PSY 471 exam 2

Decision paralysis

too many choices, more negative evaluations of decision

• generally feel more insecure about choice

• regret & dissatisfaction

Why feel bad when choice overload?

• too many choices is difficult: frustration with choosing → negative outcomes

• builds lofiter expectations → disappointment when finally make choice

• fear of better options: start thinking about all forgone options after choice

Biopsychological Model of Challenge/threat

extent to which participants feel capable & confident during performance

Challenge (BPSC/T)

evalutate high resources to meet/exceed demands

• arteries dilated

• more efficient blood flow

extent to which we care about the task

Threat (BPSC/T)

evaluate low resources compared to demands

• arteries constricted

• less efficient blood flow

Saltsman et al. BPSC/T

measured heart rate & blood pressure while participants did task in 1 of 3 conditions

• choose between 4 dating profiles

• choose between 15 dating profiles

• rate 15 dating profiles (no choice to make)

Saltsman et al. BPSC/T results

choice overload condition had highest task engagement & experienced more threat

Motivational paradox of choice overload

feels more important, but also feels like choice is relatively less manageable

• low resources compared to demands

• could intensify FOBO

Maximizers

study options thoroughly to make perfect choice

Satisficers

quickly choose and accept choice, even if not the best

Maximizing vs Satisficing

maximizing has more negative subjective outcomes after choice overload

• can spend way too long dwelling on trivial choices

• greater regret & dissatisfaction after making choice

Defensive satisficing

when choosing from many options feels overwhelming

• avoid thinking through decisions

• learn to accept subpar choices

How to reduce choice overload

1. establish a few clear guidelines (limit scope of options)

2. put choices into perspective: trivial = satisificing, important = maximizing

3. defer responsibility (e.g. to algorithms shaped by data on our interests, tendencies, behaviors & needs)

Ethical & privacy concerns with algorithms

• collecting & sharing data

• manipulating consumer purchase behavior

• costs to autonomy & choice

• may lead to misinformation as algorithm chooses what is right for user, not what is objectively right

Fast & frugal heuristics

mental shortcuts/rules of thumb

• visual & affective elements

• recognition heuristics: selecting info based on familiarity

• “take the best” heuristic: choosing info based on the first cue that discriminates it

Information overload

• uncertain, confused, anxious, conflicted

• lack of meaning, helplessness, reduced perceived control, disengagement & avoidance

• desire for simple explanation

Confirmation bias

rely on initial info, ignore belief-challenging info

Personality factors for confirmation bias

openness vs close-mindedness

Situational factors for confirmation bias

confirmation bias is greater when

• commitment to belief is high

• confidence in belief/attitude is low

Meaning Maintenance Model

when meaning is threatened, seek to regain elsewhere

• turn to stabilizing personal, cultural & social values

• perceive certainty, control & structure where there isn’t

Why conspiratorial thinking?

• provides order & structure

• cause & motives to accidents/random circumstances

Negativity bias

on average, negative events/stimuli

• more likely to grab attention

• more likely to elicit strong reactions

• more likely to prioritize & sway processing

• larger spikes in EEG activity

Why negativity bias?

evolutionary adaptive

• less negative consequences for ignoring possible positive opportunities

• higher stakes if ignore possible aversive danger

Algorithms & info overload

• fostering stronger, angrier biases that individuals really want to believe

• initial biases → confirmatory & negative biases → similar & more extreme negative recommendations

• content producers incentivized to maximize attention & engagement → produce polarizing content

Sucessful ragebait themes

1. us vs them

2. moral outrage

Us vs them

outgroup = wrong, failing, losing

Moral outrage towards outgroup

• expressing feelings in response to perceived violation

• posts composed of emotions such as anger, disgust & contempt

• feeling associated with specific reactions (blaming, holding people responsible, wanting punishment)

Moral pop-out effect

moral info prioritized in attention & memory

• moral words more likely to be recognized when presented near level of perceptual awareness

• faces of moral trasngressors more likely to be recognized

Illusory truth effect

things we hear more often feel more true, even if false

• familiar, consistent, repetitive info = more likely to be believed & remembered

Social identity theory

early evolutionary pressures ot prioritize one’s in-group & kin

• outgroup threat in a world scarce of resources

• internalize ingroup/outgroup mentality

Ingroup/outgroup mentality

1. collectives → important part of self-concept

2. people motivated to feel good about self

3. people feel better about self when belong to groups that feel superior to others

Most impactful collectives

• culturally salient

• valuable

• central to self

Moral Foundations Theory

1. care/harm

2. fairness/cheating

3. ingroup loyalty/betrayal

4. authority/subversion

5. purity/degradation

Why partisanship?

believed to capture fundamental values & beliefs

• democrats/liberals tend to prioritize 1 & 2

• conservatives/republicans tend to prioritize 3-5

Affective polarization

growing disdain & disregard for the other side

• out-group rated as increasingly cold

• other side = hypocritical, selfish, close-minded

• implicit associations test: >70% show ingroup bias

• shapes judgements in apolitical domains

Affective vs actual polarization

more likely to overperceive polarization when

• foucsed on opposing groups’ views

• identified strongly with partisan label

• held relatively extreme partisan beliefs

• overperceive collective moral outrage

Content creation and moral outrage

• premium for convincing, attention-grabbing content

• not only to attract eyes, but influence public opinion over time

Deepfakes and polarization

restructure/misrepresent truth to maximised engagement & impact

• sowing doubt, deepening divides

Solution to deepfakes

• educate self

• companies screening & monitoring (data & machine learning)

Data-rich world

• companies have a lot of access to our data

• can use stats software but need additional tools with more massive datasets

• incorporate mechine-learning to assist with analysis

Thematic Data Analysis

complex process involving understanding overarching themes & common elements in qualitative data

Limits of image precision

• photorealism/visual fidelity

• but we only have so much computing power

• hyperrealism can backfire and turn into uncanny valley

Versimilitude

• culmination of features feeling real

• internal consistency

Photorealism

appearing realistic

Communicative realism

feeling real/believable

Presence (realism)

illusion of being in that world

Sensory input & VR presence

sight is very important

• 80% of people feel sight is most essential sense

• relatively large amount of brain dedicated to visual processing: visual cortex

• most acute sense for differentiation

Stereopsis

eyes view at slightly different angles & brain integrates info into 1 coherent image

• enhances depth perception

• essential to VR presence: left & right images projected at proper angles

Foveated rendering

• field of vision clearest in the centre

• peripheral vision more indistinct

Haptic feedback

physical touch that corresponds to visual stimuli

Movement & motor activity (VR presence)

walking vs standing in place/advancing with mouse

Virtual body representation

even if presented crudely, can contribute ot VR presence

• individuals mimic response of virtual avatar

• Proteus Effect

Common clinical VR uses

• exposure therapy

• behavior skills training

• cognitive skills training

Siutational assessment for VR

examine responses in simulated environments to inform diagnosis

Exposure therapy

repeated exposures to situations

Exposure therapy in VR

• flexibly manipulate intensity of situation

• fear-related processes in safe environment

• provide skills & training to manage situations during exposure

• comparable to actual exposure