you feeling ok? You look like shit." "I'll be right up after the Simpsons, OK?" Quote
Fairweather Posted October 18, 2003 Posted October 18, 2003 What do you call a prostitute with a runny nose? Quote
minx Posted October 18, 2003 Posted October 18, 2003 Fairweather said: What do you call a prostitute with a runny nose? trask? Quote
cracked Posted October 18, 2003 Posted October 18, 2003 Fairweather said: What do you call a prostitute with a runny nose? full Quote
allthumbs Posted October 18, 2003 Posted October 18, 2003 Q. Why do women fake orgasms? A. Because they think men care. Quote
scott_harpell Posted October 18, 2003 Posted October 18, 2003 Q. Why do women fake orgasms? because they aren't with me. Quote
Harry_Pi Posted October 18, 2003 Posted October 18, 2003 Hello capitalist! Now I know american can't understand oriental sense of humor. Thank you for allow commie to post on non humorous website... Quote
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