Information-Seeking Strategies in Person Perception

Abstract

Information sought by Ss desiring to form an impression of a stimulus person was explored in relation to (1) the sex of the S, (2) the sex of the stimulus person, and (3) the valence of the initial input information. The results were interpreted in terms of various information-seeking strategies used by Ss in matching the additional sought information to their initial impressions. A fourth variable, S's cognitive complexity, was found to be related to the amount of information sought by females: the more cognitively complex females sought the most information in forming their impressions of a stimulus person.