1. LECTURE 2 SOCIAL COGNITION Chapter 3
Administration
Social Cognition
Schemas
Break
Dual Processes
Automatic Processes
Controlled Processes
Gut Feelings versus Analyses
Next Class

2. Questions?

3. Memory Test

4. Memory Test
ADVENTUROUS
SELF-CONFIDENT
INDEPENDENT
PERSISTENT

5. Memory Test

6. Memory Test
RECKLESS
CONCEITED
ALOOF
STUBBORN

7. What is Social Cognition?
Social Psychology:
The scientific study of how people think and feel about, influence, and relate to one another
Cognitive Psychology: The scientific study of basic mental abilities such as perception, learning, and memory
SOCIAL COGNITION: Social cognition studies how people think about themselves and the social world – how they select, interpret, remember and use social information to make judgments and decisions

8. Social Cognition is Related to process Related to what is in our head
Our cognitive representations or schemas
About people (it is social)

9. Social Cognition strives to examine
how we take information from the outside world and encode it (select)
how this interpretation of the information is stored in memory (interpret)
how this information is retrieved from memory and used (remember and use)
In general, social cognition is the use of cognitive methodologies (and theories) to understand people and social situations.

10. Memory Test

11. Donald – the story

12. Memory Test ADVENTUROUS RECKLESS SELF-CONFIDENT CONCEITED
INDEPENDENT ALOOF
PERSISTENT STUBBORN

13. Schemas
Schemas are mental structures that represent knowledge about a concept or type of stimuli, they often include attributes and the relationship among those attributes

14. Types of Schemas
Role Schemas: expectations about people in particular roles and social categories (e.g., the role of a social psychologist, student, doctor, Blacks)
Self-Schemas: expectations about the self that organize and guide the processing of self-relevant information
Person Schemas: expectations based on personality traits. What we associate with a certain type of person (e.g., introvert, warm person)
Event Schemas: expectations about sequences of events in social situations. What we associate with certain situations (e.g., restaurant schemas)

15. Why are schemas important?
They reduce the amount of information to process
They reduce ambiguity
They guide our:
Attention and encoding
How quick we notice
What we notice
How we interpret what we notice

16. Schemas Influence Attention and Encoding/Categorization

17. Why are schemas important?
They reduce the amount of information to process
They reduce ambiguity
They guide our:
Attention and encoding
How quick we notice
What we notice
How we interpret what we notice
Our memory
Our judgments

18. When do we use schemas?
Accessibility X Fit (Higgins, Rholes, & Jones, 1977)
Accessibility
the extent to which schemas and concepts are at the forefront of people’s minds (and therefore are likely to be used when making judgments about the social world) So how available the schema is in our head.
Fit (applicable, representative, similar)
the degree to which the accessible construct fits the object/person under judgment.

19. When do we use schemas? Applicable Nonapplicable ADVENTUROUS OBEDIENT
SELF-CONFIDENT NEAT
INDEPENDENT SATIRICAL
PERSISTENT GRATEFUL
RECKLESS DISRESPECTFUL
CONCEITED LISTLESS
ALOOF CLUMSY
STUBBORN SHY

20. The problem with schemas…
Schemas can distort reality and memories
Schemas can persist, even when discredited
- Belief perseverance
Schemas can be self-fulfilling
- People often live up to our expectations because we treat them in ways that make them act in accordance with these expectations

21. Self-fulfilling Prophecies
We have expectations (schemas) about other people.
These expectations can influence how we act toward these people.
These actions can cause these people to act in ways that are consistent with our expectations.

