ABSTRACT
Wojciszke and Abele give an overview of the Big Two, present the dual perspective model of agency and communion, and discuss its empirical support. The model states that the Big Two are closely tied to the basic perspectives in social interaction, the agent perspective vs. the recipient perspective. Because agents are focused on goal completion and monitor efficiency of their actions, agentic categories dominate their perceptions. Recipients are focused on identification of action goals/consequences and monitor the social value of the observed action (whether the actor’s intentions are beneficial or detrimental for others), hence communal categories dominate their perceptions. The chapter analyzes further factors that affect inference and processing of agency and communion and shows that the Big Two dimensions are crucial in perception of organizations, commercial products, and brands. It also discusses novel developments regarding the facets of agency (competence and assertiveness) and communion (warmth and morality).
