Social Cognition

Question 1

What is the algebraic model ?

Answer 1

Impression = a + b + c + d + e

• bottom up approach, Anderson (1981) argued social perceivers simply piece together available info (cognitive algebra) and there is no reconfiguration of overall meaning
• according to this view, the word “warm” had a disproportionate effect in Asch’s study
• perceived importance of items affects this (certain words have more weight than others)

Question 2

What is the configural model?

Answer 2

• people don’t treat all info as equally important when making personality judgments
  -top down, preexisting cognitive schemas
  -certain traits are seen as more central (depending on context and varying from person to person)
• ## people start with a general impression on how different bits of personality fit together > interpret information from general models > construct holistic impressions of personality

Question 3

What was Asch’s cold and warm targets’ study?

Answer 3

• interested in how people arrived at impressions based on limited contact
• ppts presented with a series of words describing personality
• • asked to sketch what personality of a person would be like based on those words
• 2 series of words with one word changed produced complete different descriptions

Question 4

What model does Asch’s warm and cold targets experiment support?

Answer 4

the configural model

Question 5

What were some of the limitations of Asch’s Procedures

Answer 5

• ppts made explicit judgements about targets > low external validity > does not reflect real life usually no explicit goal > bias created
• ppts did not directly interact with targets > loss of reactionary aspect
• ppts were presented with verbal info about targets > nonverbal info may be processed differently e.g. how one dresses (Kuzmanovic 2012)

Question 6

What are the 5 aspects of the models of the social thinker proposed by Fiske and Taylor 2021?

Answer 6

1) Consistency seeker
2) naïve scientist
3) cognitive miser
4) motivated tactician
5) activate actor

Question 7

Consistency Seeker

Answer 7

Distorts info in line with desires, motives and needs

• non neutral
• relates to cognitive dissonance (uncomfortable to hold two opposing cognitions) >one must be changed in order to have consistent beliefs

Question 8

Naïve scientist

Answer 8

Systematically analyses info to predict and control behavior

• casual analysis of behavior on the basis of lay theories
• perceiver weigh up possible casual factors e.g. personal (power/ability, motivation/effort) and situational (difficulty)

Question 9

Cognitive miser

Answer 9

The cognitive system is limited in capacity so people take shortcuts

Question 10

Motivated Tactician

Answer 10

a fully engaged thinker with multiple cognitive strategies available who chooses among them based on goals motives and needs

• uses heuristics
• systematic processing becomes more likely as actual confidence falls below desired threshold (efficiency threshold)
• depends on requirements of situation
• combines strengths and acknowledges deficits of prior models

Question 11

Activated actor

Answer 11

situations automatically cue social concepts and associated cognitions, emotions and behavior
-pessimistic view > suggests we have less control than we think

Question 12

What is the top of the head phenomena?

Answer 12

• taylor & fiske argue people don’t systematically analyze all available evidence and rather opt for most obvious explanation
• -staged a convo between 2 people
• observed by ppts who made judgements about who as more influential
• observers placed in different positions varying saliency of each actor
• most salient person judged the person with most influence

Question 13

what is priming behaviour

Answer 13

the idea that automatically activated social concepts can directly affect behavior (not just perception and judgement)