THE ROLE OF EXPECTANCY VIOLATING BEHAVIORS IN THE REPRESENTATION OF TRAIT KNOWLEDGE - A SUMMARY-PLUS-EXCEPTION MODEL OF SOCIAL MEMORY

The authors propose a summary-plus-exception model of trait knowledge. According to this model, (a) knowledge of a target's traits consists of abstract trait summaries to which are linked memories of specific i nstances in which the target's behavior was inconsistent with generali zations contained in a summary, and (b) summary-inconsistent behaviora l memories are activated along with trait summary knowledge when a tra it judgment is made. The authors test these ideas using a variant of t he priming procedure developed by Klein and Loftus (e.g., Klein & Loft us, 1993a; Klein, Loftus, & Burton, 1989; Klein, Loftus, Trafton, & Fu hrman, 1992). Their findings offer strong support for a summary-plus-e xception model: Across six studies, comprising a variety of experiment al conditions, the authors consistently find that judgments about a ta rget's traits facilitate the subsequent retrieval of summary-inconsist ent behaviors performed by the target, but not summary-consistent ones . The authors then show how a summary-plus-exception model can shed li ght on the processes involved in impression change. Finally, the autho rs discuss implications of their model for theories of social memory.