The "Origin-Pawn" Variable in Person Perception

Datos Bibliográficos

ID10758373
AutoresRichard Decharms, Virginia Carpenter, Aharon Kuperman
Año1965
Volumen28
Número3
Páginas241
Fecha de publicación1965-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociometry (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0038-0431 • E-ISSN: 2325-7938
EditorialJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/2786024
PMID14341236
OpenAlexW2438046307
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14

The perception of a person as the origin of his own behavior or as a pawn pushed around by external agents was demonstrated to be an important variable in person perception. This paper reports a study using 216 subjects who responded to constructed stories. A character in the story who was being persuaded to do something was seen as more an origin when the persuasive agent was attractive than when the agent was unattractive, and when the agent was a small group rather than an individual or a large organization. An intrinsically motivated character was seen as the epitome of an origin, but when encouraged by an unattractive source he was seen as somewhat less of an origin. Subjects who feel that they have strong control of their own fate saw the characters in the stories more as origins than did subjects who feel little control. Albert Schweitzer is usually seen as a man who is voluntarily working for the good of mankind in Africa. Our perception of him is that of a man who is free, is pursuing what he has chosen as his contribution to humanity, and is happy in doing it. If anything is seen as constraining him to this work it is his own dedication to the value of working for the good of mankind. We see Albert Schweitzer as the origin of his behavior. John Doe has just been drafted into the army, preventing him from going to college as he had wished. He is peeling potatoes KP while his buddies are out on the town. Our perception of him is that of a man who is completely constrained, pursuing an activity not of his own choosing. He is probably miserable and finds little to value in the constraining force-the Army. We see John Doe, not as the origin of his behavior, but as a pawn. Behavior is readily interpreted along the origin-pawn dimension, and the interpretation may have important effects. If we ask ourselves in a specific instance What him do that? the interpretation of the word made can be very important. If force is implied, especially from an external personal source, we may absolve the person who was forced to behave in a socially disapproved way of all responsibility. We locate the * The research reported in this paper was supported by the Office of Naval Research, Group Psychology Branch, Contract Nonr 816 (11)

Mathematical analysis · Perception · Variable (mathematics · Mathematics · Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence · Psychology · Psychology of Social Influence · Social and Intergroup Psychology