TRAIT RATINGS FROM DESCRIPTIONS OF BEHAVIOR AS MEDIATED BY COMPONENTSOF MEANING

This study examined the role language plays in mediating the influence of verbal descriptions of persons on trait ratings of those persons. Subjects were given written descriptions of the behavior of fictitious persons in a work situation and were asked to rate them on fifteen tr ait-adjective scales. In one condition of the experiment, specific inf ormation about certain traits was withheld, forcing subjects to rate p ersons on traits for which they had no direct behavioral clues. In the other two conditions, the specific information was provided. Providin g specific information about a trait directly influenced ratings on th at trait even when sufficient general information on that trait was gi ven. In one condition, the influence on the ratings of the additional behavioral clues was such that a new latent variable representing an a dditional component of meaning was called for in the structural equati on model.