An experiment to measure the accuracy of the judgment of prison staff

Abstract

The literature relating to interpersonal perception suggests that the accuracy of the perceiver may be modified quite significantly, according to the degree of his acquaintance or contact with another individual, end his own variables of personality, e.g. Krech, Crutchfield, and Ballachey [1962]; Yinger [1965]. In the present research it was considered that those individuals with a greater amount of interpersonal contact would be more accurate in their judgments of others over whom they exercised regular supervisory powers, while those with rather spasmodic relationships would probably be less accurate in their judgments. It was also considered that either the more authoritarian or conservatively disposed perceiver would be less accurate in his perceptions than would somebody with either a less conservative or less authoritarian disposition. Scodel and Mussen [1953] reported that the authoritarian subject, being intolerant of ambiguity, tended to stereotype people into ingroup/outgroup membership categories. Jones [1954] noted that when perceiving or judging others, non-authoritarians seem to be more sensitive than authoritarians to the psychological or personality characteristics of others. The non-authoritarian was more accurate and objective in his evaluation and his reactions were more individualistic. Crockett and Meidinger [1956] also found that the authoritarian subjects were less sensitive and consequently less accurate in their estimations of others. The ability to accurately perceive others was said to involve both a "Sensitivity to the Generalized Other" and "Interpersonal Sensitivity" according to Cline and Richards Jr. [1960].