Social Perception & Attribution
Ultra-Detailed Lecture Notes: Social Perception & Attribution
1. Evolutionary and Cognitive Foundations of Social Perception
1.1 Neurobiological Basis of Face Processing
Fusiform Face Area (FFA):
Located in the fusiform gyrus (temporal lobe).
Specialized for facial recognition (Kanwisher et al., 1997).
Also activates for objects resembling faces due to anthropomorphism (e.g., cars with headlight "eyes").
fMRI studies show stronger FFA activation when judging trustworthiness (Winston et al., 2002).
Superior Temporal Sulcus (STS):
Processes facial expressions and biological motion.
Critical for inferring intentions (Harris et al., 2005).
1.2 Evolutionary Adaptations in Face Perception
Hyperactive Agent Detection Device (HADD):
Evolved tendency to perceive agency in ambiguous stimuli.
Pareidolia: False positives (e.g., seeing faces in clouds) were less costly than missing real threats.
Newborn Face Preference:
Farroni et al. (2005): Infants as young as 9 minutes old prefer face-like patterns.
Controlled via preferential looking paradigms (two stimuli shown simultaneously).
1.3 Cross-Cultural Universality
Consistent face perception patterns across cultures (Zebrowitz, 1997).
Minor variations: Collectivist cultures slightly better at integrating facial + contextual cues (Masuda et al., 2008).
2. Mechanisms of Impression Formation
2.1 Speed and Automaticity
Willis & Todorov (2006):
Exposure Time | Judgment Accuracy Correlation
100ms: r = .88
500ms: r = .90
Unlimited: r = .92
Warmth judgments (trustworthiness) form faster than competence judgments.
2.2 Thin-Slice Methodology
Ambady & Rosenthal (1993):
3 experimental conditions:
30-second silent clips of teachers.
10-second clips.
5-second clips.
All predicted end-of-semester evaluations equally well.
Key Implication: Diagnostic behavioral cues are extracted almost instantaneously.
2.3 Dimensional Models of Social Judgment
Fiske's Warmth-Competence Model
Accounts for 82% of variance in person perception (Fiske et al., 2006).
Neural correlates:
Warmth → Amygdala activation (threat detection).
Competence → Prefrontal cortex (status evaluation).
Wiggins' Circumplex Model
8 interpersonal traits mapped along:
Affiliation (warmth-coldness).
Power (dominance-submissiveness).
E.g., "aloof" = low warmth + medium dominance.
3. Real-World Consequences of Facial Perception
3.1 Political Elections
Todorov et al. (2005):
Method:
Photos of 2004 U.S. Congressional candidates.
Naive participants rated "competence" after 1-second exposures.
Findings:
Higher perceived competence predicted 68.8% of Senate races.
Effect size comparable to incumbency advantage.
Antonakis & Dalgas (2009):
Swiss children (5-13 years) chose French election winners at 71% accuracy.
Used boat captain selection paradigm to assess competence.
3.2 Criminal Sentencing
Wilson & Rule (2015):
Sample: 700 Florida inmates (50% death row).
Procedure:
Remove all contextual info from photos.
MTurk workers rated trustworthiness (1-7 scale).
Results:
Each 1-point increase in untrustworthiness → 22% higher death sentence likelihood.
Effect remained after controlling for race, attractiveness.
3.3 Financial Outcomes
CEO Selection (Rule & Ambady, 2009):
Fortune 500 CEOs rated higher in:
Power (jaw width, brow prominence).
Maturity (facial structure).
Correlation between perceived power and company revenue: r = .32.
Peer-to-Peer Lending (Duarte et al., 2012):
Trustworthy-looking borrowers:
1.5x more likely to receive loans.
Received 0.5% lower interest rates.
4. Attribution Processes and Biases
4.1 Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)
Meta-Analytic Evidence (Gawronski, 2004):
Stronger in individualistic cultures (d = 0.61).
Moderated by cognitive load (d increases by 0.23 under load).
Neuroscience Perspective:
Dispositional attributions activate temporoparietal junction (TPJ).
Situational attributions require dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) effort.
4.2 Covariation Theory: Advanced Applications
Kelley's ANOVA Model
Information Type | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
Consensus | Situational | Dispositional |
Consistency | Dispositional | Situational |
Distinctiveness | Situational | Dispositional |
Example:
John laughs at comedian.
Low consensus (others don't laugh) + High consistency (John always laughs) + Low distinctiveness (laughs at all comedians) → Internal attribution.
4.3 Primacy Effect: Cognitive Mechanisms
Asch's (1946) Serial Position Effects:
Trait Order | Mean Favorability
Intelligent→Envious: 4.2/7
Envious→Intelligent: 2.8/7
Recency effects emerge only with:
Time delays between traits.
Explicit memory instructions.
Neural Basis:
Early items receive deeper encoding in hippocampus.
Later items suffer from attentional depletion (Gershberg & Shimamura, 1994).
5. Methodological Innovations and Future Directions
5.1 Computational Modeling in Face Perception
Todorov's Data-Driven Approach:
Generate 1,000+ facial morphs.
Collect trait ratings for each.
Use PCA to extract "face space" dimensions.
Found: Trustworthiness maps onto anger/happiness expressions.
5.2 Cross-Species Comparisons
Borgi et al. (2014):
Infants and monkeys show identical baby schema responses.
Suggests evolutionary ancient mechanism.
5.3 AI and Attribution
Current research on whether:
People apply FAE to robots.
Algorithmic face judgments replicate human biases.
6. Critical Evaluation and Study Design
6.1 Limitations of Key Studies
Study | Limitation |
|---|---|
Todorov (2005) | Ecological validity (static photos vs. dynamic campaigns). |
Jones & Harris (1967) | Dated political context (Castro relevance today). |
Gilbert et al. (1988) | Artificial cognitive load task. |
6.2 Proposed Novel Experiment
Title: "The Effect of Facial Masks on Competence Judgments in Job Interviews."
Design:
IV: Mask wearing (present/absent).
DV: Hiring recommendations + competence ratings.
Hypothesis: Masks disrupt competence judgments more than warmth.
7. Synoptic Integration with Other Topics
Link to Social Cognition: Dual-process theories (automatic vs. controlled attribution).
Link to Intelligence: Facial IQ judgments correlate only r = .12 with actual IQ (Zebrowitz et al., 2002).
Link to Psychometrics: Challenges in measuring implicit person perception.
Key References for Further Reading:
Todorov, A., et al. (2008). Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience.
Gilbert, D.T. (1998). Annual Review of Psychology.
Zebrowitz, L.A. (2017). Annual Review of Psychology.