chapter 3 Flashcards
What is automatic thinking, and how are schemas an
example of that kind of thought?
making assumptions without intention,
schemas are an example because we make them with out intention
What are the
advantages and disadvantages of schemas?
advantage: it helps predict possibilities based off of previous knowledge
disadvantage: can cause unintentional biased thinking
Social Cognition
• How people think about themselves and the social
world
• How people select, interpret, remember, and use
social information to make judgments and
decisions
Two Kinds of Social Cognition
- Automatic thinking
2. Controlled thinking
Automatic thinking
– Quick
– No conscious deliberation of thoughts, perceptions,
assumptions
Controlled thinking
– Effortful and deliberate
– Thinking about self and environment
– Carefully selecting the right course of action
How do we do Automatic Thinking
– Relate new situations to past experiences
– Use schemas
Mental structures that organize our knowledge of the social
world
Influences the information people notice, think about, and
remember
The term schema encompasses our knowledge
and impression of:
– Other people
– Ourselves
– Social roles
– Specific events
Schemas and Stereotypes
When applied to members of a social group such
as a fraternity, gender, or race, schemas are
commonly referred to as stereotypes
Function of Schemas
used to
– Organize what we know
– Interpret new situations
Korsakov’s syndrome
– Neurological disorder
Can’t form memories
– Each situation is new
Accessibility
The extent to which schemas and concepts are at the
forefront of people’s minds and are therefore likely to
be used when we are making judgments about the
social world
Priming
The process by which recent experiences increase the
accessibility of a schema, trait, or concept
about Accessibility
– Chronically accessible due to past experience.
– Accessible because it is related to a current goal
– Temporarily accessible because of our recent
experience
Automatic goal pursuit
Prime goals in subtle way to see if it influences behavior
Automatic Decision Making
– Distracting oneself prior to making a decision
Ensuring distraction improves decision making
– Have a conscious goal to make a good choice
– Decision requires integration of complex information
Physical sensations
can prime metaphors
– Example:
Scent of cleanliness increases the degree to which people
trust strangers and help others (Helzer & Pizarro, 2011; Meier,
Schnall, Schwarz, & Bargh, 2012)
Cleanliness associated with morality; dirtiness with immorality
Metaphors can
influence decisions
Hot coffee: Primes “warm & friendly” metaphor
– Stranger rated as friendly
Iced coffee: Primes “unfriendly people are cold”
– Rate stranger as unfriendly
Mental shortcuts
– Efficient
Don’t usually have time to fully search all options
– Usually lead to good decisions quickly
Schemas are
a shortcut people use
– But we don’t have a ready-made schema for every
judgment or decision
– Sometimes there are too many schemas available
Judgmental Heuristics
Mental shortcuts people use to make judgments
quickly and efficiently
Availability Heuristic
• A mental rule of thumb whereby people base a judgment
on the ease with which they can bring something to mind
• The trouble: sometimes what is easiest to remember is not
typical of the overall picture, leading to faulty conclusions
• Physicians have been found to use the availability heuristic
when making diagnoses. Their diagnoses are influenced
by how easily they can bring different diseases to mind.
Availability Heuristic
– Example
When physicians are diagnosing diseases, it might seem
straightforward for them to observe people’s symptoms and
figure out what disease, if any, they have.
– Sometimes, symptoms might be a sign of several different
disorders.
– Do doctors use the availability heuristic, whereby they are more
likely to consider diagnoses that come to mind easily?
– Several studies of medical diagnoses suggest that the answer is
yes.
