Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Compatibility: An Experimental Demonstration, Thomas R. Herzog, Lauren J. Hayes, Rebecca C. Applin, Anna M. Weatherly

Peer Reviewed Articles

Are people sensitive to the level of compatibility in everyday settings? We manipulated via scenario both a specified goal and a setting typically associated with a given goal. Settings were either typically compatible with the specified goal or not. Different participants rated either compatibility (as a direct indicator of sensitivity to manipulated compatibility) or preference for being in the setting (as an indirect indicator of sensitivity). For both measures, mean ratings were significantly greater in the high-compatibility conditions than in the low-compatibility conditions. We conclude that people are indeed sensitive to the level of compatibility in everyday settings. These findings …