Class 20, ch 3 and ch 11 first 2 sections

Ch3 and Ch11 first half

schema

A structured framework or plan that organizes and interprets information, often used in psychology and cognitive science to describe mental models.

party schema

Tells you what to expect, how to behave, how to dress

mom schema

Helps you predict and interpret things your mom will say and do

Confirmation Bias

We hold a schema, then we tend to seek out and evaluate new info so that it confirms what we already believe or feel & ignore information that doesnt fit

• Way people can preserve their worldview, keep it stable and constistent 

• Often leads to inaccurate interpretations of new information

Confirmation bias study- Snyder & Frankel 1976

Participants shown silent videotape of woman being interviewed, Participants had to assess the interviewee’s emotional state

1. Told the interview was about sex

   1. Participant rated interviewee as more anxious 

2. Told the interview was about politics

Participants expected the woman to be anxious over discussion personal topic and so they interpreted the ambiguous signals as anxiety

Confirmation Bias study- Darley and Gross (1983)

I like dont get this

Set up: 2 videotapes of 9y/o 4th grader, Hannah, showing playground in back and scenes of her neighborhood and school

1. No performance group: watch ^^ video first, then asked to rate her academic abilities 

2. The performance group: watch second video of her answering questions, then asked to rate abilities

   1. Video where Hannah was clearly upper class → schema = academically successful

   2. Video where Hannah was lower class → schema = unsuccessful

Results: objective evidence increased rather than decreased the bias 

• No performance group estimated her abilities to be the same regardless of whether she was upper class or lower class 

• Performance group: rated her much better if she was upper class rather than lower class

“Objective evidence” is interpreted as confirming what they already believed they knew abt her ability based on status

Confirmation Bias study- Snyder & Swann (1978)

participants had discussion with a partner who was described to them as being extraverted or introverted. Had to assess whether the description was true

•  given set of questions to guide convo

• participants asked questions that already assumed the hypothesis was true 

  • Extroverted: questions like: “when are you most talkative?”

  • Introverted: “what do you dislike about loud parties?”

Bias information gathering:

People tend to seek evidence that fits teh hypothesis they are testing rather than seearching for evidence that might not fit that hypothesis

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Robert Merton (1948)

• [find actual definition] 

• Perceivers’ expectations about others can shift people’s behavior toward confirming those expectations

Self-fulfilling prophecy study: Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson (1968)

Administered tests to students in elementary school and told their teachers randomly selected names of some kids in their class who were “on the verge of experiencing a substantial leap forward in general learning abilities”  

• Late bloomers were abt to display intellectual growth spurt

• 2 years later, kids scored substantially higher than other classmates

  • Teachers’ positive expectations for their students can shape how well those students actually perform 

  • Their expectations affect their behavior towards students in ways that actually improve their learning 

    • More attention, more nods, more smiles, more challenges, positive reinforcement

    • Students respond w more engagement, effort, and learning

Conceptual metaphor theory

The idea that people understand abstract concepts through metaphorical mappings from more concrete experiences, shaping language and thought.

metaphor

Cognitive tool people can use to understand abstract social ideas in terms of other types of ideas that are more concrete and better understood

example

“Christmas is fast approaching” 

• Using knowledge abt moving objects to conceptialize time

• Even though theres no such thing of an event moving forward, it is how she can make sense of what “time approahcing” means bc time is a vague concept

Blends our knoweldge of one thing with knowledge of a different type of thing

Something about bodily experiences and schemas

relates to how physical sensations and experiences shape cognitive frameworks, influencing perception and understanding of abstract concepts.

Section review 

Ch 3- Confirmation Bias