Trait Inferences, Impression Formation, and Person Memory: Strategies in Processing Inconsistent Information about Persons

This chapter addresses the question of how schema-inconsistent information about persons is processed and how it affects impressions. Three strategies in resolving inconsistencies are proposed, based on an integration of the literature on trait attribution, impression formation, and person memory. First, inconsistent descriptions can be attributed to different nondispositional factors. Second, recognition of nondispositional factors can produce a conditional trait attribution, leading to multiple, situation-specific, representations of the person. Third, inconsistencies can instigate a search for a trait implication that fits both the consistent and inconsistent descriptions, producing a change of meaning. The effects of conditional trait attribution and meaning change on impressions are discussed.