Chapter 4 - Social Cognition

Overview of Social Cognition

• Definition: Social cognition is how we think about the social world, aiding in past judgments, present understanding, and future predictions.

• Acknowledgment of potential flaws in judgment making process.

• Exploration of limitations in everyday judgments by social cognitionists.

Weekly Agenda

1. Accuracy of judgments linked to the quality and completeness of information.

2. Influence of information presentation (order, framing) on judgments.

3. Biased information-seeking can distort conclusions.

4. Pre-existing knowledge impacts interpretation of new information.

5. Interplay of two mental systems: reasoning and intuition.

Social Cognition Introduction

• Continuation of PSYC 201 and focus on the information available for social cognition.

Information Dependency

• Social cognition relies on accurate information.

• Challenges include:

  • Minimal information availability.

  • Misleading information.

  • Bias: systemic weight given to certain viewpoints.

Minimal Information Effects

• Snap judgments from minimal or misleading information.

• Study by Willis & Todorov (2006) on perceptions based on brief facial exposure:

  • Faces rated on attractiveness, aggressiveness, likability, trustworthiness, competence.

  • Judgments made under varying time constraints (1s, 0.5s, 0.1s) versus control group.

Judgments Analysis

• Correlations between rapid judgments and those without time constraints across various traits:

  • Trustworthiness, competence, likeability, aggressiveness, and attractiveness ratings.

Dimensions in Assessments

• Research by Todorov et al. (2008) on dimensions evaluated in minimal information:

  • Trustworthiness vs. non-trustworthiness.

  • Dominance vs. submission perception.

Characteristics of Judgments

• Attributes associated with trustworthiness and dominance derived from facial features:

  • High trustworthiness linked to round eyes and soft features.

  • Low trustworthiness associated with angular features.

Validity of Snap Judgments

• Study findings indicate accuracy of snap judgments (e.g., electoral outcomes based on facial assessments).

• Caution urged against making commitment decisions solely based on snap judgments—they represent only a 'kernel of truth'.

Misleading Information Sources

• Dual sources of information: first-hand and second-hand.

• Misrepresentations may stem from:

  • Inattention or misconstruing meanings.

  • Unrepresentative behaviors.

Pluralistic Ignorance Concept

• Situational dynamics:

  1. Majority holds a private belief but expresses another publicly.

  2. Inconsistent behavior leads to misinterpretation of group beliefs.

  3. Results in conformity to perceived norms out of fear of social consequences.

Pluralistic Ignorance Dynamics

• Misperception of group norms increases with social fear.

• Particularly prevalent in contexts valuing toughness.

Overcoming Pluralistic Ignorance

• Recommendations: Building peer connections, forming supportive groups, and discussing fundamental beliefs.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Explanation

1. Expectation about a person or situation.

2. Behavior influenced by that expectation.

3. Resulting actions confirm the original expectation.

Teacher Expectations Study

• Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968) demonstrated teachers' higher expectations improved student performance for those labeled as "intellectual bloomers."

Issues with Second-Hand Information

• Potential for misleading ideological and entertainment-driven distortions.

• Emphasis on negative bias from consumption of bad news.

Presentation of Information

• Course continuation on social cognition and how information is presented impacts judgments.

Order Effects in Judgments

• Primacy effects: Earlier information overly influences subsequent judgments.

• Recency effects: Later information overly influences judgments.

Primacy Effect Study

• Research by Asch (1946) indicated adjective presentation order affected favorability ratings for individuals.

Framing Effects Overview

• Definition: Influence of information presentation on judgment outcomes.

• Spin Framing: Altering phrasing to affect perception positively or negatively.

Framing's Impact on Evaluation

• Example comparisons in evaluation:

  • "80% Lean" vs. "20% Fat."

  • Effect on perceived situational evaluations.

Examples of Spin Framing

• Various expressions examined:

  • Pro-choice vs. right to life.

  • Terrorists vs. freedom fighters.

