Discriminative facility and its role in the perceived quality of interactional experiences

J Pers. 2001 Oct;69(5):765-86. doi: 10.1111/1467-6494.695163.

Abstract

Discriminative facility refers to an individual's sensitivity to subtle cues about the psychological meaning of a situation. This research aimed at examining (a) the conceptual distinctiveness of discriminative facility, (b) the situation-appropriate aspect of this construct, and (c) the relationship between discriminative facility and interpersonal experiences. Discriminative facility was assessed by a new measure of situation-appropriate behaviors across a variety of novel stressful situations. Results from study 1 showed that discriminative facility had weak positive relationships with cognitive complexity and nonsignificant relationships with self-monitoring and social desirability, indicating that discriminative facility is a unique construct. Results from Study 2 revealed that higher levels of discriminative facility were associated with higher levels of perceived social support and a greater number of pleasant interpersonal events experienced, thus providing support for the theoretical proposition that discriminative facility is an aspect of social intelligence.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Affect
  • Cognition
  • Cues
  • Discrimination, Psychological*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Male
  • Personality*
  • Social Desirability
  • Social Perception*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires