The Double Meaning of a Single Act: In ̄uences of the Perceiver and the Perceived on Cooperative Behaviour

The present research examines how a single behaviour that is informative of both the morality and intelligence of a person in ̄uences impressions, degree of cooperative behaviour expected from that person, and degree of cooperative behaviour displayed toward that person in a mixed-motive interdependence situation (i.e., a social dilemma). Furthermore, it is investigated how individual di€erences in social value orientation in ̄uence these processes. Participants were provided with behavioural information that could be construed in terms of both morality (high/low) and intelligence (high/low). Consistent with the morality-importance hypothesis, participants assigned greater weight to morality than to intelligence aspects of the information. Congruent with the social value orientation hypothesis (i) only proselfs and not prosocials expected more cooperation from unintelligent than from intelligent others, and (ii) prosocials attended more strongly to morality aspects than proselfs in deciding on own cooperation. Finally, consistent with the relative bene®t hypothesis, people overall expected more cooperation than they were willing to display, and this tendency was especially pronounced with others described by moral/unintelligent behaviour, and for people with a proself value orientation. The authors discuss a model describing in ̄uences of the perceiver and the perceived on cooperative behaviour. Copyright # 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.