Impression management in the forced compliance situation: Two studies using the bogus pipeline

Two studies were performed to assess the interpersonal concerns of subjects in the forced compliance paradigm. The first study counterposed dissonance and impression management theory predictions in a 2 × 2 design by varying the public versus private nature of the counterattitudinal behavior and by assessing attitudes with the usual pencil-and-paper method or with a bogus pipeline technique designed to create strong pressures toward sincere reporting. Attitude change occurred only in the Public/Pencil-and-Paper condition and thus supported an interpersonal or impression management interpretation. The second study examined the effect of measuring the critical attitude a second time in the mode not experienced in the first assessment. This three-group design (Pencil-and-Paper/Bogus Pipeline, Bogus Pipeline/Pencil-and-Paper, Control) demonstrated that attitude change occurred only in the Pencil-and-Paper/Bogus Pipeline condition and was maintained on the second assessment when measured by the bogus pipeline. A common-factor analysis of the secondary measures in the second study demonstrated that the Pencil-and-Paper/Bogus Pipeline subjects reported a great deal of negative arousal such as embarrassment and guilt, while the subjects in the Bogus Pipeline/Pencil-and-Paper condition reported feeling manipulated and constrained. The findings of both studies were interpreted as consistent with impression management theory.     

How the adoption of impression management goals alters impression formation

Five experiments (N = 390) tested the hypothesis that adopting an impression management goal leads the impression manager to view an interaction partner as having less of the trait he or she is attempting to express. This hypothesis was confirmed for the impression management goals of appearing introverted, extraverted, smart, confident, and happy. Experiment 2 shows that adoption of the impression goal could alter judgments even when participants could not act on the goal. Experiment 3 provides evidence that adopting an impression management goal prompted a comparison mind-set and that this comparison mind-set activation mediated target judgments. Experiment 4 rules out a potential alternative explanation and provides more direct evidence that comparison of the impression manager's self-concept mediates the impression of the target. Experiment 5 eliminates a potential confound and extends the effect to another impression goal. These experiments highlight the dynamic interplay between impression management and impression formation.     

Visual impressions of force exerted by one object on another when the objects do not come into contact

Simple animations in which one object contacts another give rise to visual impressions that the former object causes the outcome for the latter, and that the former object is exerting force on the latter. How does the impression of force relate to the impression of causality? The main aim of this research was to investigate this issue using stimuli in which there is a gap between the objects at closest approach. Delay between the first object stopping and the second object starting to move had a strong effect on reported force impressions, which is consistent with findings of research on the causal impression. However, the reported force impression was little affected by either the size of the gap or the presence and features of an object in the gap, whereas the causal impression was strongly affected by both. The findings support the conclusion that the force impression and the causal impression are distinct components of the visual interpretation of the stimulus.     

Pills and attitude change: misattribution of arousal or excuses for negative actions?

Two experiments evaluated the competing interpretations of cognitive dissonance and impression management theories regarding the pill and misattribution studies of attitude change in the forced compliance situation. Attitude change was eliminated when subjects were told about the tension side effects of taking a placebo, replicating the usual effect. Attitude change was also eliminated, however, when subjects took the pill following counterattitudinal behavior. In one condition of the second experiment, subjects were given instructions about tension side effects but were also told that the drug would not affect their moral judgment or behavior. These instructions eliminated attitude change in a standard pill condition. The typical finding of attitude change was manifested in the misattribution/no-excuse condition. The primary and secondary data from both studies provided more support for the impression management interpretation of the standard misattribution manipulations than for a theory of misattribution of dissonance-produced arousal.     

Criterion Development and Validity of the CQT in Field Application

Two experiments evaluated the competing interpretations of cognitive dissonance and impression management theories regarding the pill and misattribution studies of attitude change in the forced compliance situation. Attitude change was eliminated when subjects were told about the tension side effects of taking a placebo, replicating the usual effect. Attitude change was also eliminated, however, when subjects took the pill following counterattitudinal behavior. In one condition of the second experiment, subjects were given instructions about tension side effects but were also told that the drug would not affect their moral judgment or behavior. These instructions eliminated attitude change in a standard pill condition. The typical finding of attitude change was manifested in the misattribution/no-excuse condition. The primary and secondary data from both studies provided more support for the impression management interpretation of the standard misattribution manipulations than for a theory of misattribution of dissonance-produced arousal.     

从个体印象管理到组织印象管理

组织印象管理（OIM）关注组织如何通过行为和信息的调控来影响受众的知觉问题,成为当前印象管理研究的新领域。组织印象管理与个体印象管理具有互动关系;个体印象管理研究为组织印象管理研究奠定了基础。未来组织印象管理研究的重点领域包括：研发组织印象管理的评价工具,了解组织印象管理的策略,认识组织印象管理策略使用的后效,并突出组织印象管理的在我国的实际应用研究     

Dishonest responding or true virtue? A behavioral test of impression management

Impression management or social desirability scales have been used widely to assess and control for self-favoring biases in self-reports, both in low and high demand situations. Recently, however, substantive interpretations of impression management scores have surfaced, including the simple but troubling proposition that high scores in impression management scales actually reflect honesty rather than dishonest responding. In line with findings indicating that respondents answer to personality questionnaires rather accurately in typical low demand situations, we herein suggest that high impression management scores indeed reflect true virtues rather than dishonesty under such conditions. We found support for this idea by replicating previous correlations between impression management scores and virtue-related basic personality traits (including honesty–humility), and additionally provided conclusive behavioral evidence: We linked scores on an impression management scale administered under typical low demand condition to behavior in an incentivized, anonymous cheating task. The results clearly indicate that low scores in impression management are associated with more cheating. That is, high – and not low – scores on the impression management scale of the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding are aligned with more virtuous, honest behavior.     

情境公开性与印象管理动机对建议采纳的影响

实验1和实验2分别探讨在公开和匿名条件下期望印象和印象标签对建议采纳的影响。结果表明：（1）期望印象会影响建议采纳，在公开情境中，当个体期望形成温暖的印象时，会更多采纳建议；当个体期望形成能力印象时，建议采纳程度更低。（2） 印象标签会影响建议采纳，在公开情境中，当个体期望维持原有的温暖印象时，会更多采纳建议；个体期望维持原有的能力印象时，建议采纳程度更低。本研究证明建议采纳过程中存在印象管理机制。     

Effects of Impressions of Amazement and Foolishness on Compliance

Impression management theory maintains that the use of strategic tactics such as self-promotion can influence targets in desired directions. Self-promotion concerns an actor's attempts to establish an image of competence. In this study, a confederate attempted to sell raffle tickets to targets after promoting himself by amazing his targets with his extraordinary calculating skills (high competence), making a fool of himself by exhibiting calculating skills falling far short of pretensions (low competence), or making no impression at all. Amazing targets was achieved by communicating with the experimenter using a concealed communications device. It was found that amazement increased compliance substantially over foolishness and making no impression, while foolishness yielded the same degree of compliance as making no impression. Thus, the utility of self-promotion in influencing others, as predicted by impression management theory, received empirical support.     

Appearing smart: the impression management of intelligence, person perception accuracy, and behavior in social interaction

Intelligence is an important trait that affects everyday social interaction. The present research utilized the ecological perspective of social perception to investigate the impression management of intelligence and strangers' evaluations of targets' intelligence levels. The ability to effectively portray an impression of intelligence to outside judges as well as interaction partners was appraised and the effect of impression management on the accurate judgment of intelligence was assessed. In addition, targets' behavior was studied in relation to impression management, perceived intelligence, and actual measured intelligence. Impression-managing targets appeared more intelligent to video judges but not to their interaction partner as compared to controls. The intelligence quotient (IQ) of impression-managing targets was more accurately judged than controls' IQ. Impression-managing targets displayed distinct nonverbal behavioral patterns that differed from controls. Looking while speaking was a key behavior: It significantly correlated with IQ, was successfully manipulated by impression-managing targets, and contributed to higher perceived intelligence ratings.     

