Personality Signatures in Person Perception: Beyond the Person–Situation Dichotomy

Three studies investigated conditions in which perceivers view dispositions and situations as interactive, rather than independent, causal forces when making judgments about another’s personality. Study 1 showed that perceivers associated 5 common trait terms (e.g., friendly and shy) with characteristic if . . . then . . . (if situation a, then the person does x, but if situation b, then the person does y) personality signatures. Study 2 demonstrated that perceivers used information about a target’s stable if . . . then . . . signature to infer the target’s motives and traits; dispositional judgments were mediated by inferences about the target’s motivations. Study 3 tested whether perceivers draw on if . . . then . . . signatures when making judgments about Big Five trait dimensions. Together, the findings indicate that perceivers take account of person–situation interactions (reflected in if . . . then . . . signatures) in everyday explanations of social behavior and personality dispositions. Boundary conditions are also discussed.