Gracious hosts and welcomed guests: implicit theories of good hosts and good visitors

Hospitality is a fundamental virtue across numerous cultural and religious systems. Nevertheless, there is scant empirical research on this topic. The current paper reports the results of a series of studies investigating people's implicit theories of a good host and good visitor. In Study 1, the participants (n = 304) used a free-listing procedure to generate a list of descriptors for either a good host, visitor, or person. In Study 2, a new sample (n = 313) rated the previously generated descriptors in terms of their respective prototypicality. In Study 3, the participants (n = 151) sorted the descriptors of either a good host or a good visitor into categories, and hierarchical cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling were used to investigate how people mentally organized these respective social roles. By examining these naturalistic conceptualizations, this analysis will help inform future work on how interactions in the home influence impressions, well-being, and relationships.