Effect of Similarity on Social Schemas

Abstract

Kuethe (1962), using the Felt Figure Replacement Technique, found that non-identical human figures (man-woman) were replaced closer together than identical non-human figures (two identical rectangles). This finding was attributed to the operation of a social schema that humans “go together.” The present experiment examined this finding, with similarity of form held constant and similarity of dimension varied. Perception of dimensional differences rather than social schemas may be a more viable explanation for the differences in replacement of the figures. These results add to the growing evidence that the technique must be subjected to much closer scrutiny before being widely accepted.