Direct and indirect compensation : of consequences and antecedents of dimensional compensation in social evaluation

The compensation effect relates to the trade-off between the two fundamental dimensions of warmth and competence when comparing two social targets. Research on the motivational antecedents remains scarce, in part because the bulk of investigations relied on direct measure despite evidence suggesting that this effect may be susceptible to social desirability issues. Moreover, there is little knowledge about the consequences of this phenomenon beyond abstract conceptualizations. By relying on direct and indirect measures, our research program reveals that distinct motivations may drive compensation, notably as a function of the vantage point of the perceivers as external observers or group members. Additionally, we highlight the pervasiveness of the compensation effect by showing that it not only distorts the abstract conceptualization of social groups but also their visual representation, specifically in terms of their faces. As a set, our findings shed light on important issues and also offer new avenues for future research.