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Re-examining spontaneous trait transference from an attributional perspective

Marine Rougier (UGent) , Leonard Heusler and Jan De Houwer (UGent)
(2025) PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN. p.1-16
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Abstract
In spontaneous trait transference (STT), communicators describing the behavior of others (i.e., actors) are perceived as having the personality traits implied by the behavior they describe. We tested whether this effect relies on moderators that are indicative of rule-based, attributional processes: the communicator-actor relation (friends vs. enemies; Experiment 1), the diagnosticity of the statement for inferring the implied trait to the communicator (Experiment 2), and the validity of the statement (i.e., whether it was actually provided by the communicator; Experiment 3). In line with attributional theories, trait ratings revealed a joint impact of the three moderators. Experiment 4 showed that communicators were attributed alternative traits—not implied by the behavior itself, but by the fact that they described the behavior. Together, our results suggest that participants attribute traits to the communicator based on the communicator’s behavior (i.e., the act of describing the behavior of someone else).
Keywords
spontaneous trait transference, evaluative conditioning, relational moderator, attribution, inference, RELATIONAL INFORMATION, INFERENCES, ASSOCIATIONS, IMPLICIT, ATTITUDES, THINKING, LINKING, FACES, TESTS

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Citation

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MLA
Rougier, Marine, et al. “Re-Examining Spontaneous Trait Transference from an Attributional Perspective.” PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN, 2025, pp. 1–16, doi:10.1177/01461672251365982.
APA
Rougier, M., Heusler, L., & De Houwer, J. (2025). Re-examining spontaneous trait transference from an attributional perspective. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672251365982
Chicago author-date
Rougier, Marine, Leonard Heusler, and Jan De Houwer. 2025. “Re-Examining Spontaneous Trait Transference from an Attributional Perspective.” PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672251365982.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Rougier, Marine, Leonard Heusler, and Jan De Houwer. 2025. “Re-Examining Spontaneous Trait Transference from an Attributional Perspective.” PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN: 1–16. doi:10.1177/01461672251365982.
Vancouver
1.
Rougier M, Heusler L, De Houwer J. Re-examining spontaneous trait transference from an attributional perspective. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN. 2025;1–16.
IEEE
[1]
M. Rougier, L. Heusler, and J. De Houwer, “Re-examining spontaneous trait transference from an attributional perspective,” PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN, pp. 1–16, 2025.
@article{01K7NZJMJ2CNKEEP17TW6XHX3T,
  abstract     = {{In spontaneous trait transference (STT), communicators describing the behavior of others (i.e., actors) are perceived as having the personality traits implied by the behavior they describe. We tested whether this effect relies on moderators that are indicative of rule-based, attributional processes: the communicator-actor relation (friends vs. enemies; Experiment 1), the diagnosticity of the statement for inferring the implied trait to the communicator (Experiment 2), and the validity of the statement (i.e., whether it was actually provided by the communicator; Experiment 3). In line with attributional theories, trait ratings revealed a joint impact of the three moderators. Experiment 4 showed that communicators were attributed alternative traits—not implied by the behavior itself, but by the fact that they described the behavior. Together, our results suggest that participants attribute traits to the communicator based on the communicator’s behavior (i.e., the act of describing the behavior of someone else).}},
  articleno    = {{01461672251365982}},
  author       = {{Rougier, Marine and Heusler, Leonard and De Houwer, Jan}},
  issn         = {{0146-1672}},
  journal      = {{PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN}},
  keywords     = {{spontaneous trait transference,evaluative conditioning,relational moderator,attribution,inference,RELATIONAL INFORMATION,INFERENCES,ASSOCIATIONS,IMPLICIT,ATTITUDES,THINKING,LINKING,FACES,TESTS}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{01461672251365982:1--01461672251365982:16}},
  title        = {{Re-examining spontaneous trait transference from an attributional perspective}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1177/01461672251365982}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}
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