The Importance of Instructions in Assessing Sequential Effects in Impression Formation

Sequential effects in impression formation have frequently been investigated by presenting subjects with conflicting descriptions of a person's behaviour. A recency effect is commonly found using this type of material when the subject's impression is measured after each component of the description is presented. This paper describes an experiment in which the recency effect is shown to be the result of inadequate instructions. With standard instructions, subjects view the conflicting components of a description as being independent and referring to different people; they therefore only report their impression based on the immediately preceding component and a recency effect is obtained. When the instructions stress that the two parts of the description refer to the same person, the recency effect disappears and most subjects attempt to form an integrated impression of the person.