HPS204 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Availability Heuristic, Subtyping, Representativeness Heuristic
HPS204 WEEK 2
SOCIAL COGNITION
Understand what is meant by the term ‘social cognition’ and know the major assumptions
of the major approaches to social cognition;
Social cognition refers to the cognitive processes and structures that affect and are affected
by social context and behaviour. It is an approach in social psychology that focuses on how
cognition is affected by wider and more immediate social contexts, and on how cognition
affects our social behaviour.
The major assumptions in broad approaches to social cognition include cognitive
consistency (a model of social cognition in which people try to reduce inconsistency among
their cognitions, because they find inconsistency unpleasant. This lost popularity in the
1960s as research indicated a high level of tolerance among people for cognitive
inconsistency), the naïve scientist (a model of social cognition that characterises people as
using rational, scientific-like, cause-effect analyses to understand their world. This model
underpins attribution theories of behaviour), the cognitive miser (a model of social
cognition that characterises people as using the least complex and demanding cognitions
that are able to produce generally adaptive behaviours), and the motivated tactician (a
model of social cognition that characterises people as having multiple cognitive strategies
available, from which they choose on the basis of personal goals, motives, and needs.
Social neuroscience is the exploration of brain activity associated with social cognition and
social psychological processes and phenomena. For example, an fMRI could detect which
parts of the brain are active when thinking positively or negatively about
friends/strangers/social categories, or when attributing causality to various behaviours.
Be familiar with different approaches to impression formation, be able to identify how the
impression formation process can be biased, and be able to define terms such as ‘primacy’
and ‘recency’;
According to Asch’s configural model, central traits play a disproportionate role in
configuring the final impression. Central traits are traits that have a disproportionate
influence on the configuration of final impressions. Peripheral traits have much less
influence. For example, Asch demonstrated that ‘warm’ and ‘cold’ are central traits, as they
have a greater influence on impression formation than terms such as ‘polite’, or ‘blunt’.
Kelly described a lecture as rather or cold, or very warm, as well as industrious, critical,
practical, and determined. Students were later surveyed, and those to whom the lecturer
had been described as ‘cold’ rated the lecturer more negatively, and interacted with him
less. This supports the Gestalt view that impressions are formed as integrated wholes based
on central cues. Critics question how a trait is evaluated as central. Gestalt theorists believe
that centrality is relative to its intrinsic correlation with other traits, however others believe
that centrality is a function of context.
Asch also demonstrated primacy and recency effects. To one set of participants, he
presented the traits as intelligent, industrious, impulsive, critical, stubborn, and envious
(positive traits first). The other group received the same list in reverse (negative traits first).
A primacy effect may be found when positive traits are presented first, in that an initial
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positive impression is formed. A recency effect may emerge later when you have had more
time to consider cues (e.g. when you are distracted, then finding out you have to work with
this person). Primacy effects are more common, however, therefore first impressions are
still important.
In the absence of information to the contrary, people tend to assume the best of others and
form a positive impression: the positivity bias. However, if there is any negative
information, this is disproportionately signified in subsequent impressions: the negativity
bias. Thus, negative impressions are difficult to change. We may be prone to this bias
because negative information is unusual and distinctive, thus attracting attention, as well as
the information indirectly signifies danger, and therefore its detection has survival value to
the individual.
Personal constructs are personal ways of characterising other people. For example, you
might say humour is most important in forming impressions of people, whereas another
may state that intelligence is. Implicit personality theories are personal ways of
characterising other people and explaining their behaviour. These are widely shared within
cultures, but differ between cultures. Like personal constructs, they are resistant to change
and can be idiosyncratically based upon personal experiences (for example, intelligent
people are also friendly, and not self-centred).
Stereotypes are widely shared and simplified evaluative images of a social group and its
members. Upon meeting someone, we usually grade their group membership (e.g.
ethnicity), and may apply stereotypes simultaneously. Leyens and Yzerbert found that
people are unlikely to form impressions and make judgements if the target is deemed not to
be socially judgeable in the specific context (e.g. if conventions or legislation prescribe such
behaviour as ‘politically incorrect’, but will readily do so if conventions encourage and
legitimise such behaviour.
Understand a ‘social schema’ and know the different types of schemas;
A schema is a cognitive structure that represents knowledge about a concept or type of
stimulus, including its attributes and the relations among these attributes. Schemas allow us
to make sense of stimuli quickly based on limited information, by filling in missing details.
For example, you might not remember whether or not a waiter took your order at a
restaurant the night before, but your restaurant schema tells you that they would have. A
person schema refers to individualised knowledge about specific people. For example, the
likes and dislikes of your best friend. A role schema refers to knowledge structures about
role occupants: for example, doctors, although often complete strangers, are allowed to ask
personal questions and ask that you get undressed. Event schemas (or, scripts), refer to
schemas about events. For example, our script for attending a lecture might tell you to walk
in, find a seat, sit quietly, and pay attention to the lecturer. Content-free schemas do not
contain rich information about a specific category, but rather a limited number of rules for
processing information. For example, if you like John and John likes Tom, then in order to
maintain balance, you should like Tom. Finally, self-schemas represent and store
information about oneself in a similar but more complex and varied way than information
about others. Self-schemas form a part of people’s concept of who they are.
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Document Summary
Understand what is meant by the term social cognition" and know the major assumptions of the major approaches to social cognition; Social cognition refers to the cognitive processes and structures that affect and are affected by social context and behaviour. It is an approach in social psychology that focuses on how cognition is affected by wider and more immediate social contexts, and on how cognition affects our social behaviour. The major assumptions in broad approaches to social cognition include cognitive consistency (a model of social cognition in which people try to reduce inconsistency among their cognitions, because they find inconsistency unpleasant. 1960s as research indicated a high level of tolerance among people for cognitive inconsistency), the nai ve scientist (a model of social cognition that characterises people as using rational, scientific-like, cause-effect analyses to understand their world. Social neuroscience is the exploration of brain activity associated with social cognition and social psychological processes and phenomena.
