ABSTRACT
In the last chapter, we discussed how individual pieces of information (e.g., descriptions of different behaviors) are interpreted and how their interpretation affects judgments and behavioral decisions to which the information is relevant. A second consideration is how these separate pieces of information are organized into a mental representation of the person, object, or event to which they refer. The nature of such a representation, and the processes that underlie its construction, depend on both the type of information involved and the particular goals of the information processor. A person who receives information about someone’s traits and behaviors is likely to construct a different mental representation if he is trying to form an impression of the person than if he is simply trying to remember the information. On the other hand, a person with an impression formation objective is likely to form a different sort of representation from behavioral information if the behaviors occur in many situations and at many different times than if they compose a single sequence of temporally or causally related activity. More specific objectives, such as deciding if someone has a particular trait or is suitable for a certain occupation, may lead to still other types of representations.
