Evaluative and descriptive aspects in personality perception: A reappraisal

The widespread emphasis on evaluation in personality perception was questioned by D. Peabody, who showed the importance of separating evaluative and descriptive aspects of trait judgments. The available evidence including the from S. Rosenberg and K. Olshan (see PA, Vol. 45:Issue 4) and A. Felipe (see PA, Vol. 45:Issue 4) is reexamined and suggests the following conclusions: (a) in the covariation of many traits, evaluative and descriptive relations are of comparable importance; (b) in separate trait judgments, descriptive effects are the more important when descriptive relations are strong; and (c) in the combining of several traits, it is the descriptive effects that are enhanced.