title: Social projection increases for positive targets: ascertaining the effect and exploring its antecedents.
abstract: Social projection denotes the attribution of characteristics of the self to others and, therefore, increases perceived self-other similarity. The present research tests the assumption that positive but not negative targets elicit social projection. Earlier research has attributed an effect of target valence to mere consistency principles of judgment and has, thus, questioned projection processes to be the origin of self-other similarity. Building on more recent evidence, we suggest that target valence influences self-other similarity above and beyond a consistent response behavior. The results of three experiments in which target valence was manipulated through evaluative conditioning and by smiling versus neutral facial expression support our hypothesis. We discuss how cognitive versus motivated processes can account for these findings and suggest a new conceptualization of social projection whereby projection is a means to regulate social distance.
authors.affiliation: University of Mannheim, Germany machunsky@uni-mannheim.de.
authors.forename: Maya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Machunsky
authors.affiliation: Tilburg University, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Toma
authors.affiliation: Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Yzerbyt
authors.affiliation: Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Corneille
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D012938:Social Perception
keywords: approach/avoidance; distance regulation; evaluative conditioning; social projection; target valence