Theoretical and empirical work on the processes by which we attribute dispositional characteristics to others has focused almost exclusively on how such processes proceed once the perceiver has been motivated to initiate them. The problem of identifying the factors which prompt the perceiver to engage in an attributional analysis in the first place has been relatively ignored, even though the influence of such factors may extend beyond the initiation of the causal analysis to affect the manner in which it unfolds and, ultimately, the form and substance of its conclusion. From the assumption that the function of an attributional analysis is effective control of the social environment, it was hypothesized that high outcome dependency upon another, under conditions of high unfamiliarity, is associated with the initiation of an attributional analysis as evidenced by increased attention to the other, better memory of the other's characteristics and behavior, more extreme and confidently given evaluations of the other on a variety of dispositional trait dimensions, and increased attraction to the other. These hypotheses were tested within the context of a study of heterosexual dating relationships in which men and women volunteers anticipated varying degrees of dependence upon another for their dating outcomes. The findings support the view that the data processing operations of the social perceiver-from attention to memory to attribution-are part of a unified whole and may be viewed as manifestations of an underlying motivation to predict and control the social environment.

and Walster person perception study was quasi replicated in order to assess the generality of the "what is beautiful is good" stereotype. In Experiment 1, female participants who were either unattractive, average, or physically attractive made a variety of attributions about female target persons of varying attractiveness levels. Attribution favorability was found to be contingent upon the physical attractiveness of the participant as well as the dimensions along which the attributions were made. While many of the attributions were congruent with the postulated stereotype, others were not. Socially undesirable attributions regarding vanity, egotism, likelihood of marital disaster (requesting a divorce/having an extramarital affair), and likelihood of being bourgeois (materialistic/snobbish/unsympathetic to oppressed peoples) were reliably increasing monotonic functions of target persons' attractiveness levels. Plausible explanations for these divergencies were explored in Experiment 2.The work of Berscheid, Walster, and colleagues (e.g., Berscheid & Walster, 1974) suggests that physically attractive as compared to unattractive individuals generally have a considerable social advantage. To account for why beautiful people might be preferred, Dion, Berscheid, and Walster (1972) postulated the existence of a physical attractiveness stereotype-"what is beautiful is good." In the Dion et al. person perception study, participants attempted to estimate accurately, on the basis of black and white photographs, the characteristics of men and women who varied in physical attractiveness. The results were interpreted as being compatible with the stereotype since participants were reported to have rated the physically attractive target persons as having more so-The first experiment is based, in part, upon a doctoral dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Minnesota. Special thanks are due Ellen Berscheid and Paul C. Rosenblatt for their constructive reviews.

The mere-exposure hypothesis was tested in a new context in which the plausibility of a demand-characteristics explanation was minimized. It was assumed that Person has more frequently been exposed to her mirror image than true image, whereas Person's Friend or Lover has more frequently been exposed to Person's true image than mirror image. According to the mere-exposure hypothesis, Person should prefer her mirror image, whereas her Friend or Lover should prefer Person's true image. A single frontal facial photograph of Person was printed in such a way that one print corresponded to Person's true image and another to her mirror image. In two studies, Person was found reliably to prefer her mirror image over her true image, whereas the reverse tendency characterized preferences of Person's Friend or Lover.

In two experiments, the hypothesis was corroborated that vicarious exposure to hedonic extremes-especially the hedonically negative-results in contrast regarding evaluative judgments of aspects of life that have evolved or been acquired in the course of life beyond the laboratory. In Experiment 1, participants who wrote about hedonically. negative events occurring at the turn of the century expressed greater satisfaction on a composite index of present life quality than participants who wrote about hedonically positive events. In Experiment 2, participants who wrote about hedonically negative events, personal tragedies, scored higher on a composite index of satisfaction with life, health, and physical appearance than participants who wrote about hedonically positive events. The findings for the composites corroborate a comparison level model of evaluative judgment. The findings for individual items, however, suggest that aspects of life are not evaluated in terms of a single utility scale and standard-the comparison level. Other findings are discussed that appear to contradict a simple affective model of evaluation in which the positivity of evaluations is postulated to increase with the positivity of affective states.A number of psychologists have generalized perceptual (Helson, 1964) and judgmental (Volkmann, 1951) principles, corroborated in the traditional experimental psychology laboratory, to social judgment. The most well-known generalization is that of Thibaut and Kelley (1959) who proposed a theory of the evaluation of outcomes resulting from social interaction. Although outcomes might differ in their specifics, it was assumed that all outcomes could be characterized in terms of their utility or hedonic value. The com-This research was supported by grants from the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to Marshall Dermer. Sidney Cohen and Erling Anderson contributed to the design and execution of Experiment 1, and Elaine Jacobsen contributed to the design and execution of Experiment 2. Special thanks are due Ellen Berscheid, Philip Brickman, and Harry Upshaw for their encouragement and Joni Gonnering for skillfully transcribing all written materials.Requests for reprints should be sent to Marshall

The effects of cigarette smoking on first impressions were examined in an interlocking series of studies. Provided college students evaluated peers who were neither extremely attractive nor unattractive, smoking typically reduced the positivity of evaluations regardless of participants' smoking. Targets photographed with smoking material were rated, for example, to be less considerate, calm, disciplined, honest, healthy, well-mannered, and happy than when smoking material was absent. Replication with apparently older participants evaluating college students did not reveal smoking to influence ratings strongly. Further replication did not reveal smoking material simply to influence college students' ratings of an attractive professional model. These results were compared with earlier studies of the effects of cigarette smoking on interpersonal evaluation and an educational unit for deterring smoking was discussed.