PSY 221 - Social Cognition

Systems of Cognition

1. Automatic/Unconscious/Implicit

2. Controlled/Conscious/Explicit

Automatic/Unconscious/Implicit

• Automatic

• Quick

• Effortless

• Governed by Habit

• Difficult to control

• Involuntary

• Emotionally-Driven

Controlled/Conscious/Explicit

• Deliberate

• Slow

• Effortful

• Voluntary

• Easier to control

Implicit Association Test

measures the automatic association one has between two concepts

Heuristic

a rule of thumb/”mental shortcut” used to make a judgement

Availability Heuristic

tendency to judge the likelihood of events by availability in memory

Moral Reasoning (Haidt, 2000)

moral judgements are often the product of quick/automatic judgements, which then give rise to slow conscious moral reasoning

Automaticity

the influence that external stimuli and events in one’s immediate environment has on automatic cognition, often without one’s knowledge or awareness

Priming

the activation of concepts or mental representations in our mind via unobtrusive methods

Motivated Cognition

people motivated to arrive at a particular conclusion often attempt to seek out info that supports their desired beliefs, often able to provide reasonable justification

Cultural Cognition Theory (Kahan & Braman, 2006)

tendency of individuals to form beliefs about society that reflect and reinforce their cultural worldview or groups they belong to