Summary
The influence of social motivation on perception was operationalized as group pressure on the usage of a 4-point scale by which subjects discriminated two stimulus situations in a procedure analogous to signal detection experiments. After a pretest, only those subjects were taken who preferred the left end of the scale. During each main session three confederates influenced one selected subject by the opposite scale preference after each of his judgments had been given. The preformance level of the confederates was equalized to that of the naive subject in the pretest. Both the possibility of an ex post check and the resulting conflict generated motives leading to an increased performance in the experimental group but to a decrease in the control group (without influence). No subject resisted to influence. The theoretical relevance for social perception is discussed.
Zusammenfassung
Der Einfluß sozialer Motivation auf die Wahrnehmung wurde als Gruppendruck auf den Gebrauch einer 4-Punkte-Skala operationalisiert, auf der Versuchspersonen (Vpn) zwei Reizsituationen wie in Signal-Detection-Experimenten unterschieden. Nach einem Vorversuch wurden nur solche Personen genommen, die das linke Ende der Skala bevorzugten. In allen Hauptversuchen beeinflußten 3 Mitwisser des Versuchsleiters eine ausgewählte Vp durch eine gegensätzliche Bevorzugung der Skala nach jeder Antwort der Vp. Das Leistungsniveau der Mitwisser entsprach dem Niveau der naiven Vp im Vorversuch. Die Möglichkeit der nachträglichen Überprüfung und der resultierende Konflikt erzeugten Motive, die zu einer erhöhten Leistung in der experimentellen Gruppe, in der Kontrollgruppe (ohne Einfluß) jedoch zu einer Abnahme führten. Keine Vp widerstand dem Einfluß. Die theoretische Bedeutung für die soziale Wahrnehmung wird diskutiert.
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Upmeyer, A. Social perception and signal detectability theory: Group influence on discrimination and usage of scale. Psychol. Forsch. 34, 283–294 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00424728
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00424728