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Standards and Expectancies

Contrast and Assimilation in Judgments of Self and Others

• By Monica Biernat

• Price: $52.95 $47.66
• Binding: Hardback
• Pages: 256
• Published by: Psychology Press
• Publication Date: 19th September 2005
• ISBN: 978-1-84169-068-1

About the Book

This book examines how standards and expectancies affect judgments of others and the self. Standards are points of comparison, expectancies are beliefs about the future, and both serve as frames of reference against which current events and people (including the self) are experienced. The central theme of the book is that judgments can be characterized as either assimilative or contrastive in nature. Assimilation occurs when the target of evaluation (another person, the self) is pulled toward or judged consistently with the standard or expectation, and contrast occurs when the target is differentiated from (judged in a direction opposite) the comparative frame. The book considers factors that determine whether assimilation versus contrast occurs, and focuses on the roles of contextual cues, the self, and stereotypes as standards for judging others, and the roles of internalized guides, stereotypes, and other people for judging the self.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Standards and Expectancies: An Introduction and Overview. Chapter 2. Judging Others and the Self: Contextual factors affecting assimilation and contrast. Chapter 3. Models of Assimilation and Contrast. Chapter 4. Self and Other Exemplars as Standards for Judging Others
Chapter 5. Stereotypes and Stereotyping of Others. Chapter 6. Beyond Assimilation: Toward a Broader View of Stereotyping Effects
Chapter 7. Internalized guides as standards for judging the self. Chapter 8. Stereotypes as Standards for Judging the Self: Self-stereotyping
Chapter 9. Other People as Standards: Social Comparison. Chapter 10. Conclusion: Assimilation and Contrast Revisited