Linking Person Perception to Behavior Intention Across Cultures

Abstract

This research addressed two questions: (1) What are the potentially universal links between the dimensions of person perception and those of behavior intention, and (2) what dimensions of person perception are most salient in collectivist as opposed to individualistic cultures? Male subjects from Hong Kong and Australia read a description of a target person (TP) varying across the universal dimensions of extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. They then indicated their behavior intentions toward that TP. Across both cultures, TP conscientiousness was linked to intentions of trust and TP extroversion and agreeableness to intentions of association. As predicted from the dynamics of cultural collectivism, the Chinese were more responsive than the Australians to TP conscientiousness in forming trust intentions and to TP agreeableness in forming associative intentions.