On Becoming Acquainted: A Longitudinal Study of Social Judgement Processes

Abstract

This article reports the findings of a longitudinal study of social judgements made during the acquainting process. A repeated measures design was employed to observe changes in four variables: affective reactions, uncertainty, trust and attraction. Results showed that all four variables and the relationships among these variables changed over time. Results also indicated few unsystematic differences across acquainting dyads; thus the changes over time could best be represented as a uniphasic process. Based upon the findings of this study, a four-stage model of social judgement processes during acquainting was proposed including: (1) uncertainty, (2) exploratory affect, (3) interpersonal growth, and (4) interpersonal stability.