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"Judgments of personality are attempts to identify
the psychological properties of people, such as personality
traits, that help to explain what they have done in the past
and to predict what they will do in the future. For example,
one person might judge the degree to which another is critical,
dependable, or energetic. The judgment might be used to explain
why he or she insulted an acquaintance or to predict whether
he or she will work at a job reliably and well. Judgments like
these are not rare in the lab or in daily life and frequently
have been the focus of psychological research." (Funder,
1995).
Although much previous research in the area of social perception
has emphasized the shortcomings in human judgment and attribution,
the purpose of the Riverside Accuracy Project is to investigate
the factors that influence the considerable accuracy with which
people make personality judgments of others in real-life interactions.
The four moderators of person perception which are being investigated
through the Accuracy Project are the judge (why are some people
better judges of personality than others?), the target (why
are some individiduals easier to judge than others?), the trait
(why are some traits easier to judge accurately?), and the information
(what kind of information leads to more accurate judgments of
personality?).
According to the Realistic Accuracy Model these moderators
arise through a four-stage process of accurate personality judgment.
According to this model, accurate judgment is achieved only
when relevant information (e.g., behavior) is emitted by a target,
in a context where it is available to a judge, who then must
detect and then utilize that information correctly. Potential
pitfalls at each of these steps helps explain the source of
moderator effects. For example, a difficult-to-judge target
person might be one who emits few relevant behaviors (e.g.,
perhaps because he or she is deceptive); a good judge would
be someone who is perceptive, thus detecting relevant information,
and who interprets or utilizes that information correctly.
The work that we do is challenging and time consuming, and
none of it would have been possible without the help of many
people and organizations. Many conscientious research assistants,
mostly UCR undergraduates, have worked hard in various capacities
through the course of the project. In addition, the National
Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has provided financial support
without which this work would have been impossible. Finally,
and most importantly, we are grateful to the participants who
have generously donated their time, effort, and openness.
Please browse our web pages for more information on the research
that has come from our lab. Please email any of us with any
questions.
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