EFFECT OF SINGLE-TRAIT, SOCIAL STEREOTYPE, AND MULTI-TRAIT EXPECTANCIES ON PERSON IMPRESSIONS

Person memory research has investigated single-trait (i.e., Bill is in telligent) and multi-trait (i.e., Bill is intelligent and adventurous) expectancies for how expectancy-congruent and -incongruent behaviors are processed, organized in memory, and retrieved The present research extends theorizing by incorporating another type of expectancy-a soci al stereotype expectancy(e.g, Bill is an intellectual)-into a typical person memory paradigm. Although there was no evidence that perception s of the congruency-incongruency of behaviors differed as a function o f type of expectancy (Study I), an Incongruency Effect (ie., proportio nally higher recall for incongruent than congruent behaviors) was sign ificant given a single-trait expectancy, marginally significant given a social stereotype expectancy, but not significant given a multitrait expectancy (Study 2). Expanding models of person memory to include so cial stereotype expectancies broadens our understanding of how differe nt types of expectancies can affect memory for information about a per son in the course of forming an initial impression.