Social Psych Ch. 3 Pt 4

Coffee Because Murder is Wrong: Chapter 3, Part 4 Notes

Confirmation Biases

  • Definition: A tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs.
  • Occurrence:
  • Most likely when individuals are distracted.
  • More influenced by priming under time constraints.
  • Higher reliance on schemas in ambiguous situations.

Role of Schemas

  • Definition: Cognitive structures that help organize knowledge and guide information processing.
  • Influence on perception:
  • They shape how we perceive others, confirming biases in our observations.
  • Self-fulfilling Prophecies: Expectations about others can create social realities that confirm those expectations.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Process

  • Sequence:
  1. Expectation: Formation of a belief about someone's characteristics.
  2. Behavior: How one acts based on that belief.
  3. Response: The target responds in a manner that aligns with the initial expectation, thus confirming it.
  • Example:
  • Individual believes another is a snob, acts coldly towards them, resulting in the target behaving defensively, thus confirming the original belief.

Rosenthal & Jacobson Study (1968)

  • Experiment: Teachers were led to believe certain students would excel ("bloomers").
  • Results:
  • Bloomers showed significant IQ gains compared to non-bloomers (e.g., 20 IQ point gain).
  • The expectations led to a more supportive educational environment for these students.

Teacher Impact on Students

  • Summary of teacher behaviors towards bloomers:
  1. Warmer emotional climate: More attention, encouragement, support.
  2. More challenging materials provided.
  3. Better and differentiated feedback.
  4. Increased opportunities and time for class responses.

Implications of Biases

  • Societal consequences where biases lead to:
  • Beliefs that males are inherently brighter or more likely to succeed academically than females, impacting expectations in educational contexts, even among female students.

Limits of Confirmation Bias and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

  • Such biases can be limited by:
  • Clear conflicts between expectations and observations.
  • Repeated contradictory observations.
  • Awareness of potential biases.

Influence of Metaphors on Social Thought

  • Schemas organization: Metaphors connect familiar ideas to different concepts, aiding comprehension and relation between abstract ideas and sensory experiences.
  • Activation: Priming one schema can activate associated schemas, enhancing understanding of complex ideas.

Priming and Motivation

  • Concept: Primed ideas enhance accessibility but do not directly cause behaviors.
  • Contextual Factors: Existing motives, goals, and circumstances significantly influence behavior after priming.
  • Example Reference: Cesario et al. (2006) builds on Bargh (1996) experiments, illustrating these dynamics.

Motivated Social Cognition

  • Influential motives include:
  1. Need for Accuracy: Seek reliable information.
  2. Need for Closure: Desire to have definite answers to reduce uncertainty.
  3. Need to Confirm Existing Beliefs: Desire to maintain coherent social meanings and validation of personal beliefs.