Spontaneous trait inference

Spontaneous trait inference is the term utilised in social psychology to describe the mechanism that causes individuals to form impressions of people, based on behaviours they witness them exhibiting.^[1][2] The inferences being made are described as being extrapolated from the behaviour, as the link between the inferred trait and the perceived behaviour is not substantiated, only vaguely implied.^[1] The inferences that are made are spontaneous and implicitly formed, with the cognitive mechanism acting almost reflexively.^[3]

Research into spontaneous trait inference began with Hermann von Helmholtz and his unconscious inference^[4] postulation.^[5] He first formed this concept to describe human perception of optical illusions, and then in his third volume of "The Treatise on Physiological Optics", connected the concept to social psychology and human interaction.^[6] However, his concept of unconscious inference was widely criticised, and has since been refined as spontaneous trait inference.^[5]

In experimental research, there have been multiple ways in which spontaneous trait inference has been observed and measured. These include the cued recall paradigm, the picture priming paradigm, and the word fragment completion paradigm.^[1][7] Research of the applications of spontaneous trait inference, has been of recent interest amongst social psychologists. Studies have been conducted which have found that despite the circumstantial differences, between social media interaction and physical interaction, spontaneous trait inference is still prevalent.^[8] It has also been found that individuals raised in collectivist cultures form different inference to those raised individualist cultures, despite being witnessing the same behaviour.^[9]

Spontaneous trait inference has numerous and widespread implications. With the formation of unsubstantiated conclusions based on a single behaviour, an individual formulates an inaccurate perception of the person being observed.^[1] This can, in turn, influence interactions with the person and treatment of them. Spontaneous trait inference has been centralised as a key concept of social psychology, as it forms the foundation of models for other psychological phenomena, such as Fundamental attribution error (also known as correspondence bias) and belief perseverance.^[1]