social cognition Flashcards
What are the 2 systems of cognition?
system 1: automatic/ implicit/ unconcious
system 2: controlled/ concious/Explicit
What are some characteristics of system 1: Automatic?
- quick, governed by habit, involuntary, difficult to control, emotionally-driven
What are some characteristics of system 2: Controlled?
Deliberate, slow, effortful, easier to control
how do the two systems operate together?
they respond to people, events, and objects
what are the explicit and implicit parts of our social cognition systems?
explicit: our conscious evaluation of a particular object
implicit: involuntary, uncontrollable, unconscious (sometimes
the simultaneous possession of contradictory implicit and explicit attitudes toward the same object
dual attitudes
a test that measures the automatic association one has between two concepts
the implicit association test
ex. the associations we hold between gender and career
a rule of thumb, or mental shortcut used to make a judgement
heuristic
are we usually aware of using heuristics?
no, we use them to cut corners during judgemnet
tendency to judge the likelihood of events by availability in memory
availability heuristic
moral judgements are often the product of quick/automatic judgments, which then give rise to slow conscious moral reasoning
Moral Reasoning
What role does our conscious play in making a judge?
the conscious tries to build a reasonable case to justify your automatic judgement
thinking outside your ‘conscious’ awareness (based off the apartment experiment)
automatic cognition
making a decision immediately (based off apartment experiment)
immediate decision
think carefully about options and then make decision (based off apartment experiment)
controlled cognition
only unconscious allowed to work at problem, participants performed a distractions task before making the decision (based off apartment experiment)
automatic cognition
How do automatic/implicit processes manifest in out work?
- can guide decision making but also in a way that is outside our awarenss
what the the flow of unconscious behavioral guidance systems?
environmental features –> evaluations of others and objects, motivational states, perceptual system –> behavioral responses
the influence that external stimuli and events in one’s immediate environment as on automatic cognition, often without one’s knowledge or awareness
automacity
What shapes your automatic cognition?
- all features in your environment
- the immediate environment
- the cultural environment
the activation of concepts or mental representation in our mind via unobtrusive methods
priming
an unconscious type of priming
subliminal priming
What experiment is an example of how the demographic composition of the environment can shape our automatic cognition?
in an experiment where white ppl from predominantly white areas vs racially diverse areas where asked to asses their sense of white identity, those in more diverse areas had a sronger sense of white identity
How did group membership experiment shape people’s implicit associations and biases?
when a task was labeled as cooperative, people showed no bias towards others. When labeled as neutral, there were implicit associations of ingroup bias
Individuals are more likely to engage with worldview-___ info and avoid worldview–____ information
affirming, threatening
characteristics we are trying to measure (like in an experiment)
conceptual variables
particular method we use to measure a variable of interest
operational definition
measures in which individuals are asked to respond to question posed by an interviewer or on a questionaare
self report measures
measures designed to directly asses what people do
behavioral meaures
the belief that social studies should be based on the collection and systematic analysis of observational data
empirical
a way of explaining current outcomes affecting the self in a way that leads to an expectation of positive future outcomes
optimistic explanatory style
the belief in our ability to carry out actions that produce desired outcomes
self-efficacy
How do people with high self-efficacy tend to respond to environmental threats?
more likely to have more confidence, seek answers from friends, face and reduce difficulties
What does self-efficacy lead us to believe?
that we can control the potential stressors that affect us
What might people and animals with higher social status live longer?
they have stronger self-efficacy
Why should we learn to think more positively?
because it can be beneficial to our moods and behaviors
a rich and complex social representation of who we are, encompassing both out internal characteristics and social roles
self-concept
the extent to which individuals have different and relatively independent ways of thinking of themselves
self-complexity
What does having a complex self mean?
we have a lot of different ways to think about ourselves
What is an example of having high self-complexity?
a woman who has identity of daughter, sister, mother, tennis player, student, etc
- have different identities but none spill in each other
Compared to people with low self-complexity, what do people with higher self complexity have?
more self-esteem, less prone to illness, more tolerance for frustration, experience more positive outcomes
Why do the benefits of self-complexity occur?
various domains of identity help us buffer from negative events. For exmaple, a negative hit on one identity does not impact the other identities that keep you happy
the extent to which one’s self-concept is clearly and consistently defined
self-concept clarity
How are self-complexity and self-clarity related?
they’re not; they’re independent of each other. Someone with high self-complexity can have low self-calirty
Why might people with higher self-clarity have higher self-esteem?
they are more consistent and confident in their positive traits versus someone who is inconsistent and thus more vulnerable to negative outcomes
how might high self-clarity and concept lead to stronger relationships between people?
clear concept, better communicate who we are and what we want to our partner, also when we have a strong sense of who we are we feel less threatened identity when making relationship compromises
self-clarity concept in individualistic vs collectivist cultures:
individualistic: higher self clarity, higher correlation between self-clarity and self-esteem
collectivist: lower self-clarity, lower correlation between self-clarity and self-esteem
when beliefs held by the larger number of individuals in the current social group prevail
Majority influence
beliefs held by the smaller number of individuals in a group prevail
minority influence
What did Sherif’s autokinetic effect study show?
that while individual participants initially had different beliefs about the degree to which a point of light was moving. As they shared their belief with other individuals a common group belief was formed
What did Asch’s study have the participants do?
had them answer questions about stick length, individuals placed in a group of actors that gave wrong answers, individuals conformed and chose wrong answer as well
situations are often more stable and reliable predictors of behavior than personality
situationalist approach
- behavior is best explained by if-then behavior profiles
- demands of situation explain behavioral consistency across time
Cognitive Affective personality approach (CAPS)
rules and standards that are understood within a situation or by a group , and that guide or constrain social behaviors without the force of law
social norms
the perception of where the group is (what most others are doing)
descriptive norms
