Mind & behavior · 1966
Can the same clumsy mistake affect how much we like an outstanding person versus an average person?
Yes—in this experiment, a clumsy mistake increased an outstanding person's appeal, while the same mistake tended to reduce an average person's appeal. The abstract does not specify who took part, what the mistake was, or how large the effects were.
Details
The experiment examined whether a clumsy mistake changes a person's appeal differently depending on whether that person is outstanding or average. The reported finding was not that mistakes make everyone more likable: appeal increased for the outstanding person, but tended to decrease for the average person.
The researchers proposed that an outstanding person might seem almost superhuman and therefore distant, and that a blunder could make that person seem more human. This was their proposed explanation, not a mechanism established by the abstract. Without sample details, procedures or estimates of uncertainty, the abstract cannot tell us how broadly or reliably this pattern applies.
What do you think?
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