Ingratiation toward Strangers, Friends, and Bosses

Summary One hundred ten male undergraduates responded on a scale measuring ingratiating behavior toward three hypothetical target persons—a stranger, a friend, and a boss—for the purpose of obtaining attention, rewards, and benefits from the target. The scale included seven major ingratiation tactics: other-enhancement, opinion conformity, self-enhancement, self-depreciation, instrumental dependency, name dropping, and situation-specific behaviors. Ss showed more ingratiation responses toward the boss than toward the stranger or the friend. Differences in ingratiation response toward stranger and friend were not very clear: except for other-enhancement and name dropping, ingratiation responses toward stranger and friend were not different. Significant correlational results imply that Ss who were highly ingratiating toward one target person were also highly ingratiating toward other target persons.