Abstract
The objects of the present study are to classify ordinary social predicaments and to examine the relationships between the perceptions of those predicaments and the verbal strategies for impression management. One hundred and twenty male undergraduates were asked to rate 15 social predicaments on 20 9-point scales. The ratings were analysed by SUMSCAL procedure, and based on the extracted dimensions social predicaments were classified by the cluster method. The subjects were also required to describe their verbal responses (e.g. excuses) as offenders in each situation. Correlations between clusters and verbal responses were examined. The results indicated that; (a) three dimensions were found to underlie perception of social predicaments-controllability, affective responsiveness, and offensiveness; (b) social predicaments were grouped into five clusters; (c) the clusters closely correlated with the subjects' verbal responses. These results showed that the impression management strategies selected by the offender in social predicaments were determined by their perceptions of the situations.
