SOCIAL VALUE OF HYPOTHESIS CONFIRMATION

In a first paper (Dardenne, Leyens and Yzerbyt, 1997), we presented st udies on information gathering strategies and hypothesis confirmation in the field of social psychology. In this second paper, lee suggest t hat confirmatory strategies should be investigated according to the go als of the interaction. Social perception is too often seen as driven by an accuracy goal. In addition, traditional studies are conducted wi thout interpersonal interaction, as if perception was aimed at solving an intellectual problem. This focus on interaction and a diversity of goals sheds a new light on. the social perceiver. It appears that hyp othesis confirmation has important social functions.