Doing More Harm Than Good: When Is Impression Management Likely to Evoke a Negative Response?

Impression management tactics do not always successfully influence observers, and may in fact create undesirable impressions. Hypotheses are derived concerning the conditions under which observers may respond more or less positively to impression management tactics. Qualitative data from an experiment manipulating two impression management tactics—self-handicapping and causal accounts—in conjunction with successful or failed performance outcomes were content-analyzed for subjects' general impressions of an actor. In turn, these ratings were subjected to an ANOVA. Results suggest that impression management tactics are differentially effective and under certain conditions can actually create negative images. The consistency of impression management tactics, performance outcomes, and observers' expectations form the basis for observers' general impressions of impression managers.     

Do Impression Management Scales in Personality Inventories Predict Managerial Job Performance Ratings?

Theorists have argued that impression management scales should predict job performance in jobs where interpersonal interactions are important. This research examined the correlation between impression management scale scores and overall job performance as well as its component dimensions for managerial jobs (one type of job requiring considerable interpersonal interaction). First, a meta‐analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between impression management scale scores and overall managerial performance. Results indicated that the correlation was .04 (k = 17, N = 20,069) for managers. Two additional studies were conducted to investigate the relationship between impression management and specific facets or dimensions of managerial performance. In one of these two studies, the relationships between impression management scores and supervisory ratings on 24 performance facets were investigated for 826 managers. Criterion‐related validities ranged from ‐.06 to .07. In the second study, correlations of an impression management scale with ratings on 22 dimensions of performance were examined using a sample of 257 executives. The validities ranged from .01 to .11. There appears to be little evidence that impression management scales predict job performance in at least one job category where interpersonal interactions are important (management). Potential relevance of these results for understanding social desirability in personality measurement for personnel selection is discussed.     

Credit cues and impression management: a preliminary attempt to explain the credit card effect

Prior research had suggested that individuals would estimate higher product values and even tip more in the presence of credit cues. In the absence of a clear theoretical interpretation of this credit card effect we propose that this tendency is an impression management strategy such that credit cue exposure influences perceptions of the self and focuses attention on individual wealth. Thus, in the presence of others, credit cues serve to enhance images of the self. Preliminary data in support of this alternative theoretical perspective are presented.     

A Cybernetic Model of Impression Management Processes in Organizations

Recent theory and research have suggested that a significant portion of human behavior in organizations is motivated by impression management concerns, that is, by the desire to be perceived by others in certain ways. However, the complex interpersonal dynamics of impression management in organizations remain largely unexplored. This paper synthesizes theory and research across several disciplines and literatures to present an integrative, process-oriented model of impression management in organizations. Potential applications and implications of the model for management research and practice are discussed and directions for future research are provided.     

Impression management motive and voice: Moderating effects of self‐monitoring,self‐efficacy,and voice instrumentality

The purpose of this study is to examine how employees’ impression management motive influences their voice by considering dispositional and situational variables. Drawing on the theory of self‐motive, we hypothesized that voice would be more positively related to impression management motive than prosocial motive. In addition, based on the interactional approach of motive and trait and trait activation theory, we hypothesized that the relationship between impression management motive and voice would be moderated by self‐monitoring, self‐efficacy, and voice instrumentality. Using a sample of 307 supervisor–subordinate dyads from South Korea, we found that, although prosocial motive had a positive influence on voice, impression management motive had a stronger influence on voice than prosocial motive. We also found that the positive influence of impression management motive on voice was stronger for employees with high levels of self‐monitoring, self‐efficacy, and voice instrumentality. This study helps verify the boundary conditions as to when impression management motive is strongly related to voice. In addition, this study will provide theoretical clues for resolving the inconsistent findings on the relationship between impression management motive and voice.     

