Transference in social cognition: Persistence and exacerbation of significant-other-based inferences over time

A social-cognitive model of transference-defined as the activation and appl ication of a mental representation of a significant other to a new person-h as been verified experimentally in terms of relevant inferences and memory about the new person (e.g., Andersen & Cole, 1990; Andersen, Glassman, Chen , & Cole, 1995). The model suggests that transference should persist and in crease over time, indicating that the phenomenon is not fleeting or self-co rrecting, and is therefore of clinical importance. In two within-subject ex periments, participants learned about four fictional people, one of whom re sembled their own significant other They then completed a recognition-memor y test. In Study 1, the test was administered both immediately after learni ng about the new people, and again 2 to 3 weeks afterward. As predicted, gr eater confidence in having learned representation-consistent attributes tha t had not been presented in the learning task occurred in the significant-o ther condition relative to the control conditions-both immediately and afte r the delay, with the effect increasing over time. The potential artifact o f the first memory test vis-a-vis the second was ruled out in Study 2 which showed the persistence effect using a test administered only once, 2 to 3 weeks after the learning task. Persistence and exacerbation in the effect h ave theoretical and clinical implications, as does the general notion that transference occurs in everyday social perception on the basis of significa nt-other representations.