INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES IN THE SPONTANEOUS CONSTRUAL OF BEHAVIOR - IDIOCENTRISM AND THE AUTOMATIZATION OF THE TRAIT INFERENCE PROCESS

Previous research indicated that idiocentrism (an individual differenc e corresponding to the culture-level variable of individualism) is pos itively correlated with spontaneous trait inference (STI). This findin g is consistent with the hypothesis that a belief in the utility of tr ait interpretations should lead one to practice and automatize the tra it inference process. In Study 1, idiocentrism correlated negatively w ith spontaneous inferences about situational causes of behavior. The p ositive relationship between idiocentrism and spontaneous inference is thus specific to trait inferences. In Study 2, a priming manipulation was used to examine the accessibility of trait concepts as a possible mediator of the relationship between idiocentrism and STI. However, t rait priming boosted trait-cued recall only for idiocentric participan ts, suggesting instead that the key distinction between nonidiocentric and idiocentric people is that the former lack an automatized trait i nference procedure. This research demonstrates how cross-cultural conc epts fan prove useful for other areas of social psychology.