Instuderingsfrågor Flashcards
(64 cards)
What are the fundamental questions social cognition asks?
Answer: Social cognition seeks to understand how people process, store, and apply information about others and social situations. Fundamentally, it asks: How do we perceive, interpret, remember, and use social information to make judgments and decisions? This includes questions about biases, heuristics, and the influence of emotions on social thought.
Explanation: Imagine a detective solving a case. Social cognition is like the detective’s mental toolkit for understanding social clues (perceptions), piecing them together (interpretations), recalling past cases (memory), and deciding who is guilty (judgments). It’s about the mental processes behind social interactions.
What is the role of the social agent?
Answer: In social cognition, a social agent is an entity perceived as capable of intentional actions, influencing our understanding and reactions. This can range from individuals to groups or even artificial intelligence.
Explanation: We attribute agency - the capacity to act purposefully - to social agents, shaping our expectations and responses. For example, we react differently to a seemingly intentional slight versus an accidental bump. This perception of agency is crucial to social interaction and understanding.
What are the assumptions of social cognitive research?
Answer: Social cognitive research rests on several key assumptions: Humans actively process information; mental states influence behavior; reciprocal determinism shapes interactions between individuals and their environments; observational learning is crucial; self-efficacy impacts behavior; and cognitive processes are central to understanding social phenomena.
Explanation: Imagine a tennis match: players (individuals) actively process information (opponent’s moves), their beliefs (mental states) influence shots, their actions affect the opponent’s response (reciprocal determinism), they learn from watching others (observational learning), their confidence (self-efficacy) affects performance, and understanding their thoughts is key to the match’s outcome (cognitive processes).
What are the modern trends discussed during the lecture that exemplify social cognitive research?
Answer: Modern trends in social cognitive research exemplified during the lecture include the increasing integration of neuroscientific methods (neuroimaging) to study the neural underpinnings of social cognition, the rise of computational modeling to simulate social processes, and a growing focus on cultural and evolutionary influences on social cognition.
Explanation: These trends reflect a shift towards more interdisciplinary and mechanistic approaches. Neuroimaging helps pinpoint brain regions involved, computational models offer testable theories, and cultural/evolutionary perspectives broaden understanding beyond individual differences.
Who are the WEIRD people and why is it important to talk about them?
Answer: WEIRD refers to participants from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies. Over-reliance on WEIRD samples in psychological research limits generalizability, as their experiences and cultural norms don’t represent the global population’s diversity.
Explanation: WEIRD samples are convenient but not representative. Imagine studying fish behavior only in aquariums; you’d miss crucial aspects of their natural behavior. Similarly, relying solely on WEIRD participants creates a skewed understanding of human cognition.
What is priming?
Answer: Priming is the implicit memory effect where exposure to one stimulus influences the response to another stimulus.
Explanation: Imagine a word puzzle where seeing the word ‘doctor’ makes you faster at identifying ‘nurse’. That’s priming: prior exposure subtly shapes subsequent processing. It’s an unconscious process influencing perception and reaction times.
What is the difference between automatic and controlled cognitive systems?
Answer: Automatic cognitive systems operate unconsciously and effortlessly, like recognizing faces. Controlled systems are conscious, deliberate, and effortful, like solving complex math problems. They differ in awareness, processing speed, and capacity.
Explanation: Imagine driving a familiar route (automatic) versus navigating a new city (controlled). The first is effortless, the second demands focus. This highlights the key differences in resource allocation and conscious awareness between the two systems.
What are the social factors that influence whether cognitive process is automatic or controlled?
Answer: Social factors significantly influence the automaticity of cognitive processes. Social pressure, expectations, and the presence of others can shift processing from controlled (deliberate, resource-intensive) to automatic (fast, efficient) or vice versa. For example, performing a well-learned task like driving becomes more controlled in heavy traffic, while social cues can automate responses in familiar social situations.
Explanation: The social context modulates cognitive resources allocation. A high-stakes social situation demands more controlled processing, while a relaxed environment allows for more automatic processing. This interplay is dynamic and context-dependent.
What are some of the methods researchers use to understand what others are thinking?
