Social Schemas Flashcards
(25 cards)
What is a social schema?
A mental framework or cognitive structure that organizes and interprets social information about people, events, and self.
Who introduced the concept of schemas in psychology?
Frederic Bartlett (1932); developed further by Fiske & Taylor (1991).
What is categorisation in cognitive psychology?
Grouping stimuli into categories that are similar within the group and different from other categories to simplify perception and processing.
What is the role of categorisation in social identity theories?
Central to Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Self-Categorisation Theory (SCT); used to define in-groups and out-groups.
Who introduced the prototype theory of categorisation?
Eleanor Rosch – categories are based on ideal or average examples (prototypes).
What are the 4 main types of social schemas?
Person schemas, Role schemas, Self-schemas, Event schemas.
What is a person schema?
Knowledge about other people’s traits; used to categorise and predict others’ behaviours (Asch – impression formation).
What is a role schema?
Knowledge about societal roles and norms, influencing expectations and interactions (linked to stereotyping).
What is a self-schema?
Cognitive representation of one’s own traits and identity; guides self-relevant processing (Markus, 1977).
What is an event schema (script)?
Knowledge of expected sequences in familiar situations (e.g., dining at a restaurant); Schank & Abelson (1977).
What is schema-driven (top-down) processing?
Fast, automatic processing based on pre-existing schemas; used when info is clear or resources are limited.
: What is data-driven (bottom-up) processing?
Slow, deliberate processing based on current stimuli; used when info is ambiguous or when motivated.
What is Fiske & Neuberg’s (1990) Continuum Model of Processing?
A model explaining when people switch between schema-driven (top-down) and data-driven (bottom-up) processing based on context and motivation.
How do schemas influence attention and memory?
Direct attention to schema-consistent info, aid memory, but can distort recall or create false memories.
What did Cohen’s (1981) study demonstrate?
People recall schema-consistent traits (librarian vs. waitress), showing schemas guide memory encoding and recall.
What conflicting findings exist on schema recall?
Stangor & McMillan (1992): Better recall of schema-consistent info.
Rojahn & Pettigrew (1992): Better recall of schema-inconsistent info.
Under what conditions do we use schema-driven vs. data-driven processing?
Schema-driven: When info is unambiguous or under low cognitive resources.
Data-driven: When info is ambiguous or when motivated and resourced.
What are the advantages of schemas?
Simplify complex info, aid attention, memory, understanding, and efficient social functioning.
What are the disadvantages of schemas?
Can cause biased judgments.
May distort memory.
Lead to incorrect inferences or stereotyping.
Why are schemas resistant to change?
Due to the perseverance effect – once formed, schemas persist despite contradictory info (Kunda & Oleson, 1995).
What is the bookkeeping model of schema change?
Schemas adjust gradually with each piece of new information (Rumelhart & Norman, 1978).
What is the conversion model of schema change?
Schemas change suddenly in response to major contradictory information (Rothbart, 1981).
What is the subtyping model in schema change?
Contradictory instances are placed in a new sub-category rather than altering the main schema (Richards & Hewstone, 2001).
Which schema change models have limited empirical support?
Bookkeeping and Conversion models (Weber & Crocker, 1983).
