Unconscious Processing of Social Information

1
Unconscious Processing of Social Information

• Unconscious processing this is social
  psychology?
• Freuds theory of the unconscious two different
  theories.
• Topographical Model
• Conscious
• Preconscious
• Unconscious.

2
Unconscious Processing

• Structural Model
• Id, Ego, Superego three structures govern
  relations among aspects of mental life
• Conscious thought
• rational, sophisticated
• tip of the iceberg
• Unconscious thought
• primitive, inaccessible
• roots in internal conflict, unacceptable urges
• repressed
• Defense mechanisms
• governed by ego
• keeps repressed material from penetrating into
  consciousness

3
Unconscious Processing

• Contemporary view dramatically different
• Unconscious is an adjective (unconscious
  processes), not a noun (the unconscious)
• Like Freud, unconscious processes occur outside
  of awareness
• Unlike Freud, unconscious processes
• Not repressed
• Do not arise from unacceptable psychic conflict,
  turmoil
• Develop from repetition of mental processes
• Are often highly adaptive

4
Unconscious Processing

• Pervasiveness of unconscious processes, effects
  on everyday functioning
• Fundamental distinction automatic and controlled
  processing
• Controlled processing
• thoughtful
• intentional
• fully cognizant of what were doing (processing)

5
Unconscious Processing

• Automatic processing four criteria
• Unintended not consciously initiated
• Stroop task say color of ink
• brown
• green
• orange
• table
• sparrow
• liberal
• friendly

6
Unconscious Processing

• 2. Lack of awareness not aware of processes
  underlying experience
• 3. Efficiency requires few cognitive resources
  or effort occurs despite other ongoing mental
  activity
• 4. Lack of control inability to stop process
  from happening

7
Unconscious Processing

• Degrees of automaticity most information
  processing contains some subset of these four
  criteria for automaticity, but not all of them.
• Therefore, degrees to which processing is
  automatic.
• Spontaneous processing, implicit processing.

8
Unconscious Processing

• Examples of automatic effects
• Attention
• Self-relevance (Bargh, 1982)
• Negativity (Pratto John, 1991)
• Evaluation
• Use of trait concepts
• Goals (see Bargh Chartrand, 1999, Rdng. 14)
• Creative thought (Fitzsimons et al., 2008)
• Behavior
• Mimicry (Chartrand Bargh, 1999)

9
Unconscious Processing

• Automatic attention to self-relevant information
  (Bargh, 1982)
• Dichotic listening task
• Nouns to one ear, adjectives (some self-relevant)
  to the other
• Instructions Attend to one ear, ignore other
• Repeat word in attended ear (shadowing)
• Compare schematics and aschematics (a la Markus)
• Probe reaction time task

10
Unconscious Processing

• The rationale
• When self-relevant items in attended channel --
  automatic processing should make shadowing task
  easier, facilitate performance on probe task
• When nouns in attended channel automatic
  attention to self-relevant items in nonattended
  channel should interfere with shadowing task,
  therefore slow RT on probe task
• Results supported predictions
• Conclusion automatic processing of self-relevant
  trait information

11
Unconscious Processing

• Can brand names influence creative performance?
• Apple vs. IBM computers (Fitzsimons et al., 2008)
• Brand personality
• Does priming Apple lead tgo more creatrive
  performance?
• Method
• Apple or IBM logos presented subliminally
• Ps then completed unusual uses test (measure of
  creativity -- of uses of a brick, rated
  creativity of uses)

12
Unconscious Processing

• Results
• Apple-primed Ps generated more unusual uses than
  IBM primed Ps
• Coders ratings of creativity of uses same
  difference

13
Unconscious Processing

• Automatic effects on behavior -- mimicry
  (Chartrand Bargh, 1999)
• Differences in RTs on mental tasks are fine, but
  what about behavior?
• Importance of coordination of behavior between
  people. Rapport, empathy between persons.
• Often mimic other people (monkey see, monkey
  do).
• Ingratiation? Maybe, but thats intentional.
• Question Can mimicry be automatic? The chameleon
  effect.
• Ps interacted with confederate. Repeated with
  different confederate in 2nd session.
• IV -- confederates mannerisms rub face, shake
  foot
• Interaction videotaped, later coded for Ss
  behaviors.

14
Unconscious Processing

• Automatic mimicry results
• Ps Behavior
• Cs Mannerism Face Foot
• Rub Face .57 .35
• Shake Foot .45 .73
• Note Participants unaware of confederates
  behaviors.

15
Unconscious Processing

• Second study the adaptive function of chameleon
  effect (Chartrand Bargh, 1999)
• Participants interacted with partner
  (confederate). Confederate either --
• Mirrored Ps behavioral mannerisms, or
• Performed neutral, nondescript mannerisms
• When interaction was over, participants rated --
• How much they liked confederate
• How smoothly interaction had gone

16
Unconscious Processing

• Interpersonal effects of mimicry results
• Measure Mimicry No Mimicry
• Liking 6.62 5.91
• Smoothness 6.76 6.02

17
Unconscious Processing

• The Self and automaticity
• Automatic processing of self-relevant information
  (Baldwin, Carrell, Lopez, 1990). Subliminally
  primed important authority figures in persons
  life (face photos), then measured momentary sense
  of self.

