The Ability To Judge Others.

Gordon Allport believed that one could learn about the content and structure of people's personalities by looking at their expressive movements. While his expectations were not absolute, he did believe that different expressive behaviors were consistent with each other, and that any given expressive behavior, for a particular individual, would be consistent across time and across situations. An important development in the study of expressive behavior is found in the literature on the deliberate regulation and control of expressive behaviors. This impression management perspective can be seen as complementary to, rather than competitive with, Allport's ideas about unselfconscious expressiveness. Several points can be made regarding the deliberate regulation of expressive behaviors: (1) it may well occur quite frequently; (2) it can ruin expressive consistency; (3) it can enhance expressive consistency; (4) attempts at deliberate regulation are not always successful; and (5) the impression management perspective on expressive behaviors suggests a different way of conceptualizing such behaviors. Allport saw much to be learned about expressive behaviors, especially facial behaviors, and he outlined six questions which might guide the scientific study of the face. Researchers have made various attempts to study these areas, and the issue of accuracy of personality perception has recently resurfaced at both the theoretical and the methodological levels. (NB)