Implicit Social Cognition
Social Cognition is –Unconscious –Ordinary –Malleable
“Surely, you can see that the shades of gray in Squares A and B are identical.”
schelling_segregation_model
Speed -- Important Some errors, just fine Belt it out!
Yale New Haven Bulldogs CT Blue Harvard Cambridge The Yard MA Crimson
Magnitude? Universal? Early? Dissociated? Social Dominance? Predicts? Elastic? Plastic?
implicit.harvard.edu
Some dimensions of human variation Gender Age Race/Ethnicity Class Religion Geographic Region –Nationality Culture Sexuality Physical Attractiveness –Teeth Height/Weight Accent Similarity to self Personality –Extraversion Taste/Preferences Beliefs (Politics)
But …
Self esteem: Crocker and Major Did self-report miss something?
Yamaguchi, S., et al. (2007). Apparent universality of implicit positive self-esteem. Psychological Science. (cf. Crocker & Major’s self-esteem result)
Prediction Unfriendliness toward African Americans Unfriendliness toward gay men Rating a Black author’s essay negatively Rating a Black applicant for the Peace Corps negatively Willingness to cut the budget for Jewish or Asian student organizations Opposition to affirmative action Discrimination against female job applicants
Green, A. R., et al. (2007). Implicit bias among physicians and its prediction of thrombolysis decisions for Black and White Patients. Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Matthew Nock Murder/Suicide?
Olsson, A., Ebert, J. P., Banaji, M. R., Phelps, E. A. (2005). The role of social groups in the persistence of learned fear. Science, 309, 785 – 787.
n.s.
-1000 years ago -100 years ago -10/20 years ago
Cunningham et. al Seconds % Signal Change Black SubWhite Sub Black SupraWhite Supra Subliminal Effects (Black > White) IAT Effect (Black - White) Subliminal (Black - White) SubliminalAmygdala-IAT (Black > White) Correlation
(A): dorsolateral PFC (C): ventrolateral PFC (B): anterior cingulate : Supraliminal Activation
Taking Another’s Perspective Increases Neural Self-referential Processing Ames, et al., Psych Science, 2008
Familiarity Dasgupta et al. JESP; Banaji, et al. Psych. Inquiry Not attitude (affect) Phelps, JoCN; Cunningham, Psych. Science Salience Greenwald, et al., JEP:General Culture, not me Banaji, Crowder Festschrift Nosek & Hansen Meta-analysis of predictive validity Nosek, JPSP (Math=Me) Ebert (KKK study) Mere association Banaji, Psych. Inquiry
Primates Babies/Children Brain
Look at textbook on social cognition for studies involving samples < 18 yrs of age
Objects Number Space
Social Cognition?
* * ns __________________ *
IAT Intergroup Bias: Baron & Banaji, 2006 ps <.05
Elastic? Plastic?
Robert Sapolsky A Natural History of Peace
Neuroplasticity Rats in enriched environments Deficits in one brain region Cab drivers in London
Think of the brain as you do of a more ordinary muscle, a bicep. In your case: That you will work it, is not the issue; what you work it on, is.
Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene, 1976 Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have a chance to upset their designs, something that no other species has ever aspired to do.