Draw squares, and you will discover that many competent and rigorous people are around you: Shape priming influences impressions regarding the interpersonal environment

Abstract

The effects of drawing circles and squares on personality judgments in a metaphor-consistent manner, the round-warm and square-competent associations were investigated. We conducted a study in which participants drew as many circles or squares as possible and responded to a questionnaire assessing their interpersonal environment. Results showed that participants in the round condition responded that there were significantly more warm people around them than those in the square condition, and those in the square condition responded that there were significantly more competent and rigorous people around them than those in the round condition. These findings confirmed the metaphor-consistent effect of shapes on social perceptions.