Answer: Researchers employ diverse methods to infer others’ thoughts, including: observing behavior (e.g., facial expressions, body language); analyzing verbal and written communication (e.g., content analysis, discourse analysis); employing neuroimaging techniques (e.g., fMRI, EEG) to measure brain activity associated with cognitive processes; and utilizing implicit measures (e.g., IAT) to assess unconscious biases and attitudes.
Explanation: These methods, while offering valuable insights, are not without limitations. Observed behavior might be misleading, and self-reported data can be subjective. Neuroimaging, though powerful, is still developing, and implicit measures are susceptible to interpretation biases. A multi-method approach is often crucial for a comprehensive understanding.
Which and what are the unimode models?
Answer: Unimode models of processing posit that comprehension relies on a single, unified cognitive system. They contrast with dual-process models which propose distinct systems (e.g., System 1 and System 2).
Explanation: Imagine a single-track train (unimode) versus a multi-track system (dual-mode). The single track handles all information sequentially, while the multiple tracks allow parallel processing of different types of information. Unimode models lack this parallel processing capacity.
What is the dual-stage two-phase model of selective attention?
Answer: The dual-stage two-phase model of selective attention posits an initial pre-attentive stage where all stimuli are processed in parallel, followed by a second attentive stage where selected stimuli are processed serially. Phase 1 involves the selection of stimuli based on basic features, while Phase 2 involves deeper processing of selected stimuli based on more complex features.
Explanation: Imagine a cocktail party: initially, you process all sounds (parallel). Then, you focus on one conversation (serial). Phase 1 selects based on loudness, while Phase 2 focuses on the semantic content of the chosen conversation. This model highlights the interplay between automatic and controlled attentional processes.
What is the difference between attention and encoding?
Answer: Attention is the selective focusing of cognitive resources on specific information, while encoding is the process of transforming sensory information into a format suitable for storage in memory. Attention is a prerequisite for encoding; you can’t encode what you don’t attend to.
Explanation: Imagine a spotlight (attention) illuminating details in a room (sensory input). Encoding is then like taking a photograph of that illuminated area, preserving only the focused details for later retrieval. Without the spotlight, the photo is dark and useless.
What is so special about faces?
Answer: Faces possess a unique neural processing pathway, the fusiform face area (FFA), which is specialized for facial recognition. This dedicated neural mechanism allows for rapid and efficient processing of facial features, crucial for social interaction.
Explanation: Unlike object recognition, which relies on more distributed brain areas, face recognition is highly specialized. Think of it like having a dedicated search engine for faces, rather than a general-purpose one for all objects. This specialization enhances our ability to quickly identify and remember individuals.
What did Todorov et al. (2005) study show?
Answer: Todorov et al.’s (2005) study demonstrated that judgments of political candidates’ competence and trustworthiness, based solely on brief, unposed facial images, predict actual election outcomes.
Explanation: This highlights the potent, albeit unconscious, influence of facial features on social judgments and voting behavior. It suggests that ‘thin-slice’ judgments, formed rapidly from minimal information, can carry significant real-world consequences. This relates to implicit biases and the impact of first impressions.
What are the neural correlates of face perception?
Answer: The neural correlates of face perception are distributed across a network of brain regions, most prominently the fusiform face area (FFA) in the inferior temporal cortex, the superior temporal sulcus (STS), and the occipital face area (OFA). These areas interact dynamically to process different aspects of faces, from basic features to identity and expression.
Explanation: Think of it like an assembly line: the OFA processes initial visual features, the FFA identifies the face, and the STS interprets the social aspects (gaze, expression). Damage to any part of this network can impair face recognition (prosopagnosia). This is closely related to questions about visual agnosia and the neural pathways of object recognition.
What is the difference between change blindness and choice blindness - what do they show us about our attention and encoding capacities?
Answer: Change blindness is the failure to notice a change in a visual scene, while choice blindness is the failure to notice a change in a choice already made. Both reveal our limited attentional resources and how our encoding of details is often surprisingly superficial.
Explanation: Imagine a magician subtly changing a card during a trick (change blindness). Or, imagine someone subtly switching your chosen ice cream flavor and you not noticing (choice blindness). These highlight how our perception and memory are reconstructive, not perfect recordings.
What is the anger vs. happy superiority effect when it comes to face perception and what conclusions did we draw from it?
