Our Path So Far COGS 105 Research Methods for Cognitive Scientists • Remember, cognitive science is a radically interdisciplinary field, so we will be covering a diverse array of material. CogSci history philosophy cognitive psychology sampling and statistics Week 5, Class 1: reaction-time setup Behavioral Methods III: Social Cognition and Priming priming Cognitive Revolution! Social Cognition and Priming • “The pervasive role of automaticity in psychological theory and research.” • “some basic social-perceptual processes … could have efficient [but] unintentional components (… operat[ing] outside of one’s awareness].” (Bargh et al. reading) after exam 1 Feature Review Automaticity in social-cognitive processes John A. Bargh, Kay L. Schwader, Sarah E. Hailey, Rebecca L. Dyer, and Erica J. Boothby
Priming • Definition: Priming is a family of methods where we bias a decision or response through presenting subtle (even sometimes unconscious) information to a participant. • For example, classic work with RT has shown that you can prime related words. • E.g., in LDT you can prime a response to “dog” using “cat” even if “cat” is shown for just milliseconds and subconsciously before the “dog” stimulus appears. “bias” Types of Priming Example Prior Priming • Semantic priming. Here, respond to a word with your right hand only if the word you see relates Prior Priming prime target closely to a semantic category: dogs . leash prime prime prime oven Concurrent Priming target fetch leaf prime branch roots Context Priming slowed RT target bark due to priming by tree-related concepts
Priming Types Plan • Not all primes are “unconscious” in the subliminal sense. They may • Priming in high-level visual perception be unconscious in the sense that they are “not noticed” as affecting participant behavior. • Priming in social cognition: behavior contagion • Prior priming can be “unconscious” if you present the prime quickly so that it is not immediately processed (though it may • The embodied nature of social priming have been implicitly perceived and processed ). • Concurrent primes can be unconscious in the sense that the • Moderators in behavior contagion primes may not seem to be related to the outcome of the task; but participants get affected anyway. • Developmental issues in social priming • Context primes may be unconscious in that the participants are unaware that you have setup a context to prompt them to think • Unconscious thought theory of a decision or solution or perception. Plan In Vision • Priming in high-level visual perception • You can subtly prime a wide variety of cognitive processes, including visual ones. What do you see • Priming in social cognition: behavior contagion in this picture? • The embodied nature of social priming left side • Moderators in behavior contagion dog • Developmental issues in social priming sniffing • Unconscious thought theory
Examples... Priming experiment... mendacity The They birdies chatted cheater sipped dishonest Priming Balcetis TEDx Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeIrdqU0o9s
Priming Plan • Priming in high-level visual perception • One reason priming works is that our perceptions • Priming in social cognition: behavior contagion and decisions and judgments are made under great uncertainty . • The embodied nature of social priming • Priming — the subtle influence of related • Moderators in behavior contagion information — can help our cognitive system resolve some of that uncertainty , even if it is • Developmental issues in social priming sometimes unconscious. • Unconscious thought theory Plan Social Priming • Priming in high-level visual perception • You can prime in all sorts of ways. The method is • Priming in social cognition: behavior contagion widespread in social psychology. • The embodied nature of social priming • The study of social cognition seems to often • Moderators in behavior contagion involve the activation of a source concept (say, a stereotype), and then we see how decisions or • Developmental issues in social priming behaviors are affected. • Unconscious thought theory
read for broad survey, gist Feature Review Behavior Contagion Automaticity in social-cognitive processes John A. Bargh, Kay L. Schwader, Sarah E. Hailey, Rebecca L. Dyer, and • Example: Elderly primes. Erica J. Boothby Yale University, Department of Psychology, 2 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06520, USA Over the past several years, the concept of automaticity and prejudice in adults (see [2]); instead we devote of higher cognitive processes has permeated nearly all attention to the new emerging research on attitudes and domains of psychological research. In this review, we prejudice in very young children (see the section on devel- highlight insights arising from studies in decision-mak- opment). ing, moral judgments, close relationships, emotional The second major trend in automaticity research has processes, face perception and social judgment, motiva- been the growing recognition that not all higher-level tion and goal pursuit, conformity and behavioral conta- automatic processes are put in place via a process of skill gion, embodied cognition, and the emergence of higher- acquisition (e.g., [3]), in which a mental process starts out level automatic processes in early childhood. Taken as conscious and effortful and only with frequent and together, recent work in these domains demonstrates consistent practice and experience becomes efficient and that automaticity does not result exclusively from a automatic. Early childhood studies and research on em- process of skill acquisition (in which a process always bodied influences have shown how innate processes and begins as a conscious and deliberate one, becoming those acquired in very early childhood (such as concepts capable of automatic operation only with frequent about the physical world and physical experiences) can use) – there are evolved substrates and early childhood exert an automatic, nonconscious influence on the higher learning mechanisms involved as well. mental processes, without starting out as a conscious process (see [4]). The pervasive role of automaticity in psychological Several forms of automatic influence are driven by theory and research effortless perceptual activity regarding the outside world, If there is one major trend in research on automaticity of such as behavioral contagion or conformity effects trig- the higher mental processes over the past few years, it is gered by the perception of others’ behavior and immediate that the concept has now permeated nearly all psychologi- impressions of others based on their facial features or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g4_v4JStOU cal domains. What began 30 years ago with some tentative expressions alone, whereas others are driven by automatic steps into the notion that some basic social-perceptual sensory perception and the perception of internal states as Behavior Contagion Plan • Priming in high-level visual perception • “Behavior contagion” through priming. • Priming in social cognition: behavior contagion • Sneak subtle meanings inside a language task; do so in a way that participants cannot notice it. • The embodied nature of social priming • Track the behaviors of the participants • Moderators in behavior contagion • Bargh et al. claim that priming is “whole system” — • Developmental issues in social priming it is embodied; you can find many types of behavior that are affected. • Unconscious thought theory
Plan Embodiment • Priming in high-level visual perception • “…strong associations between metaphorically related physical and psychological concepts.” • Priming in social cognition: behavior contagion • E.g., “briefly holding a warm cup of coffee • The embodied nature of social priming produces feelings of social warmth.” (Williams & Bargh, 2008) • Moderators in behavior contagion • And are they bidirectional? Social warmth may lead • Developmental issues in social priming one to think room temperature is higher? (IJzerman & Semin, 2010) • Unconscious thought theory IJzerman & Semin, 2010 Close Sitting! Close sitting Far sitting • One participant joined two ‘participants’ (who were Perceived temperature 19.9 really confederates blind to the experiments’ purpose), in a room where temperature was held 19.725 constant. 19.55 • Confederates sat either close (50 cm) or far (270 cm) from the target participant. 19.375 • Naturally, they made sure that the temperature 19.2 near the participant was actually constant.
Similarities Game Similarities Game More similarities Fewer similarities More similarities Fewer similarities Perceived temperature Perceived temperature 21 21 20.25 15.75 19.5 10.5 18.75 5.25 18 0 start axis at 0, effect does not look so big… Plan Plan • Priming in high-level visual perception • Priming in high-level visual perception • Priming in social cognition: behavior contagion • Priming in social cognition: behavior contagion • The embodied nature of social priming • The embodied nature of social priming • Moderators in behavior contagion • Moderators in behavior contagion • Developmental issues in social priming • Developmental issues in social priming • Unconscious thought theory • Unconscious thought theory
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