Social Cognition

1. Social Cognition What is Social Cognition? Cognitive basis of social cognition Concepts & categories Schemas Heuristics Judgmental heuristics Types of cognitive processing Automatic thinking Controlled thinking Neural basis of social cognition

2. Social cognition

3. Social cognition It is branch of psychology that studies: cognitive processes involved in social interaction Uses the tools and assumptions of cognitive psychology to study how people understand themselves and others in society and social situations Concerned with how people select, interpret, remember and act on social information such as language, facial expression, group consensus and prevalent group attitudes or beliefs How this information is represented and interacts with fundamental cognitive processes like memory, attention, perception and problem solving

4. Social Cognition Studies individuals within social and cultural contexts focuses on how they perceive and interpret self-generated information (intrapersonal) as well as information generated by others (inter-personal). (Sternberg, 1994). The goal �"to understand and explain how thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced by actual, imagined, or implied presence of others" (Allport, 1985)

5. Cognitive Basis of Social Cognition Associative Neural Networks concepts a cognitive framework categorization allows accessibility ease of processing schemas an implicit understanding of how the world works

6. Concepts & Categories �Concepts are the glue that holds our mental world together.� Douglas Murphy (2002) Concept: Mental representation of a category Category: A class of objects that we group together based on how we believe they belong together

7. Associative Network Models

8. Cognitive Basis of Categorization Automatic processing category-based v. attribute-based top-down v. bottom-up highly accessible to retrieval generates implicit labels typicality effect categorization = neural underpinnings - coactivation of nodes & strengthening of connections; category based = perceiver categorizes target person based on info stored in M concerning social categories; then attends to the person�s individual charistics only to determine if they are CONSISTENT or inconsistent w/the category; only draws cognitive resources for inconsistencies the alternative is to process info piecemeal, attribute by attribute PROBLEM? cognitively costly, consumes time & mental resources automatic processing = involuntary, unintentional & effortless (vs. intentional, controllable & conscious �controlled processes�) (Devine 89); automatic processing -- tends to be more affective than cognitive � consists more of emotional responses to the group than factual beliefs about it (Stangor et al 91) how to influence automatic processing? priming -- makes it salient and increases its influence over T imagining / visualization -- EXP students asked to imagine a situation involving an occupational group �aggressive lawyers� -- subsequently BELIEVED those stereotypes more than subjects asked to imagine a scene involving non-stereotypical behavior assessibility = a result of priming (implicit perception); just being reminded (explicit) or habitual use RESULT? when multiple categories are all potentially relevant to situation - we use the category that we have the most accessible attitudes - that is thinking about a category increases the probability you use it for objects that could fit into a number of different categories; I.e. highly prejudiced are likely to categorize individuals by race or ethnicity rather than other categories � gender, occupation, body size, etc. labeling = associated w/evaluation of some kind; I.e. �large people� = neutral; �fat people� = has (-) association � using evaluation neutral labels for individual members of groups evokes less discriminatory behavior typicality effect = more likely to applied to an individual when person is perceived to be typical of the group ** insert stereotypes are likely to be applied even when individual commits a single act inconsistent w/stereotype � but less likely to apply it if we know individual has exhibited inconsistent behavior over time EXP expect Joe Fullback to be a poor student even if we know he got A- on his Psy104 exam �if his frat brother tells us he got As in all but one of his courses last quarter - we�re more likely to treat him to an exception to the gen�l stereotype (Beckett et al 95, Krueger et al 88)categorization = neural underpinnings - coactivation of nodes & strengthening of connections; category based = perceiver categorizes target person based on info stored in M concerning social categories; then attends to the person�s individual charistics only to determine if they are CONSISTENT or inconsistent w/the category; only draws cognitive resources for inconsistencies the alternative is to process info piecemeal, attribute by attribute PROBLEM? cognitively costly, consumes time & mental resources automatic processing = involuntary, unintentional & effortless (vs. intentional, controllable & conscious �controlled processes�) (Devine 89); automatic processing -- tends to be more affective than cognitive � consists more of emotional responses to the group than factual beliefs about it (Stangor et al 91) how to influence automatic processing? priming -- makes it salient and increases its influence over T imagining / visualization -- EXP students asked to imagine a situation involving an occupational group �aggressive lawyers� -- subsequently BELIEVED those stereotypes more than subjects asked to imagine a scene involving non-stereotypical behavior assessibility = a result of priming (implicit perception); just being reminded (explicit) or habitual use RESULT? when multiple categories are all potentially relevant to situation - we use the category that we have the most accessible attitudes - that is thinking about a category increases the probability you use it for objects that could fit into a number of different categories; I.e. highly prejudiced are likely to categorize individuals by race or ethnicity rather than other categories � gender, occupation, body size, etc. labeling = associated w/evaluation of some kind; I.e. �large people� = neutral; �fat people� = has (-) association � using evaluation neutral labels for individual members of groups evokes less discriminatory behavior typicality effect = more likely to applied to an individual when person is perceived to be typical of the group ** insert stereotypes are likely to be applied even when individual commits a single act inconsistent w/stereotype � but less likely to apply it if we know individual has exhibited inconsistent behavior over time EXP expect Joe Fullback to be a poor student even if we know he got A- on his Psy104 exam �if his frat brother tells us he got As in all but one of his courses last quarter - we�re more likely to treat him to an exception to the gen�l stereotype (Beckett et al 95, Krueger et al 88)

