AMERICAN STUDENTS EXPECTATIONS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS INVOLVING COMMON CONFLICTING INTERESTS AND EQUAL/UNEQUAL POWER/

The effects of the structural variables of power (equal, P-superior, P -inferior) and common/conflicting interest (concordant, discordant) on individuals' interpretations of interpersonal scenarios in which one person is benefited or harmed by the actions of another were explored. The manipulations were made either explicitly or implicitly in known role relationships within a mixed design. Results indicated that regar dless of the implicit-explicit manipulation, perceivers had systematic relationship-perpetuating tendencies: Relative to concordant relation ships, in discordant relationships the impact of harmful outcomes was maximized and that of beneficial ones was minimized. The more polarize d nature of attributions, together with the disliking and reduced expr essiveness characterizing discordant relationships, implied that such relationships would be more difficult to change than concordant ones. On several measures, the difference between the two types of relations hips was greatest for equal power and least for the inferior person, w ho seemed to he more vulnerable to the effects of outcomes. The theore tical implications of perceivers' expectations about the impact of rel ational context on interpretation of outcomes are discussed with refer ence to their convergence with the theoretical conclusions available f rom naturalistic relationships.