  • Illegal aliens vs. undocumented workers.

Decision Making Framing Study

• McNeil et al. (1982) analyzed surgeons’ recommendations influenced by information framing positively vs negatively.

Temporal Framing Introduction

• Concept of time perspective in framing actions/events.

• Distant vs. immediate actions thought of abstractly vs. concretely.

Continuation of Temporal Framing

• Discussion around the perception of immediate commitments and cognitive re-evaluation.

Class Activity on Commitments

• Reflecting on personal commitments that seemed good initially but appear less favorable when approaching fulfillment.

Information Seeking in Social Cognition

• Focus continues on the methods of information seeking in social cognition.

Confirmation Bias Explained

• Definition: Tendency to seek evidence supporting existing beliefs leads to distortions and false conclusions.

Example of Confirmation Bias

• Snyder & Swann (1978) demonstrated biased questions asked depending on perceived personality traits of others.

Effects of Confirmation Bias

• Confirmation bias manifests in information gathering, interpretation, and memory retrieval.

Understanding Top-Down Processing

• Mechanism described as using existing schemas to understand new information in social cognition.

Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Processing

• Top-Down: Theory-driven understanding based on prior knowledge.

• Bottom-Up: Data-driven approach focusing on current stimuli.

Schemas in Social Cognition

• Definition: Mental shortcuts guiding expectations based on life experiences.

• Impacts on attention, memory, and interpretation of information.

Schema Development

• Schemas evolve through interactions and help in organizing experiences and judgments.

Example of Schema Influence

• Reinforcement of schemas via restaurant branding influences consumer expectations and behaviors.

Focus of Attention due to Schemas

• Study by Simons & Chabris (1999)

  • Video task where attention is diverted, resulting in overlooked stimuli (e.g., a gorilla).

Continued Influence of Schemas

• Additional example of not observing incongruous stimuli when attention is scattered.

Memory Influences from Schemas

• Remembering schema-congruent information better than incongruent information demonstrated through participant testing.

Encoding & Retrieval Effects

• Schemas significantly affect how information is stored and retrieved from memory.

Construal Effects from Schemas

• Study showing how preceding schema affects interpretation of character traits in a narrative.

Donald Study & Schema Influence

• Group priming affected how participants evaluated Donald based on schema exposure.

Behavioral Impact of Schemas

• Studies indicating primed schemas influence behaviors and perceptions in various contexts (e.g., retail sales).

Activation of Schemas

• Factors affecting which schemas are activated include recent experiences, context, and expectations.

Reason and Intuition in Decision Making

• Introduction to the dual processes involved in social cognition: reason versus intuition.

Intuition vs Reasoning Example

• Anecdote illustrating the clash between intuitive and reasoned expectations.

System Functions in Thought

• Tversky & Kahneman (1982) highlight two systems:

  • Intuition: Quick and automatic.

  • Reasoning: Slower and rule-based.

Heuristics in Decision Making

• Heuristics described as mental shortcuts for quicker judgments but with a risk of errors.

• Includes: Availability and Representativeness heuristics.

Class Activity on Heuristics

• Group brainstorming session on examples of availability and representativeness heuristics.

Availability Heuristic Overview

• Definition explaining frequency probabilities based on readily accessible examples.

Examples of Availability Heuristics

• Instances where availability bias affects perception (e.g., risk assessment).

Concept of Fluency

• Fluency defined as ease of processing which affects how information is interpreted and remembered.

Fluency in Information Processing

• Distinction made between easy and difficult stimuli processing and associated outcomes.

Peculiar Rudy Example

• Scenario assessing likelihood of specific occupations based on perceived personality traits.

Job Frequency Context

• Comparison of commonality between various professions involved in the previous example.

Representativeness Heuristic Overview

• Described as judging likelihood based on prototype resemblance.

Logic Behind Representativeness Heuristic

• Highlighting the tendency to overlook base-rate information based on prototype associations.