Judgments of Capability and Conformity as Distinct Forms of Social Judgments, and the Way They Interact to Shape Evaluator Decisions

Abstract

Objective Social judgments are evaluators' opinions about the social properties of a set of actors. Different types of judgments rendered by the evaluators and potential interactions between them may have major consequences for the actors who are evaluated. In this article, we distinguish between judgments of capability and conformity, and examine their concurrent and interdependent effects on evaluator impressions. Methods We investigate these dynamics in the context of authors competing for the best paper award at the Academy of Management (AoM) conference. Results Findings of our empirical analyses demonstrate interdependent effects of capability and conformity judgments on the committee members' decisions. We demonstrate that evaluators expect greater conformity to their ideal template from more capable actors who have greater potential to contribute to these ideals. Conclusion Our study advances the literature on social judgments by showing that congruence (or incongruence) among distinct types of judgment shape evaluators' decisions, beyond their independent effects.