Role enactment versus typology: Another test of the triangle hypothesis

H. H. Kelley and A. J. Stahelski's triangle hypothesis asserts that there are 2 stable types of people--cooperators and competitors--who develop characteristic views of the nature of others according to these 2 types. Previous tests of the thesis leave the question of its validity in some doubt. The authors tested the hypothesis by manipulating S rather than game variables and did so by asking whether competitors who agree to play the role of a cooperator in a game will in due course shift to the latter's characteristic view of others. 784 undergraduates served as Ss. Results are contrary to the triangle hypothesis, which asserts that the competitor's perception of others is type determined and delimited by type-congruent experiences. Findings are best explained by a role hypothesis that asserts that the individual's view of others is determined not by his/her personality type but by the momentary choice of role. Unexpected behavior of a subclass of cooperators is explained by assuming that persons view cooperation as rationally and ethically superior to competition. (12 ref)