Motivational Foundations Of Behavioral Confirmation

ABSTRACT This research is concerned with the processes by which one individual's preconceived beliefs and expectations about another person influence the dynamics and outcomes of social interaction between them. Considerable evidence suggests an individual (the perceiver) who holds preconceived beliefs and expectations about another person (the target) will act on these beliefs in ways that cause the behavior of the target to confirm the perceiver's initial beliefs. To address the motivational foundations of such behavioral confirmation phenomena, a functional analysis is offered. This analysis suggests that interactions sharing the same surface features (i.e., perceivers acting in ways that induce targets to provide actual behavioral confirmation) may be serving different underlying psychological functions for perceivers and targets. Particular attention will be directed to motivational functions associated with the acquisition of social knowledge, the facilitation of social interaction, the expression of personal attributes, and the defense of threatened identities. A series of converging empirical investigations will test hypotheses about when and why social interaction will culminate either in behavioral confirmation or in behavioral disconfirmation. Theoretical and practical implications of this research program will be explored, not only for the nature of behavioral confirmation, but also for understanding the dynamic interplay of cognitive, motivational, and behavioral processes in ongoing social interaction and interpersonal relationships.