Studies in Interpersonal Epistemology I: Situational Attributes in Observational Context Selection

Abstract

The present studies investigated the bases upon which persons choose social contexts in order to maximize information acquisition about a stranger. In Experiment 1, persons expressed information acquisition preferences for pictures in which a target person was in either solitary or social situations. Judges strongly preferred social contexts for information acquisition. In Experiment 2, persons made preference judgments on the informational value of pictures in which a target person was with either similar or dissimilar others and was either involved or uninvolved with the others. Multidimensional scaling analyses revealed that the similarity and involvement dimensions were used as bases for information preference choices. Persons showed strong preferences for situations in which the target person was highly involved. Similarity preferences were more variable. Findings were discussed in terms of social comparison theory. The implications of the findings for the utility of rule-governed approaches to interpersonal communication were considered.