ABSTRACT
When people have problems understanding something—either because they feel incompetent or because the thing is new and complex—people explain the thing in terms of essences and categories, types and dispositions (Wicklund, 1999). When people understand something well, however, they explain its activity in terms of processes, contingencies, and interactions. For instance, when people explain the actions of strangers, they invoke broad essences known as “traits,” such as “She said something nice because she’s a friendly person.” When people explain the actions of friends, in contrast, they invoke contingencies and interactions, such as “He’s pretty friendly, although he can be aggressive when he’s losing at sports” (Idson & Mischel, 2001).
