A learning and memory account of impression formation and updating

Impression formation is the process of learning about people — how a perceiver infers another person’s traits, goals and preferences while also forming their own attitude towards that person. Emerging research shows that impression formation involves a variety of learning mechanisms — a multimodal process rooted in multiple underlying memory systems. In this Perspective, I describe the roles of episodic, semantic, instrumental and Pavlovian memory systems in impression formation and updating. By considering the unique and interactive functions of learning and memory mechanisms, this memory systems framework expands and clarifies theories of how impressions are formed, changed and expressed in behaviour, moving beyond prior accounts based on semantic memory models. This framework also illuminates longstanding debates on the nature of implicit social cognition and how social information is represented in the mind. Impression formation occurs when a perceiver infers another person’s traits, goals and preferences and forms an attitude towards that person. In this Perspective, Amodio describes the unique and interactive contributions of episodic, semantic, instrumental and Pavlovian memory systems to impression formation and updating.