A perceiver's knowledge of a target person (T) can be seen as active, initiatory cognitive structures or conceptual schemas that guide and influence: (1) information processing about T; (2) search for and interpretation of new information about T; (3) remembrance and interpretation of previously-learned information about T; (4) social interaction between perceiver and T; and (5) evaluation of the accuracy of this knowledge. Perceiver's knowledge of T includes anticipations and, to the extent that anticipations guide subsequent thought about T, cognitive bolstering and behavioral confirmation are likely. Beliefs can and do create social reality. Social psychology should attend to the ways by which perceivers create the information they process in addition to probing the machinery of information processing itself. (JLL)