Inferences about Effort and Ability

Perceivers received information about a target person’s level of athletic performance (e.g., kicking a soccer ball) and the situational forces surrounding that performance. Perceivers’ inferences about the effort and ability of the target depended on whether the situational forces involved psychological forces (a bribe offered for low performance) or physical forces (a wind that hindered performance). Replicating past research, psychological forces had a stronger impact on inferred ability given the presence of low performance, as opposed to high performance. Additional analyses indicated that this pattern was mediated by inferences about the effort of the target. In contrast, physical forces appeared to have a direct impact on inferences of ability and affected inferences based on both low and high performance. The results suggest that perceivers make inferences about multiple attributes within a target person and, in the process, attempt to reconcile those inferences.

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