Social Cognition (social psych p. 2) (week 14)

What is social cognition?

The way people make sense of themselves and others around them, including how we interpret, categorize, and evaluate social information.

What is a stereotype?

A schema (mental framework) for a class or subtype of people; a generalized belief about a group that affects expectations and behavior.

What is a schema?

Organized beliefs and knowledge about people, objects, events, or situations that guide processing of new information.

What is schematic processing?

Processing information using top-down (expectations-driven) vs. bottom-up (data-driven) approaches.

What is priming?

Exposure to a stimulus that unconsciously influences a response to a subsequent stimulus by making certain schemas more accessible.

What are some examples of priming?

• Obedience vs. defiance words influencing behavior (Epley & Gilovich, 1999)

• Sexist TV ads affecting perception (Rudman & Borgida, 1995)

• Black vs. white faces altering perceived hostility (Bargh et al., 1996)

Even people who are not explicitly biased can be affected.

Why are first impressions important?

They shape future interactions and are hard to change; they influence behavior in ways that confirm our expectations (self-fulfilling prophecies).

What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?

When an initial belief causes behavior that makes the belief come true.
E.g., think someone is dangerous → act cautiously → they respond defensively → confirms your belief.

What is the difference between self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotype threat?

Self-fulfilling prophecy is about changing others’ behavior through your expectations; stereotype threat is when a person’s own behavior is affected by fear of confirming a negative stereotype about their group.

What is stereotype threat?

The fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one's group, which can impair performance (e.g., women on math tests, minorities on standardized tests).

Can the effects of stereotypes be reduced?

Yes — through motivation to reduce prejudice, effortful control of automatic thoughts, and perspective-taking exercises.

What is an example of reducing stereotypes via perspective-taking?

Writing about a day in the life of a doctor or a construction worker in the first person made participants rate laborers as more analytical, passionate, smart, and thoughtful (Wang et al., 2014).

What is an attribution?

An explanation for why events or behaviors occur. Attributions can be dispositional (personal) or situational (external).

What is the fundamental attribution error?

The tendency to underestimate situational influences and overestimate personal traits when explaining others’ behavior.

What determines interpersonal attraction?

Four main factors:

1. Physical attractiveness

2. Proximity (we like those nearby)

3. Familiarity (mere exposure effect)

4. Similarity (we like people who are like us)

What is the mere exposure effect?

The tendency to like something more simply because we’ve been exposed to it repeatedly.

What is implicit egotism?

The unconscious preference for things associated with the self (e.g., people are more likely to marry someone with a similar name or choose careers that match their initials).

What are attitudes?

Evaluations of people, objects, events, or ideas. Attitudes include likes/dislikes and influence behavior — though not always.

What is the attitude-behavior gap?

Even when people have strong attitudes, their behaviors may not always match — especially when attitudes are general and behavior is specific.

What is an example of the attitude-behavior gap?

LaPiere’s 1934 study: A Chinese couple was served in most restaurants, but those same restaurants later reported they wouldn’t serve Chinese customers — showing a disconnect between attitude and action.

What reduces the attitude-behavior gap?

Stronger attitudes, greater specificity, personal experience with the topic, and greater self-awareness (e.g., using mirrors to increase reflection).

What did Epley & Gilovich (1999) study about priming?

Participants primed with words like “comply, obey, follow” were more likely to conform in later tasks, while those primed with “defy, oppose” were more independent — showing how subtle language shapes behavior.

What did Rudman & Borgida (1995) find about sexist advertising?

Participants primed with sexist TV ads later rated a female job applicant as less competent and more sexualized, demonstrating how media primes influence perceptions and judgments.

What did Bargh et al. (1996) find about racial priming and hostility?

Participants who were subliminally primed with Black male faces perceived ambiguous behaviors as more hostile compared to those primed with white faces — even among participants who were not explicitly racist.

What does the Bargh et al. study show about implicit bias?

It shows that racial biases can operate automatically and unconsciously, influencing perception and judgment even in people who do not consider themselves prejudiced.