9. Social Cognition The cognitive approach: people take cognitive shortcuts, i.e. forming heuristics or stereotypes to minimize cognitive load develop schemas that represent our knowledge about ourselves, others and our roles in the social world Once formed, schemas bias our judgment schemas become more complex and better organized over time and are harder to change (Cardwell, 1996).

10. So what is a heuristic? �Mental shortcut� used in judgment and decision -making essential for living in an uncertain world is a more efficient neural process for quickly assessing situations and making decisions but they can lead to faulty beliefs or sub-optimal decisions

11. Cognitive Basis of Heuristics How do they work? How do they evolve? Neural basis for stereotypes has to do with the limitations & demands of the brain nodes & connections between nodes = correspond to concepts or categories & the strength of those connections between the nodes there is literature indicating that we process information between concepts that are rarely used significantly slower than between concepts that are familiar to us - that are well-practiced saliency = how we meet the demands of the situation; how important is the information that we are processing to us as an organism (survival instincts) availability = how easy is it to access this information? items of low availability are more difficult to process - draw on our cognitive resources - either increases processing time (disadvantage in critical situations) OR - impedes other simultaneous cognitive processes valencing = feelings with respect to what�s at stake hard-wired v learned = *** {notes}Neural basis for stereotypes has to do with the limitations & demands of the brain nodes & connections between nodes = correspond to concepts or categories & the strength of those connections between the nodes there is literature indicating that we process information between concepts that are rarely used significantly slower than between concepts that are familiar to us - that are well-practiced saliency = how we meet the demands of the situation; how important is the information that we are processing to us as an organism (survival instincts) availability = how easy is it to access this information? items of low availability are more difficult to process - draw on our cognitive resources - either increases processing time (disadvantage in critical situations) OR - impedes other simultaneous cognitive processes valencing = feelings with respect to what�s at stake hard-wired v learned = *** {notes}

12. Examining Cognitive bases of Heuristics controlled thinking v. automatic thinking explicit v. implicit explicit = available to conscious awareness & change implicit = result of previous learning, unconscience, quickly evoked Patricia Devine (89) developed a dissociation model of stereotypes - 2 separate processes: automatic & inevitable activation of stereotypes deliberate, controlled application of stereotypes controlled processing may be involved in inhibition of automatically stereotypes & activation of contrary personal beliefs explicit - measured by self-report implicit - traces of past learning (experience), not conscious of them; influence judgments but not available to introspection;� we are not aware of them or that they influence our perceptions of others (Greenwald & Banaji 95) examined stereotypes - male & female authority figures; used EPT 3 steps: shown a prime (black face, white face, asian face, etc.) stereotypical word shown briefly �intelligent� �lazy� and subject must press a button quickly as possible saying whether it�s a positive or negative word RESULTS: words that are consistent w/stereotypes of ethnicity of face =indicate high implicit racial stereotypes used pics of women & men in either high or low authority positions I.e. female DR, female maid, male judge, male gardener; t hen presented w/(+) or (-) words �competent� �likeable� �dishonest� �annoying� subject pressed either the GOOD or BAD key as quickly as possible to indicate the valence of the word. Implicit sexism was indicated by speedier responses (low reaction times) to the combination of female authority figures w/bad trait words. By this measure, attitudes toward female authority figures were on average more negative BOTH men & women than female low authority AND males of either high or low authority (who were apparently uniformly well liked) IAT = subject shown a prime & the word simultaneously & asked to respond to the combo of the two - e.g. elderly name �Bertha� and bad words �slow� �boring� OR young-sounding names �Lisa� and good words �witty� �fast�Patricia Devine (89) developed a dissociation model of stereotypes - 2 separate processes: automatic & inevitable activation of stereotypes deliberate, controlled application of stereotypes controlled processing may be involved in inhibition of automatically stereotypes & activation of contrary personal beliefs explicit - measured by self-report implicit - traces of past learning (experience), not conscious of them; influence judgments but not available to introspection;� we are not aware of them or that they influence our perceptions of others (Greenwald & Banaji 95) examined stereotypes - male & female authority figures; used EPT 3 steps: shown a prime (black face, white face, asian face, etc.) stereotypical word shown briefly �intelligent� �lazy� and subject must press a button quickly as possible saying whether it�s a positive or negative word RESULTS: words that are consistent w/stereotypes of ethnicity of face =indicate high implicit racial stereotypes used pics of women & men in either high or low authority positions I.e. female DR, female maid, male judge, male gardener; t hen presented w/(+) or (-) words �competent� �likeable� �dishonest� �annoying� subject pressed either the GOOD or BAD key as quickly as possible to indicate the valence of the word. Implicit sexism was indicated by speedier responses (low reaction times) to the combination of female authority figures w/bad trait words. By this measure, attitudes toward female authority figures were on average more negative BOTH men & women than female low authority AND males of either high or low authority (who were apparently uniformly well liked) IAT = subject shown a prime & the word simultaneously & asked to respond to the combo of the two - e.g. elderly name �Bertha� and bad words �slow� �boring� OR young-sounding names �Lisa� and good words �witty� �fast�

