Maximal contrast in distinguishing between individuals

Each of 33 Canadian undergraduates (17 men, 16 women) characterized a pair of new acquaintances on the basis of 30 bipolar dimensions (e.g., optimistic/pessimistic) following a brief interaction with both of them simultaneously. They were assigned to the opposite poles across all dimensions with an average relative frequency of 0.38. Possible theoretical implications of this finding were elaborated in terms of Frank’s “strikingness hypothesis”.