Week 2

Psychology 2100: Introduction to Social Psychology

Warren Thorngate, Professor
Psychology Department, Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6
Canada
e-mail = warren_thorngate@carleton.ca

Lecture 2: Cues and social judgement

Review

Social judgement = impression formation = person perception = social cognition
Brunswik's Lens Model of social judgement

distal stimulus = what is in the brain of the person being judged: what we cannot see but must infer
promixal stimuli = cues = the physical and behavioural characteristics of the person beind judged + the context in which we see them
The Lens = the thousands of rules in the judge's brain that translate proximal stimuli into a social judement
the percept = the judge's perception or judgement of the distal stimulus inside the person, our inference or "best guess" what the person inside is like
ecological validity = the relationship between distal stimuli and proximal stimuli. Proximal stimuli (cues) with high ecological validity can tell us much about what is inside the person. Proximal stimuli with low ecological validity can tell us little about what is inside the person.
accuracy = the relationship between the distal stimulus and our percept. When our percept (judgement) is close to the distal stimulus, we have high accuracy. When our percept (judgement) is "way off the mark", we have low accuracy.

Some general rules in the the Lens

filtering: ignoring information available, usually the expected information; focussing on what is unexpected
inference: going beyond the information given

an example of going beyond the evidence -- What can we infer about these two people based on their hands?

examine the person with the ring

examine the person with the watch

Sources of cues in forming social judgements:

time
space
appearance
possessions
gestures
medium
words
deeds

Time and social judgement

before interaction
setting of time: status differences in appointments
being "on time": cultural meanings of punctuality & impressions of late people
during interaction
time speaking/listening, asking/answering
speed of speaking, rhythm of dialogue
length of conversation (e.g., men & women on phone)
interruptions & silent periods
time orientation in conversation: here/there, then/now
after interaction
Zajonc and Harrison's "mere exposure effect" = " Familiarity breeds content."
Does absence make the heart grow fonder?

Space and social judgement

before interaction: physical proximity
architectural and geographical effects on interaction
Festinger, Schacter & Back study of dorm friendships
rural neighbourhoods vs. hi-rise apartments
effects of the telephone (and the Internet?)
during interaction: territoriality
personal space & territorial markers: private spaces in public places
cultural differences in speaking distance, and ways of reducing distance
violation of personal space and anxiety: the urinal study
flight vs fight reactions and war
John Calhoun's studies of crowding in rats

Physical appearance and social judgement

Should it make a difference? No!
Does it make a difference? Yes!
Examples from fashion industry, courtroom, "success" books, plastic surgery, choosing colours, beautiful people in ads
Walster, Aronson et al "computer date" study (1966)
Anderson & Lampal "adjective + photo" study
Cultural differences: shaving in Iran
Discrimination against the ugly: the last disadvantaged group?

Possessions, context and social judgement

Possessions as symbols of power, status, wealth, personal preferences
Personality inference examples:
from clothing (consider the chador)
from cars, homes
from home decoration & office furniture
from "friend/mate as possession" = trophy spouse
Possessions & context
manipulation of TV images through props, staging and lighting
manipulation of impressions through setting: businesslike, romantic, relaxed, intimidating, etc.

Gestures and social judgement

Physical gestures: "body language"
posture
facial cues: pupils, gazing, mouth, brows, nostrils, etc.
body movements: arms, legs, hands, etc.
greeting and touching rituals across cultures: North versus South America
double messages: words vs gestures
Context effects: The "pratfall" study
Symbolic gestures
invitations, thank you notes
standing, applauding across cultures
gift giving & ingratiation: cultural differences (gift size, holding of gift in giving, etc.)

The medium and impression formation

impressions via sight, sound, smell, touch, etc.
impressions from letters and e-mail
evolution of emoticons ;-) ;-(
impressions from TV versus face to face meeting
cultural differences in preference for medium: Latin American preference for face-to-face contact versus North American preference for written message as "the truth"