 The idea is that situations might seem very different to observers on the basis of their nominal features, but to the person in question there could be important similarities (or vice versa). For instance, a person could perceive criticism of himself at the bowling alley and the office, and use the same defensive strategies in both cases even though they might seem to be so different in other respects. The more general lesson is that psychologists need to pay attention to both nominal and psychologically salient features of situations when studying personality.