Answer: The “anger superiority effect” in face perception describes faster and more accurate identification of angry faces compared to happy faces. Conversely, a “happy superiority effect” is less consistently observed and may depend on factors like context and individual differences. Research suggests that this asymmetry reflects an evolutionary bias towards prioritizing threat detection (anger) over positive stimuli (happiness).
Explanation: Imagine a scenario where you need to quickly assess a situation. Noticing a threat (angry face) is crucial for survival; thus, our brains are wired to detect anger more efficiently. This explains why we see an anger superiority effect more often than a happy superiority effect.
What makes certain stimulus salient?
Answer: Stimulus salience is determined by factors intrinsic to the stimulus (e.g., intensity, size, novelty) and extrinsic factors (e.g., goals, context, expectations). A stimulus’s relevance to current goals significantly impacts its salience.
Explanation: Imagine searching for your keys. A glint of metal (intrinsic salience) becomes highly salient due to your goal (extrinsic salience). This interplay of bottom-up and top-down processes dictates what captures our attention.
How does saliency influence our cognitive processes (memory, judgements) and what influences what becomes salient to us?
Answer: Saliency, the perceptual prominence of a stimulus, significantly impacts cognitive processes. Highly salient stimuli capture attention, leading to enhanced encoding in memory and influencing judgments by disproportionately weighting salient information. Factors like novelty, intensity, and emotional significance determine salience.
Explanation: Imagine a crowded room: a bright red object (high intensity) immediately grabs your attention (high salience), improving recall and influencing your perception of the room more than other, less salient objects. This is related to concepts of attentional capture and selective attention.
What did the Graham & Lowery (2004) study demonstrate regarding accessibility and priming?
Answer: Graham & Lowery (2004) showed that accessible information, even if semantically unrelated to a prime, can be primed. This challenges the strict semantic view of priming, suggesting a broader influence of activation levels on processing.
Explanation: Imagine a red apple readily in mind (accessible). Even if primed with a word like ‘car’, the apple’s accessibility might still subtly affect subsequent tasks, showing that priming isn’t solely about semantic links but also activation levels. This relates to the broader concept of spreading activation.
What conditions are best for priming effects?
Answer: Priming effects are strongest when the prime and target share semantic features, the interval between prime and target is short, and the task is implicit rather than explicit.
Explanation: Think of it like this: the more similar two concepts are (e.g., ‘doctor’ and ‘nurse’), and the less time passes between encountering one and having to process the other, the stronger the unconscious influence of the first on the second. Explicit tasks require conscious thought, weakening the effect.
Vad innebär attribuering?
Answer: Attribuering avser den process där individer söker orsaker till beteenden, både sina egna och andras. Det handlar om att tillskriva handlingar interna (personliga) eller externa (situationella) faktorer.
Explanation: Tänk dig att någon är sen till mötet. Attribuering innebär att vi försöker avgöra om det beror på lathet (intern faktor) eller trafikstockning (extern faktor). Detta påverkar våra bedömningar och reaktioner.
Vilka grundläggande principer tillämpar människor för att förklara orsak-effekt?
Answer: Människor tillämpar främst tre grundläggande principer för att förklara orsak-effekt: kontiguitet (händelser nära i tid och rum uppfattas som kausalt relaterade), temporal precedence (orsaken föregår effekten) och konstant konjunktion (orsaken är alltid närvarande när effekten inträffar).
Explanation: Tänk på att slå en hammare mot en spik: hammarens träff (orsak) föregår spikens rörelse (effekt), de sker nära varandra i tid och rum, och varje gång hammaren träffar spiken rör sig spiken. Detta illustrerar de tre principerna.
Vad innebär samvariation (‘covariation’) enligt Kelleys teori?
Answer: Enligt Kelleys kovariansteori innebär samvariation att en effekt konsekvent uppträder i närvaro av en specifik orsak, men inte i dess frånvaro. Detta bedöms genom att analysera hur konsekvent, distinkt och hög konsensus effekten uppvisar.
Explanation: Tänk dig att du blir sjuk (effekten) efter att ha ätit en viss maträtt (orsaken). Samvariation innebär att du blir sjuk varje gång du äter den, men inte när du äter andra rätter. Hög konsensus skulle innebära att andra som ätit samma maträtt också blir sjuka.
