Self-Monitoring, Impression Management, and Interpersonal Evaluations

Abstract

Abstract The hypothesis explored was that high self-monitors' evaluations of others would be more strongly influenced by the evaluative context and by strategic behavior in the target of evaluation than would those of low self-monitors. Public or private evaluations were given of able-bodied or handicapped job applicants who acted in a spontaneous or ingratiating manner. Results of an ANOVA suggested that self-monitoring was related to patterns of evaluations but not precisely as predicted. High self-monitors were consistent across evaluative contexts in rating a spontaneous applicant more positively than an ingratiating one. Low self-monitors were more variable across contexts: They evaluated the spontaneous applicant more positively than the ingratiator in private evaluations but reversed this pattern in public evaluations. Both high and low self-monitors evaluated the handicapped applicant more positively than they did the able-bodied applicant.