Negativity and positivity effects in person perception and inference: Ability versus morality

Examined, in 2 experiments involving 190 undergraduates, negativity and positivity effects in trait inferences and impression formation. In Exp 1, Ss made trait inferences of actors in different behavioral instances. Results support the prediction that negative behavior is more informative for judgments of morality but that positive information carries a higher diagnostic value for judgments of ability. In Exp 2, the relative weight of positive vs negative ability- and morality-related traits in an impression formation task was tested. Traits from morality and ability domains were counterposed to see which was the most dominant in determining evaluative impressions. There were strong negativity effects. Information related to negative morality traits may be more influential in forming an evaluative impression than equally extreme positive information related to ability."