Maria Lewicka
Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw
Abstract:
There are several controversial points in the presented theory. First, the „agent-recipient” dichotomy seems contaminated by other dichotomies („recipient” requires a counterpart in a „giver”, while the opposition of „agent” is a neutral „observer” rather than the involved „recipient”). Second, doubts have been raised concerning the asserted low diagnosticity of moral acts for self-esteem. In the commentary, I presented my own perspective on this issue. Third, contrary to what the authors claim, the agent-recipient dimension does not seem to be the same as other dimensions mentioned in the paper (e.g., individualism-collectivism), and it corresponds to one pole rather than to a whole dimension.
Keywords: actor-observer, diagnosticity of moral behaviors, dimensions of social perception
Cite this article as:
Lewicka, M. (2006). Never ending story or what the mysterious world of adjectives can tell us about the nature of the social world. Psychologia Społeczna, 1, 57-63.