Interpersonal accuracy

In psychology, interpersonal accuracy (IPA) refers to an individual's ability to make correct inferences about others’ internal states, traits, or other personal attributes.[1] For example, a person who is able to correctly recognize emotions, motivation, or thoughts in others demonstrates interpersonal accuracy. IPA is an important skill in everyday life and is related to many positive social interaction outcomes.[2]

Definition

Different terms have been used in the literature in the past (e.g., interpersonal sensitivity,[3] empathic accuracy,[4] mind reading,[5] and judgmental accuracy,[6] to describe the ability to make correct inferences about others. Also, emotion recognition ability (ERA)[7] or emotion perception ability[8] is part of IPA. But, IPA is much broader than just correctly assessing others’ emotions. IPA encompasses the accurate assessment of others’ traits (e.g., personality, intelligence, or sexual orientation) and states (e.g., thoughts, emotions, or motivations) and accurate assessment of interpersonal relationships (e.g., level of intimacy between two people or hierarchical status among two or more people) as well as social group characteristics (e.g., religion, political orientation, or psychopathology).

The correlations between these different IPA domains are positive but modest, suggesting that IPA is a multifaceted and heterogeneous construct.[9] In some domains, especially personality judgment, researchers measure behavioral and appearance cues to understand how accuracy is achieved and to identify cues that perceivers might miss or use inappropriately. Sometimes, accurately remembering information about others (e.g., their nonverbal behavior or their appearance), called recall accuracy, and remembering one’s own nonverbal behavior (nonverbal self-accuracy) is subsumed under the label of IPA.[10][11] In the social perception field, IPA is mostly conceptualized as a skill as it increases during childhood and adolescence, continues to change across adulthood, and can be trained.[12][13][14] When averaged across people, group comparisons can be made (e.g., gender differences or cultural comparisons).

IPA and social interaction outcomes

Research has shown that people who are high in IPA tend to have more socially desirable personality traits (e.g., empathy, extraversion, or tolerance) and fewer socially undesirable personality traits (e.g., neuroticism or shyness)[15][16] and are generally more mentally healthy. In addition, people who demonstrate IPA are perceived as more cooperative and more likable.[17] People who are high in IPA, therefore, seem better equipped for social interactions than the ones who are low in IPA. Indeed, IPA is linked to positive outcomes in various contexts such as clinical settings (e.g., physicians who are higher in IPA have more satisfied patients), education (e.g., IPA is related to positive learning outcomes on both the teacher and the learner side), or the workplace (e.g., IPA is positively related to work performance) —contexts in which social interactions are omnipresent.[18][19][20][21][22]

The origins of IPA are not well understood, as little prospective research has been done and most evidence is correlational (i.e., based on cross-sectional data). Research suggests that formative experiences[23] including family environment and attachment[24] could play a role. For instance, dysfunctional parenting is associated with children who have higher IPA.[25] Motivational factors,[26][27] either short-term or long-term, as well as various requirements of work and social life also play a part. Although IPA shows modest correlations with cognitive intelligence, it is not merely the product of higher overall intelligence.

