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Psychological-State Theories about Significant Others: Implications for the Content and Structure of Significant-Other Representations

University of California, Berkeley, serchen{at}socrates.berkeley.edu

Three studies tested a theory-based approach to significant-other representations. The central hypothesis was that perceivers are especially likely to possess lay theories to explain the responses of their significant others, and this is reflected in the content and structure of significant-other representations. Theories were defined in IF-THEN terms as beliefs about the psychological states (e.g., "IF Bill wants to make a good impression...") that explain others' responses (e.g., "... THEN he acts friendly"). All three studies yielded evidence indicating that the content of significant-other representations is especially likely to include such psychological-state theories (PSTs). Study 3 assessed the internal structure of PSTs—specifically, the strength of the linkages between psychological-state IFs and the THENs they are believed to elicit—and showed that such linkages are particularly strong for PSTs about significant others. Overall, the findings add to the growing literature on the role of explanatory or lay-theoretical forms of knowledge in how perceivers make sense of the social world.

Key Words: significant others • theories • mental representation • if-Then relations

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