EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATION, INFORMATION OVERLAP, AND BEHAVIORAL CONSISTENCY ON CONSENSUS IN SOCIAL-PERCEPTION

Three experiments (N = 69, 162, and 201, respectively) were conducted to test the mathematically derived predictions of the Weighted Average Model (D. A. Kenny, 1991) of consensus in interpersonal perception. S tudy 1 estimated the effect of perceiver communication, Study 2 estima ted the effects of communication and stimulus overlap, and Study 3 est imated the effects of communication, overlap, and target consistency o n consensus. The strongest consensus was found when perceivers communi cated about highly overlapping information about targets who were cros s-situationally consistent. Conversely, the lowest level of consensus was observed when perceivers did not communicate and had nonoverlappin g information about targets who were cross-situationally inconsistent. Both stimulus variables (overlap and consistency) and an interpersona l variable (communication) affected consensus as predicted by the Weig hted Average Model.