18
Unconscious Processing

• Study 1 psychology graduate students
• 1. wrote down 3 most important research ideas
  then working on
• 2. series of trials press button after seeing
  flash on screen, then evaluate one of the
  research ideas
• 3. 3 primes (2 ms) blank screen, scowling face
  of major professor (Robert Zajonc), smiling face
  of postdoc.
• 4. after each one, evaluate one of the research
  ideas.

19
Unconscious Processing

• Results mean ratings of own research ideas
• Face prime Mean Rating
• Smiling, approving 79.9
• Scowling, disapproving 72.7
• Conclusion self-evaluations can be influenced by
  minimal exposure to positive or negative stimuli.
• Is this global good-bad effect or personal
  significance of disapproving face?
• Second study extend this evidence.

20
Unconscious Processing

• Baldwin et al. (1990), Study 2
• Catholic college women read two passages, one
  about a park, other about a womans sexual
  dream (neither explicit nor erotic, but did
  portray a permissive attitude toward sexuality).
  
• Moved to 2nd room, subliminally (4 ms) shown
  blank screen, 2 disapproving faces
• Robert Zajonc (now an unfamiliar person)
• Pope John Paul II
• Then completed questionnaire
• Rated self concept on variety of trait scales
• Religious participation (practicing/nonpracticing)

21
Unconscious Processing

• Results
• Self Concept Control Pope Zajonc
• Total sample 7.02 6.30 7.09
• Low practicing 6.93 6.70 6.64
• High practicing 7.11 6.00 7.77

22
Unconscious Processing

• Person perception and automaticity
• Automatic effects on impression judgments (Bargh
  Pietromonaco,1982).
• Srull Wyer (1979) making sentences from word
  sets, hi or low hostile, influenced later
  impression of Donald. Frequency of activation
  influenced size of effect.
• Can such priming effects occur automatically?

23
Unconscious Processing

• Bargh Pietromonoco modified replication of
  Srull Wyer.
• Initial vigilance task press button as fast
  as you can when you see a flash on screen.
  Flashes were actually words hostile or
  unrelated.
• 0, 20, or 80 hostile
• Then read paragraph describing Donald ambiguous
  behaviors, hostile?
• Rated Donald on trait scales, half
  hostile-related, half unrelated.

24
Unconscious Processing

• Results
• Word recognition test -- Ps were not able to
  recognize any of the words presented. Thus,
  subliminal primes.
• Impression ratings
• Percent Hostile Primes
• Trait type 0 20 80
• hostile-unrelated 4.95 5.77
  5.94
• hostile-related 6.99 6.78 7.47

25
Unconscious Processing

• Stereotypes and automaticity
• Automatic effects of stereotype activation
  (Dijkersterhuis van Knippenberg, 1998)
• Past research automatic effects on behavior
  (e.g., mimicry). Question can priming
  automatically influence more complex behaviors?
  Intellectual performance?

26
Unconscious Processing

• First part priming. Imagine typical
  professor/secretary. List typical behaviors,
  lifestyle, attributes.
• Second part general knowledge test. 42
  questions from Trivial Pursuit.

27
Unconscious Processing

• Hypothesis priming would influence performance
  on general knowledge test.
• Results percent correct answers
• Condition Mean
• No Prime 49.9
• Professor 59.5
• Secretary 46.4

28
Unconscious Processing

• Other studies in Dijksterhuis van Knippenberg
• Compared professor and soccer hooligan primes
  on Trivial Pursuit performance.
• Analyzed effect of strength of priming.
• Tracked decay of priming effect across time.
• Results combined from Studies 2 and 3
• percent correct answers
• prime time professor hooligan
• no prime 45.2 51.3
• 2 min 51.8 48.6
• 9 min 58.9 43.1

29
Unconscious Processing

• Self-stereotypes accepting beliefs stereotypic
  of own group as true of self
• Can include negative self-stereotypes
• Can positive and negative self-stereotypes be
  activated without awareness, and if so, will
  those stereotypes influence behavior?
• Example aging and memory

30
Unconscious Processing

• Levy (1996) self-stereotyping and memory
  performance
• Method
• 90 participants, age 60 90 (mean age 73)
• Subliminally prime negative or positive
  stereotype of elderly
• Negative old, senile, forgets, confused
  Positive senior, wise, alert, learned,
  insightful
• Pretest all priming words are characteristic
  of old age
• Words flashed below threshold for recognition
  Did flash appear in top or bottom half of screen?
• Memory performance memory tasks assessed before
  and after priming intervention

31
Unconscious Processing

• Results
• On several different memory tasks, same pattern
• Negative (senility) prime produced lower
  performance after, compared to before, prime
• Positive (wise) prime produced higher performance
  after, compared to before, prime
• Conclusions
• Self-stereotypes of old age (senile, wise) can be
  subliminally primed in older adults without
  awareness.
• Priming these stereotypes can influence memory
  performance