The Knowledge of Others' Perceptions (KOP) Model: Practical Accuracy Among the Well-Acquainted

OF THE DISSERTATION The Knowledge of Others’ Perceptions (KOP) Model: Practical Accuracy Among the Well-Acquainted by Brittany Charlotte Solomon Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology Washington University in St. Louis, 2015 Professor Joshua Jackson, Chair Simine Vazire, Co-Chair It is possible that people, especially those who are well-acquainted, have information about others that goes beyond their own impressions. While previous studies primarily focus on the accuracy of a perceiver’s own impressions of a target, they may miss information about the perceiver’s knowledge of a target’s identity and reputation. The present study is based on the notion that there may be more to knowing a person than having an accurate perception of his/her personality in the traditional sense. From a practical standpoint, it might also be important to know when others’ impressions of a close other, such as a friend or co-worker, differ from one’s own impressions and to understand the nature of such perceptual discrepancies. In the current study, two constructs that reflect a relatively novel type of other-knowledge were investigated: knowledge of identity and knowledge of reputation. Specifically, the knowledge of others’ perceptions (KOP) model is introduced and used to examine the extent to which well-acquainted friends achieve such knowledge. First, identity accuracy and reputation accuracy were examined (i.e., accurate perceptions of a target’s self-views and of how others view the target, respectively). Second, identity insight and reputation insight were examined (i.e., accurate perceptions of a target’s self-views and of how others view the target, above and beyond a perceiver’s own impressions of the target). Finally, characteristics of the target, perceiver, and dyad were tested as potential moderators to shed light on the circumstances under which knowledge of identity and reputation are likely to occur.