Interpersonal Evaluations

Semester

Semester 1, 2025-2026

Type of course

Theory-oriented Workshops

Date

November 26, 2025

Location

VU Amsterdam

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Duration

1 day

Maximum number of participants

25

ECTS

0.5 EC will be appointed for participation in the complete course

Staff

Francesca Righetti (VU), Ruddy Faure (RU)

Content 

The way we evaluate other people in our lives has important implications for how we relate to others and for our psychological and physical health. This interactive workshop explores how interpersonal evaluations shape our relationships across a wide range of social contexts, including romantic, parental, professional, and non-close interactions.

While past research has largely focused on whether our evaluations of others are positive or negative, real-world relationships are often more complex. In this workshop, we introduce a broader framework that includes four distinct types of interpersonal evaluations: mostly positive, mostly negative, ambivalent, and indifferent. Each of these evaluative types has unique consequences for relationship dynamics, emotional well-being, and even physical health.

We will also examine both explicit (self-reported) and implicit (automatic) evaluations, highlighting how they independently shape how people think, feel, and behave in relationships. Particular attention will be given to how these evaluations affect not only the person making the judgment, but also the person being evaluated.

Finally, we will present TREM (Temporal Relationship Evaluation Model)—a new theoretical model that explains how interpersonal evaluations evolve over time and of the factors that influence the changes in evaluation. 

In the morning, Francesca Righetti and Ruddy Faure will give lectures on these topics while in the afternoon you’ll be assigned in groups to reflect on the material and generate new ideas to be later presented to the class. 

 

Learning goals

1. Acquiring knowledge on the four quadrants of interpersonal evaluations and their consequences
2. Acquiring conceptual and methodological knowledge on explicit and implicit measures to assess (change in) evaluations
3. Develop and apply this knowledge to generate new ideas on these topics

 

Time schedule:

10:00-10:30: Arrival coffee/tea

10:30-11:30: Lecture 1 - Francesca Righetti

15min break

11:45-12:45: Lecture 2 – Ruddy Faure

12:45-14:00: Lunch

14:00-15:00: Group assignment

15min break

15:15-16:30 Presentations + Discussion

16:30: Optional drinks (at own expense) 

 

Preparation 

N/A