References
  1. Hall, Judith A.; Mast, Marianne Schmid; West, Tessa V. (2016). "Accurate interpersonal perception". In Hall, Judith A.; Schmid Mast, Marianne; West, Tessa V. (eds.). The Social Psychology of Perceiving Others Accurately. Cambridge,United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 3–22. doi:10.1017/CBO9781316181959.001. ISBN 978-1-107-49907-2.
  2. Hall, Judith A.; Andrzejewski, Susan A.; Yopchick, Jennelle E. (1 September 2009). "Psychosocial correlates of interpersonal sensitivity: A meta-analysis". Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 33 (3): 149–180. doi:10.1007/s10919-009-0070-5. S2CID 145537716.
  3. Hall, Judith A.; Bernieri, Frank J. (June 2001). Interpersonal Sensitivity: Theory and Measurement. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-135-67188-4.
  4. Ickes, William John (1997). Empathic Accuracy. New York: Guilford Press. ISBN 978-1-57230-161-0.
  5. Ickes, William (2003). Everyday mind reading : understanding what other people think and feel. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-59102-119-7.
  6. Vogt, Dawne S.; Colvin, C. Randall (2003). "Interpersonal orientation and the accuracy of personality judgments". Journal of Personality. 71 (2): 267–295. doi:10.1111/1467-6494.7102005. PMID 12693518.
  7. Schlegel, Katja; Palese, Tristan; Mast, Marianne Schmid; Rammsayer, Thomas H.; Hall, Judith A.; Murphy, Nora A. (17 February 2020). "A meta-analysis of the relationship between emotion recognition ability and intelligence". Cognition and Emotion. 34 (2): 329–351. doi:10.1080/02699931.2019.1632801. PMID 31221021. S2CID 195191825.
  8. Kohler, Christian G.; Walker, Jeffrey B.; Martin, Elizabeth A.; Healey, Kristin M.; Moberg, Paul J. (1 September 2010). "Facial emotion perception in schizophrenia: A meta-analytic review". Schizophrenia Bulletin. 36 (5): 1009–1019. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbn192. PMC 2930336. PMID 19329561.
  9. Schlegel, Katja; Boone, R. Thomas; Hall, Judith A. (1 June 2017). "Individual differences in interpersonal accuracy: A multi-level meta-analysis to assess whether judging other people is one skill or many" (PDF). Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 41 (2): 103–137. doi:10.1007/s10919-017-0249-0. S2CID 151795700.
  10. Murphy, Nora A.; Schmid Mast, Marianne; Hall, Judith A. (1 October 2016). "Nonverbal self-accuracy: Individual differences in knowing one's own social interaction behavior". Personality and Individual Differences. 101: 30–34. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2016.05.023.
  11. Hall, Judith A.; Murphy, Nora A.; Mast, Marianne Schmid (11 October 2006). "Recall of nonverbal cues: Exploring a new definition of interpersonal sensitivity". Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 30 (4): 141–155. doi:10.1007/s10919-006-0013-3. S2CID 143429158.
  12. Blanch-Hartigan, Danielle; Andrzejewski, Susan A.; Hill, Krista M. (1 November 2012). "The effectiveness of training to improve person perception accuracy: A meta-analysis". Basic and Applied Social Psychology. 34 (6): 483–498. doi:10.1080/01973533.2012.728122. S2CID 145591226.
  13. Isaacowitz, Derek M.; Vicaria, Ishabel M.; Murry, Matthew W. E. "A lifespan developmental perspective on interpersonal accuracy". In Hall, Judith; Schmid Mast, Marianne; West, Tessa (eds.). The Social Psychology of Perceiving Others Accurately. Cambridge University Press. pp. 206–229. ISBN 978-1-107-49907-2.
  14. Castro, Vanessa; Isaacowitz, Derek (2019). "The same with age: Evidence for age-related similarities in interpersonal accuracy". Journal of Experimental Psychology. General. 148 (9): 1517–1537. doi:10.1037/xge0000540. PMC 6682457. PMID 30550339.
  15. Griffiths, Phillip; Ashwin, Christopher (2016). "Accuracy in perceiving facial expressions of emotion in psychopathology". In Hall, Judith; Schmid Mast, Marianne; West, Tessa (eds.). The social psychology of perceiving others accurately. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 185–205. ISBN 9781107101517.
  16. Hall, Judith A.; Mast, Marianne Schmid; West, Tessa V. (2016). "Accurate interpersonal perception". In Hall, Judith A.; Schmid Mast, Marianne; West, Tessa V. (eds.). The Social Psychology of Perceiving Others Accurately. Cambridge,United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 3–22. doi:10.1017/CBO9781316181959.001. ISBN 978-1-107-49907-2.
  17. Schlegel, Katja; Mehu, Marc; van Peer, Jacobien M.; Scherer, Klaus R. (2018). "Sense and sensibility: The role of cognitive and emotional intelligence in negotiation" (PDF). Journal of Research in Personality. 74: 6–15. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2017.12.003.
  18. Byron, Kristin; Terranova, Sophia; Nowicki, Stephen (2007). "Nonverbal emotion recognition and salespersons: Linking ability to perceived and actual success". Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 37 (11): 2600–2619. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00272.x.
  19. Palese, Tristan; Mast, Marianne Schmid (2020). "Interpersonal accuracy and interaction outcomes: Why and how reading others correctly has adaptive advantages in social interactions". In Sternberg, R.; Kostić, A. (eds.). Social Intelligence and Nonverbal Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. pp. 305–331. ISBN 978-3-030-34964-6.
  20. Livingston, Samuel A. (1981). "Nonverbal communication tests as predictors of success in psychology and counseling". Applied Psychological Measurement. 5 (3): 325-331. doi:10.1177/014662168100500305. S2CID 145496285.
  21. Bernieri, Frank J. (1991). "Interpersonal sensitivity in teaching interactions". Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 17: 98-103. doi:10.1177/0146167291171015. S2CID 143785196.
  22. Puccinelli, Nancy M.; Andrzejewski, Susan A.; Markos, Ereni; Noga, Tracy; Motyka, Scott (2013). "The value of knowing what customers really want: The impact of salesperson ability to read non-verbal cues of affect on service quality". Journal of Marketing Management. 29 (3–4): 356–373. doi:10.1080/0267257X.2013.766631. S2CID 144792814.
  23. Hall, Judith A.; Andrzejewski, Susan A.; Yopchick, Jennelle E. (1 September 2009). "Psychosocial correlates of interpersonal sensitivity: A meta-analysis". Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 33 (3): 149–180. doi:10.1007/s10919-009-0070-5. S2CID 145537716.
  24. Simpson, Jeffry A.; Kim, John S.; Fillo, Jennifer; Ickes, William; Rholes, W. Steven; Oriña, M. Minda; Winterheld, Heike A. (2011). "Attachment and the Management of Empathic Accuracy in Relationship-Threatening Situations". Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 37 (2): 242–54. doi:10.1177/0146167210394368. PMC 6022365. PMID 21239597.
  25. Otani, Koichi; Suzuki, Akihito; Shibuya, Naoshi; Matsumoto, Yoshihiko; Kamata, Mitsuhiro (2009). "Dysfunctional parenting styles increase interpersonal sensitivity in healthy subjects". The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 197 (12): 938–941. doi:10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181c29a4c. PMID 20010031. S2CID 27345027.
  26. Hall, Judith A.; Blanch, Danielle C.; Horgan, Terrence G.; Murphy, Nora A.; Rosip, Janelle C.; Schmid Mast, Marianne (2009). "Motivation and interpersonal sensitivity: Does it matter how hard you try?". Motivation and Emotion. 33 (3): 291–302. doi:10.1007/s11031-009-9128-2. S2CID 145556088.
  27. Smth, Jessi; Ickes, William; Hall, Judith; Hodges, Sara (2011). Managing interpersonal sensitivity : knowing when--and when not--to understand others. New York, N.Y.: Nova Science Publisher's. ISBN 978-1-61728-691-9.
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