13. Neural basis of Heuristics networks nodes representing concepts connections as links between concepts activate spreading activation inhibit spreading activation

14. nodes =social concepts- individuals, groups, traits, roles or occupations connections -- links = which of the nodes are likely to be activated when another node is activated thickness of the lines = the strength of the connections thick lines = very strong the thinner the lines = the weaker the connection dotted lines = very weak connections possibly even negative relationship some nodes are very UNLIKELY to be activated & possibly even have a negative relationship with one another (e.g. excellent athlete & straight A student = and if they are it�ll probably only be thru other nodes modifying the central node - African American isn�t directly connected in the model (not a typical response) to either a Fortune 500 CEO or President of the United States - but would be more likely to be activated in conjunction with entrepreneur nodes =social concepts- individuals, groups, traits, roles or occupations connections -- links = which of the nodes are likely to be activated when another node is activated thickness of the lines = the strength of the connections thick lines = very strong the thinner the lines = the weaker the connection dotted lines = very weak connections possibly even negative relationship some nodes are very UNLIKELY to be activated & possibly even have a negative relationship with one another (e.g. excellent athlete & straight A student = and if they are it�ll probably only be thru other nodes modifying the central node - African American isn�t directly connected in the model (not a typical response) to either a Fortune 500 CEO or President of the United States - but would be more likely to be activated in conjunction with entrepreneur

15. Advantages of Heuristics reduces the amount of data to be processed reduces processing time goes beyond the stimuli enriches information stream by inference reduces by: filtering experience & stimuli in light of the category direct attention to important aspects of the stimuli processes a lot of info quickly & easily EXP - students performing 2 tasks: form an impression of a target individual on the basis of visually presented traits & listen to a tape about basic geography & economy of Indonesia. 1/2 were given a category group label �doctor� or �skinhead� & 1/2 were given nothing. Those w/group labels were better able to recall attributes consistent w/the category AND were better able to learn the distractor information about Indonesia. reduces by: filtering experience & stimuli in light of the category direct attention to important aspects of the stimuli processes a lot of info quickly & easily EXP - students performing 2 tasks: form an impression of a target individual on the basis of visually presented traits & listen to a tape about basic geography & economy of Indonesia. 1/2 were given a category group label �doctor� or �skinhead� & 1/2 were given nothing. Those w/group labels were better able to recall attributes consistent w/the category AND were better able to learn the distractor information about Indonesia.

16. Disadvantages of Heuristics can cause disadvantagous judgments formation of oversimplified categories can lead to stereotypes

17. Modes of Processing Two modes of processing in social cognition automatic processing controlled processing

18. Automatic believing (acceptance) and controlled unbelieving

19. Controlled processing

20. Steps in Automatic v. Controlled Processing

22. Automatic Controlled Associative connections Rapid processing Relatively effortless Unintentional Difficult to �stop� Slow to change �top-down� processing Modes of Information Processing

23. Automatic Processing How do associations or links become automatic? Learning them by rote, Proceduralization Early learning/training

24. Judgmental Heuristics Judgmental Heuristics Availability ease of processing Anchoring & Adjustment initial information link Representativeness similarity