22. Self-fulfilling Prophecies
Academic Success:
Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) - Pygmalion effect
Teenage Drinking Behavior:
Madon, Willard, Guyl, Trudeau, and Spoth (2006)

23. Teenage Drinking Behavior:
Asked mothers to rate the likelihood that their child would drink at 4 different times - when the same child was in grade 6, grade 7, grade 8, grade 10, and grade 12.
How likely do you think that your child will drink alcohol regularly as a teenager?
Certain this will Certain this will
not happen happen
If your child was at a party and one of his or her friends offered him/her an alcoholic beverage, how likely would your child be to drink?
Certain this will Certain this will
not happen happen

24. Teenage Drinking Behavior:
They also measured the child’s alcohol use in grade 7, grade 8, grade 10 and grade 12 with open-ended questions.
During the past month, how many times have you had beer, wine, wine coolers, or other liquor?
During the past month, how many times have you had three or more drinks?
They also controlled for important predictors such as:
Parents drinking
Accessibility to alcohol
Perceived norms about teenage drinking
Attitudes toward alcohol use

25. Children’s Alcohol Use
The process of accumulation of expectations over time for mothers who consistently overestimated their child’s alcohol use.

26. Children’s Alcohol Use
The additive effects of expectations over time worsen an initial difference in alcohol use between mothers who overestimate and underestimate their child’s alcohol use.

27. Schemas influence Our attention and encoding Our memory Our judgments
Our behaviour
which can in turn influence our social environment

28. Questions?

29. Dual Processes – Automatic vs. Controlled Processing
An Automatic Process is:
unintentional/spontaneous
efficient
fast
implicit/nonconscious
uncontrollable
2. How do we measure this type of process?

30. Automatic/Implicit Measures
Reaction Time Tasks
Lexical Decision Task/Sequential Priming Task
Stroop Task
Implicit Association Test - IAT
Physiological/Social Cognitive Neuroscience Measures
ECG (heart rate)
Cortisol Levels
FMRI, EEG (brain activity)
Subtle and Nonverbal Behaviours

31. Name Letter Task

32. How much do you like this letter?
1/14/02
How much do you like this letter?
___
really dislike really like 34

33. Name Letter Task How much they like each letter of the alphabet F
1/14/02
Name Letter Task
How much they like each letter of the alphabet F
really dislike really like C
Compare mean ratings of own first and last initials to overall liking across all subjects of those first and last initials 34

34. Self-Esteem
A person’s overall self-evaluation or sense of self-worth.

35. How is the Name Letter Task Automatic?
An Automatic Process is:
unintentional/spontaneous
efficient
fast
implicit/nonconscious
uncontrollable

36. 1/14/02
SELF-ESTEEM IAT
pleasant or
SELF
unpleasant or
OTHER
THEM 34

37. 1/14/02
SELF-ESTEEM IAT
pleasant or
SELF
unpleasant or
OTHER
love 34

38. 1/14/02
SELF-ESTEEM IAT
unpleasant or
SELF
pleasant or
OTHER ME 34

39. 1/14/02
SELF-ESTEEM IAT
unpleasant or
SELF
pleasant or
OTHER
war 34

40. How is the IAT Automatic?
An Automatic Process is:
unintentional/spontaneous
efficient
fast
implicit/nonconscious
uncontrollable

41. Subtle and Nonverbal Behaviours
What are subtle and nonverbal behaviors?
What is an example of this type of behaviour related to self-esteem?
How are these effects automatic?Are they intentional? Controlled? Are participants aware that they are making these types of responses?
Nonverbal “leakage”
Definition: the unintentional transmission of information through nonverbal channels of communication.
Might occur because
don’t think to control nonverbals
aren’t able to control nonverbals

42. Dual Processes – Automatic vs Controlled Processing
A Controlled Process is
intentional/deliberative
capacity consuming/inefficient
generally slower
explicit/conscious
controllable
2. How do I measure this type of process?

43. Controlled/Explicit Measures
Self-Report Measures
Standard Personality Measures/Attitude Measures (e.g., surveys, questionnaires, interviews)
Explicit Behaviours
What say, how act, who choose, etc. when able to deliberate and control responses

44. Self-Esteem
A person’s overall self-evaluation or sense of self-worth.

45. Examples of Explicit Measures of Self-Esteem
overall self-evaluation or sense of self-worth
Rosenberg (1965) Trait Self-Esteem Scale
Pennebaker (1997) Writing Task

46. Rosenberg (1965) Trait Self-Esteem Scale
10 items
I feel that I am a person of worth, at least on an equal plane with others.
Strongly disagree Strongly agree

47. Pennebaker (1997) Writing Task
Instruct participants to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about themselves.

