Does the Motive Matter? The Role of Intended Effects in Characterizing Actions and Inferring Personality Traits

Abstract

A functional model is proposed to explain the process by which perceivers characterize an action as trait-relevant (e.g., that is a kind action), and infer a trait based on this action (e.g., that is a kind person). The primary purpose of this model is to explore the possibility that actions are characterized as trait-relevant based on the intended effects of the action, and that an action's intended effects influences trait-inferences drawn about the actor. The traits investigated in this study include those relevant to warmth, competence, and environmental effects. The results suggest that intended effects influence both action characterization and trait-inferences across all traits investigated, F(1, 113) = 189.79, p < .001, partial eta-squared = .627. The implications of these results are discussed in light of formative or descriptive models of personality and process-oriented models of personality.