What do we call the system we develop to categorize new acquaintances based on our experiences with others?

The concept described in the question pertains to how individuals create mental frameworks to organize and interpret social information about others. The correct answer, implicit personality theories, refers to the assumptions and beliefs people hold about how certain traits are associated with one another. These theories allow individuals to reach conclusions about a person’s character based on limited interactions or observations.

When we meet someone new, our past experiences and interactions shape our expectations and interpretations of that person’s behavior. For instance, if we have learned from previous encounters that people who are outgoing tend to be friendly, we may assume that a new acquaintance who is talkative is also sociable and warm. Implicit personality theories serve as cognitive shortcuts that help us make sense of the social world, forming a basis for our judgments and interactions.

While personality traits pertain to individual characteristics that influence behavior, they do not describe the system used to categorize acquaintances based on subjective experiences. Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when there is a conflict between beliefs and behaviors, prompting discomfort that individuals strive to resolve, but it does not address the categorization of new acquaintances. Social schemas, often used in social psychology, represent broader mental structures that encompass knowledge about social categories and relationships but are not as specific to the personal