The degree to which a perceiver rates a target differently from how the perceiver sees
others and differently from how others see the target.
To separate error from relationship variance, the variable must be replicated across
different measures or times. The stable variance is treated as relationship and the unstable
as error.
Uniqueness is much greater for affect or liking than for trait ratings. But even
for trait ratings, the relationship component is often the dominant one.
Within the
PERSON model it is assumed that about two-thirds of the variance in trait ratings is due to
uniqueness. Uniqueness in trait perceptions correlates strongly with uniqueness
in liking. The strongest correlation is with the
Big Five factor of agreeableness.
Jason Themanson and I am examining whether uniqueness in liking causes
trait ratings or vice versa. That is, if we especially like someone, we see
them positively or whether seeing them positively makes us like them.
Likely, both effects are present and we are examining their relative size.
Chapter 5 of
Interpersonal Perception: A Social Relations Analysis