48. Explicit and Deliberative Behaviours
What are explicit, controlled, deliberative behaviors?
What is an example of this type of behaviour related to self-esteem?
How are these effects controlled/explicit?Are they intentional? Are participants aware that they are making these types of responses? Are they controlled?

49. Self-Esteem A person’s overall self-evaluation or sense of self-worth.
Is high self-esteem good or bad?
good – it protects us from depression, drug
abuse, some types of delinquency
bad – terrorists and gang leaders have high self-esteem,
if we reject people with high self-esteem they can become ugly and abusive
The answer may be related to dual processing theories.

50. Jordan, Spencer, Zanna, Hoshino-Browne, & Correll (2003)
Measured Explicit Self-Esteem (Rosenberg scale)
conscious and deliberately reasoned evaluations of self
Measured Implicit Self-Esteem (IAT)
automatic evaluations of self that occur unintentionally and outside of awareness

51. Jordan, Spencer, Zanna, Hoshino-Browne, & Correll (2003)
Examined relationship of Implicit and Explicit Self-Esteem with Narcissism
Narcissists have grandiose self-views (potentially concealing unacknowledged self-doubt)
“I really like to be the center of attention.”
“I like to look at myself in the mirror.”
“I am more capable than other people.”

52. Jordan, Spencer, Zanna, Hoshino-Browne, & Correll (2003)
Explicit Self-Esteem
Low High
Real low
Self-esteem
Defensive
Self-Esteem ?
Real high (secure)
Low
High
Implicit
Self-Esteem
So which group would be high in narcissism (i.e., Who would have a
grandiose self-view (potentially concealing unacknowledged self-doubt)?

53. Jordan, Spencer, Zanna, Hoshino-Browne, & Correll (2003)
Explicit Self-Esteem
Low High
High levels of Narcissism -
Low levels of Narcissism
Low
High
Implicit
Self-Esteem
These findings suggest that we may need to re-conceptualize the way we think about and measure self-esteem and the importance of taking these dual processes into account.

54. Gut Feelings vs. Analysis: Dual Attitudes
Wilson (1989) - dating
Attitudes
Behaviors?
How happy are you in your relationship?
This predicts (in general)
whether a couple will be dating a few months later.

55. Gut Feelings vs. Analysis: Dual Attitudes
Dijksterhuis (2004) – Apartment Study
Information about 4 apartments in Amsterdam
Described each with 12 different attributes
Apt. A: sizeable, bad neighbourhood, cheap, bay window, etc ****
Apt. B: nice area, far from stores, expensive, subway, etc
Apt. C: cheap, nice neighbours, ugly, small bedrooms, etc
Apt D: unfriendly landlord, no fireplace, small kitchen, poor condition, etc *
One apartment was more desirable and one less desirable than others.

56. Gut Feelings vs. Analysis: Dual Attitudes
Dijksterhuis (2004)
All subjects asked to evaluate each apartment
1/3 did so immediately
1/3 given 3 minutes to think about it consciously
1/3 told that they would have to choose later but they were distracted for 3 minutes to prevent them from conscious thought (2-back task)

57. Gut Feelings vs. Analysis: Dual Attitudes
Dijksterhuis & van Olden (2006) - Poster Study
Subjects were allowed to choose 1 of 5 poster to take home
1/3 look briefly at poster and choose
1/3 look at poster briefly and allowed to think about choice for 9 minutes
1/3 look briefly at poster and then distracted for 9 minutes

58. Gut Feelings vs. Analysis: Dual Attitudes
Dijksterhuis & van Olden (2006) - Poster Study
Experimenter called them a few weeks later
Guess who was happiest with their poster?
Also asked how much money they needed to sell the poster back

59. Questions?

60. Next Class Class 3: Social Perception and Self-Perceptions
Reading material:
Chapter 4: Social Perception:
How We Come to Understand Other People, pp
Chapter 5: Self-Knowledge and the Need to Maintain Self-Esteem, pp