Priming & Social Judgements/Behaviour

Question 1

DOES WATCHING GRAND PRIX MAKE YOU DRIVE FASTER?

Answer 1

• illustration
• social perception + social beh link
• innate imitation tendency
• basic premise

Question 2

PERCEPTION + BEH RELATION

Answer 2

• understanding what’s going on is NOT the most important function
• understanding = means for effective action
• perception is for ACTING

Question 3

EVOLUTIONARY SPIN

Answer 3

• perceptual abilities evolved VIA behaviour/action NOT understanding
• ie. cats/humans VS plants
• animals physically move to develop mechanisms of perception

Question 4

PERCEPTION -> ACTION?

Answer 4

EG) FROGS
- 2 perceptual systems: flight/hunt
- same perceptual process -> same beh consequence
- many species (ie. humans) are more complex (aka. seeing an attractive person BUT not kissing them)
- for most animals, perception = action impetus BUT for humans the two can occur seperately

Question 5

WHY DOESN’T HUMAN PRECEPTION ALWAYS LEAD TO ACTION?

Answer 5

1) insufficient perception to elicit action
2) sufficient perception BUT inhibited action

Question 6

PERCEPTION + BEH = IMITATION

Answer 6

• perception/beh share neurological systems
• the direct effect of perception on beh = imitation

Question 7

NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL IMITATION EVIDENCE

Answer 7

ZAJONC ET AL (1982)
- monkeys; overlap between mental representations (perceiving/performing)
- activation of same premotor cortex section (witnessing/performing action)
- overlap found in humans

Question 8

IDEOMOTOR ACTION

Answer 8

JEANNEROD (1994)
- just thinking about something makes it more likely you’ll do it
- simulating action -> same brain activation as performing the action

Question 9

COMMON-CODING HYPOTHESIS

Answer 9

PRINZ (1990)
- shared representational systems (perceptions/actions)
- SO… performing action during cognition = difficult?
- implications of natural imitation tendencies

Question 10

! CRUCIAL !

Answer 10

• perceiving an action -> mental representation of action -> performance
• imitation tendency = internal beh representation consequence
• INNATE!

Question 11

IMITATION FACTORS

Answer 11

1. OBSERVERABLES
2. TRAIT INFERENCES
3. SOCIAL STEREOTYPES

Question 12

IF) OBSERVERABLES

Answer 12

• facial expressions
• behaviour matching
• speech-related variables (ie. tone of voice)
• strategy judgement

Question 13

IF: TRAIT INFERENCES

Answer 13

• spontaneous trait inferences
  CARVER ET AL. (1983)
• hostility prime
  BARGH ET AL (1996)
• rudeness prime
  MACRAE & JOHNSTON (1998)
• helping prime

Question 14

IF) SOCIAL STEREOTYPES

Answer 14

• same as single trait concepts
• schema theory; comprise several dif trait concepts associated w/categories
  BARGH ET AL (1996)
• elderly/control prime
• aggressive subliminal prime (AA faces)
  DIJKSTERHUIS ET AL (2001)
• reaction times
  DIJKSTERHUIS & VAN KNIPPENBERG (1998)
• politician prime

Question 15

! SUMMARY !

Answer 15

• historical background to perception/beh link
• evolutionary/neuropsychological perspectives
• observables/trait inferences/stereotyping
• extremely complex area; controversy/critical evaluation = rife