What is Social Cognition?
Effects of social categorization Behaviors… In-group favoritism Conformity to in-group norms Inter-group discrimination Cognitions… Ethnocentrism Stereotypes Prejudice Social representations: shared beliefs & explanations held by the groups to which we belong. Social cognition: we use cultural schemas & heuristics to process social information in efficient way –communication –understanding of the world
After viewing the next slide please: Write down a one or two word label for what you have seen List 2-3 characteristics or attributes you associate with the image
After viewing the next slide please: Write down a one or two word label for what you have seen List 2-3 characteristics or attributes you associate with the image
What does this demonstrate about schemas? Ability to label = –Have information held in your mind –Prior experience/exposure Ability to list characteristics = –We have more than just labels!
Schemas Organized set of knowledge that you have stored in your mind –Differences reflect individual experiences –Automatically applied, but can override them. Types –Group (jocks, studious, women) –Traits (friendly, mean) –Scripts (situations – roles, behavior of people in the roles, order of events) –Self (our characteristics, physical attributes, hopes, strengths) TONS of info! –Objects – not relevant to social psych
Effects of social cognition Influence what we attend to and what we remember Help us fill in missing information & make inferences Help us shape our interpretations of ambiguous information Help us process information quickly
Cohen, 1981 –Are we more likely to remember info that is consistent with our schema? –Phase 1: Pilot study: what details are included in waitress v. librarian schema? –Phase 2: the experiment Participants are given description of woman, including occupation : librarian OR waitress Video of dinner conversation between husband and wife in their home Memory recognition test: descriptive items about the woman Results: Remembered 5-10% more behaviors/features that were consistent with her stated occupation –Glasses & classical music –Beer, no art in house, bowling ball –Significance: shows schemas act as a mental “net” to direct our attention and memory.
Dr. Niehoff
Asch, 1948 Students told they will have a guest lecturer Given a biographical sketch of him –One includes word “warm” other includes word “cold” Listened to a short lecture Rated him on personality traits Results = “warm” group = more favorable personality ratings than “cold” Significance: schemas help us fill in missing information and make inferences
What determines when they are used? Availability – you must have it Accessibility – you must be able to bring it to mind Relevance – must be relevant to the situation
Where do schemas come from? Experiences- we naturally categorize thing as we develop! Gatekeepers- the people and things around us!
What maintains schemas? Confirmation bias –Grain of truth hypothesis- we focus on information that connects to our schemas Self-fulfilling prophecy
From Schemas to Stereotypes.. 1.Stereotypes- cognitive component –Perception of an individual based on group membership or physical attributes –Develop from schema processing 2.Prejudice- emotional component 3.Discrimination- behavioral component Discrimination STARTS with the way we think about things!