Mutual liking and meta‐perception accuracy

Abstract

The present study investigated the underlying mechanism yielding a positive correlation between dyad members' mutual liking and meta-accuracy (i.e., dyad members who like each other tend to be accurate in judging how their partner sees them). Two pilot studies were first conducted to confirm the presence of the positive correlation. The main study was conducted to test several possible explanations for the observed positive correlation. In the main study, each participant took part in a series of brief interactions with an unacquainted opposite-sex partner three times. In each interaction, participants rated their liking for the partner, evaluated their impression of the partner on 15 items, and finally inferred the partner's impression of them on the same 15 items. The meta-accuracy was operationally defined as the correlation between the partner's impression and the participant's inference. Neither of the two types of unilateral liking (i.e., participant's liking for the partner nor the partner's liking for the participant) predicted meta-accuracy. However, when both members found the partner likeable (i.e., mutual liking was present), the within-dyad average meta-accuracy tended to be high. The implications of these results for meta-perception research are discussed on the basis of Brunswik's lens model framework. Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Many scholars in divergent disciplines have been intrigued by problems associated with other minds. Epistemologists have been interested in how we become convinced that others feel and think as we do, despite a lack of direct access to other minds (e.g., Churchland, 1988). Developmental psychologists are uncovering the process of young children's acquisition of folk psychology, or theory of mind (e.g., Astington, 1993). Social psychologists, too, have been interested in several problems related to other minds (e.g., Ickes, 2003;Malle, 2004). Ickes and his colleagues have investigated how accurately people can infer their interaction partner's feelings and thoughts (e.g., Ickes, 2003). Other researchers have explored more specific abilities, such as how we are able to discern whether a person is telling a lie (e.g., Ekman, 1985) or how others view us (Kenny & DePaulo, 1993). Judgments of ''how others view us'' are referred to as meta-perceptions, and whether or not people's meta-perceptions are accurate has been studied under the rubric of meta-accuracy (Albright & Malloy, 1999;DePaulo, Kenny, Hoover, Webb, & Oliver, 1987;Kenny & DePaulo, 1993;Levesque, 1997;Malloy, Albright, Kenny, Agatstein, & Winquist, 1997).One might consider that meta-accuracy is related to how successfully we can navigate our complex social world. Burns and Vollmeyer (1998) studied whether one's meta-accuracy (referred to as ''modeling accuracy'' in their paper) is related to one's ability to outwit others in a competitive setting. They had unacquainted dyads engage in 40 trials of a purely competitive task, a zero-sum game. Dyad members' meta-accuracy was assessed three times ...

Examining situations involving intimate partner aggression: A dyadic study of agreement on behaviors, attributions, and emotional effects.

“…It is possible that these are simply commonly endorsed behaviors occurring in their relationships, so both partners were more likely to indicate that they happened. However, it is possible that the low agreement in the current study could be explained by research finding that partners' mutual liking is associated with greater accuracy in judging how their partners view them (e.g., Ohtsubo, Takezawa, & Fukuno, 2009); thus, they would exhibit less accuracy when their relationship is more negative (e.g., when there is a lot of aggression). It is also possible that conflicts were so common in the relationships that attempting to recall a frequently occurring behavior may lead to error when reporting on a specific instance of the behavior (e.g., Burton & Blair, 1991).…”

Psychologically Adjusted Persons Are Less Aware of How They Are Perceived by Others

“…Finally, it is not only personality but also dyadic variables such as the specific relationship between a meta-perceiver and a partner that seem to influence meta-accuracy: For example, higher meta-accuracy has been found for dyads in which subjects mutually like each other (Ohtsubo, Takezawa, & Fukuno, 2009). We, therefore, studied effects of knowing and liking on meta-insight.…”

“Zooming” in on positive and accurate metaperceptions in first impressions: Examining the links with social anxiety and liking in online video interactions.

“…This idea is supported by empirical evidence. That is, more positive and accurate metaperceptions have both been associated with important social experiences both in first impressions contexts (Carlson, 2016b; Tissera et al, 2021) and within established relationships (Carlson & Oltmanns, 2018; Ohtsubo et al, 2009; Tissera & Lydon, 2022). Beyond the social implications, positive and accurate metaperceptions are also associated with greater personal well-being (Carlson, 2016a; Carlson et al, 2011, 2017; Moritz & Roberts, 2018; Mosch & Borkenau, 2016; Tissera et al, 2021).…”

“…& Oltmanns, 2018;Ohtsubo et al, 2009;Tissera & Lydon, 2022). Beyond the social implications, positive and accurate metaperceptions are also associated with greater personal well-being(Carlson, 2016a;Carlson et al, 2011Carlson et al, , 2017Moritz & Roberts, 2018;Mosch …”