Character Individuation and Disposition Formation: An Experimental Exploration

ABSTRACT Individuation is the process by which humans form their perceptions about others based on a variety of unique attributes of the person. Psychological research finds that personal details can individuate a person, especially when they are perceived as atypical for the social category. We apply this logic to affective disposition theory to determine whether character individuation can influence disposition formation. Two pilot studies validated the typicality and moral irrelevance of six pairs of character details. We then deployed these details in an experiment (N = 822) in which participants viewed a biography of a fictional U.S. Marine character. We manipulated the proportion of atypical character details included in the biography in a continuous fashion. Findings indicate a positive linear relationship between the manipulation and several character perception variables. Adding discriminant validity to the findings, we found a negative relationship between the manipulation and perceived realism. Our experimental design and analyses controlled for objective similarity of the character with the participant and the moral relevance of the character details. Thus, our results suggest character individuation is a unique and previously unidentified route of disposition formation.