Look at me, I'm happy and creative: The effect of impression management on behavior in social presence

The present research tested competing approaches to individual differences in impression management (as measured with social desirability scales) and their implication for behavior in social contexts. A defensiveness approach argues that impression management is a source of defensive self-presentation, which causes performance impairment in public social settings. The competing adjustment approach argues that impression management measures friendliness and self-control, which should bring about performance facilitation in public social settings. To decide between these approaches, two experiments utilized a social facilitation paradigm, whereby task performance was compared between an alone and a public condition. The results supported the predictions of the adjustment approach. Across different tasks, a high impression management score was associated with performance facilitation in social presence, expressed in greater creativity, positive implicit affect, and high self-control. The results reveal previously unnoticed constructive effects of impression management, supporting the reframing of the trait as reflecting interpersonally oriented self-control.     

Effectiveness of Impression Management Tactics Across Human Resource Situations1

An experimental study was undertaken to explore the effectiveness of impression management tactics in various situations. To manipulate the variables of interest, 6 different scenarios were created by crossing 2 independent variables: impression management tactics (self-focused or other-focused) and situation (employment interview, performance appraisal, or training session). Respondents, 178 human resource professionals, were mailed a survey that contained 2 of the 6 scenarios. In each scenario, respondents rated the person described in the scenario on performance, provided their affective impressions, and determined the appropriateness of the impression management cues given the situation. Results indicated a significant interaction between the use of impression management and the situation. These findings are compared to past research, and suggestions for future directions for the study of impression management are outlined.     

Perceived competence and impression management: Testing the mediating and moderating mechanisms

Using a diverse and unique sample of triads (N = 191 self, peer, and supervisor reports) from a field survey of two service sector organisations, this study examined the effects of perceived competence (self‐reported) and supervisor‐rated performance ratings on peer‐rated impression management. The study also tested the mediating role of performance in competence–impression management relationships and the moderating role of job satisfaction (self‐reported) in performance–impression management relationships using bootstrapping techniques. The study further examined the conditional indirect effects (i.e., moderated mediation) of perceived competence on impression management. The sample consisted of white collar employees from a government organisation and a leading cellular company in a developing country (i.e., Pakistan). Employees with low perceived competence were more likely to use impression management tactics than were those with high perceived competence. Similarly, poor performance ratings produced high impression management. Moreover, performance mediated the relationship between competence and impression management. The findings also suggest that perceived competence has a negative indirect effect on impression management for those with high levels of job satisfaction. Finally, impression management was highest when performance and satisfaction were low.     

Burger or yogurt? Indulgent consumption in impression management contexts

We conducted three studies to investigate indulgent choice in settings with and without impression management by public–private manipulation with evaluation. Study 1 showed that the participants were less indulgent under public scrutiny due to the employment of impression management. Study 2 focused on the impression management context to test the moderate effect of self‐consciousness in two impression managed contexts. Study 3 focused on context without impression management to test the moderate effects of self‐awareness on choices. We found that depending on differences in primed personality, individuals tended to make choices other than those they favoured privately when anticipating that others might form impressions of them based on the decisions made. The findings of all three studies support our basic prediction that people are less indulgent under impression management and suggest that people tend to manage their impression by eating healthier (less indulgently) in public.     

The influence of job familiarity and impression management on self-report measure scale scores and response latencies

Two studies were conducted to examine the effects of job familiarity and impression management on response latencies and scale scores for measures of personality and situational judgment. In a laboratory study using university students and a field study using U.S. Border Patrol Agent applicants, impression management was generally associated with faster personality item responses when job familiarity was high and with slower responses when job familiarity was low. Both impression management and job familiarity were associated with personality item responses that were more likely to lead to a job offer. The field study revealed a similar pattern of results for situational judgment scale response latencies, although only impression management was associated with item responses that were more likely to lead to a job offer. The implications for using response latencies to detect impression management on self-report measures are discussed.