are Automaticity
We the robots We are the robots We're functioning automatic And we are dancing mechanic Kraftwerk
The Dominant View of Human Nature
This guy again?
Thinking is a deliberate, conscious process Behavior is a product of conscious reasoning We are in control of our behavior We are aware of the causes of our actions
general, most of social science, lay people
Assumed by: Descartes, philosophy in
The Dominant View of Human Nature
But what if this view is wrong? What if much of behavior is
created by factors which are outside of our awareness?
What if we only think we're in
control? What if we don't know the reasons for most of our behavior?
(Non)awareness
"Telling more than we can know" Reacting to common assumption that you can ask people why they behaved the way they did (selfreports)
Common in interviews, focus groups, (Nisbett and Wilson 1977)
many surveys and experiments Common in media research (focus groups, surveys)
(Non)awareness
N&W review a huge literature showing that people have little insight into the causes of their behavior
People always have reasons, usually rational, defensible ones But they're often, even usually, the wrong reasons
People have limited insight into the true causes of their behavior Finding: if you want to understand human behavior, you can't just ask somebody
Remember this the next time you get in an argument about something someone did
(Non)awareness "Thin Slices"
How unaware are we? Is it possible that others know us better than we know ourselves?
"Thin Slices" experimental paradigm
Sometimes, on some dimensions, yes
People are surprisingly good at perceiving others' personality characteristics via "thin slices" of behavior
Predicting teacher eval's from 30 sec silent clip
Sam Gosling
In some cases (extroversion, IQ), people can rate targets more accurately from a thin slice than the targets themselves
Gosling's "Room with a cue," Snoop
Predicting altruism, IQ from 10 sec silent clip
Then 15 sec, then 6 sec
What is Automaticity?
Automaticity: Perspective that most human behavior results from automatic, nonconscious factors that operate outside of awareness
Key factors
Automatic (not controlled) Nonconscious Unaware Effortless
John Bargh
Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996)
Explored the various effects of "priming"
Priming: making a concept active in a person's mind In this case, subliminal priming
Making a concept active outside of a person's awareness
Much research on effects of priming on perception
Popular examples of priming effects on behavior
Bargh, Chen and Burrows explored effects of priming on behavior Subliminal advertising Exposure to violent imagery leads to violence
Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996)
Study 1: Primed politeness or rudeness using a scrambled sentence task Participants had to make 4 word sentences out of 5 words Words manipulated to either prime rudeness, politness, neutral
they her bother see usually (rude) they her respect see usually (polite) Rude words: aggressively, bold, rude, bother, diturb, interrupt, infringe, etc. Polite words: respect, honor, discretely, courteous, behaved, polite, etc. Neutral words: send, watches, prepares, etc.
Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996)
After doing "scrambled sentence task" participant told to turn in test Experimenter was in another room, talking with a confused participant (confederate) for up to 10 mins Dependent variable: how long before participant interrupts Results:
Polite prime: 558 secs, 18% interrupted Neutral prime: 519 secs, 37% Rude prime: 326 secs, 63%
Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996)
Study 2a: Primed the stereotype of the elderly using a "scrambled sentence task"
Participants (partially) debriefed Confederate in hallway timed participant leaving the study
Elderly words: Florida, grey, lonely, wise, sentimental, gullible, wrinkle, retired, etc. Based on previous research on elderly stereotype Neutral words: thirsty, clean, private, etc.
Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996)
Results:
Elderly prime: 8.28s
Neutral prime: 7.30s
Statistically significant difference
Study 2b: identical
No reported awareness of effect Elderly prime: 8.20s
Neutral prime: 7.23s
Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996)
Study 3: Participants worked on a very boring cpu task
After 130 trials the cpu displayed an error message
Counting circles (odd/even) On each trial participants either sublinally flashed an African American face or white face
Then, "You must start the program over again" Told to get the experimenter Response videotaped
Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996)
Dependent Variables: Results:
Hostility of reaction to cpu
Hostility towards experimenter AfricanAmerican primed participants
more hostile on both measures than White primed participants All participants were white
Dijksterhuis and Van Knippenberg (1996)
Study 1: Participants asked to spend 5 mins imagining and listing traits of professor/secretaries Or not in a third condition
After priming, given a general knowledge test
Note: these primes are supraliminal Also, a pretest showed the subject pool considered professors more intelligent than secretaries
Primed with this
Questions drawn from Trivial Pursuit Pretest: about 50% accuracy
Dijksterhuis and Van Knippenberg (1996)
Example questions
Who painted "Guernica"?
What is the capital of Bangladesh?
Dali, Picasso, Miro, Velasquez
Which country hosted the 1990 World
Dhaka, Hanoi, Yangon, Bangkok
Cup?
U.S., Mexico, Spain, Italy
Dijksterhuis and Van Knippenberg (1996)
Results:
No prime:
Secretary prime:
46.4% Professor prime: 59.5%
49.9% right
Redid the study priming soccer hooligans, stupidity, intelligence
All predictions confirmed
Effect seemed to be wearing off in later questions
Self-Esteem Priming (Dijksterhuis 2004)
Can you condition someone with subliminal priming to have higher self esteem? Method
Participants worked on a lexical decision
task Subliminally primed with "I" before each trial ("ik") Then shown positive or neutral words to respond to on LDT
Self-Esteem Priming (Dijksterhuis 2004)
Dependent Measure: Participant evaluated the attractiveness of each letter of the alphabet Results:
Participants rated the letters in their
initials and full names more attractive after positive selfesteem conditioning
Self-Esteem Priming (Dijksterhuis 2004)
Followup studies:
Conclusion: How can we get a hold of this software?
Replicated Study 1 effects with a different measure of implicit selfesteem (IAT) Study 4: selfesteem was raised for people who had gotten either positive or negative intelligence feedback Study 5a and b: Effects of negative intelligence feedback on task persistence and mood were reduced if participant had been given positive selfesteem conditioning
Unconscious Thought and DecisionMaking
How effective is unconscious thinking? How complex of a task can it work on? What are its limits?
We can process enormous amounts of
information nonconsciously
But consciously we can't pay attention to
Vision, hearing, language, motor systems
2 things at once, have limited processing capabilities
Unconscious Thought and DecisionMaking
Dijksterhuis 2004 Method:
Participants presented with info on 4
hypothetical apartments 12 attributes per apartment Attributes presented in random order on cpu screen
Apartment 2 was best, 4 the worst, 1 and 3 in the middle
4 secs each
Unconscious Thought and DecisionMaking
The participants then rated each apartment's desirability on a 110 scale Conditions:
Immediate decision Conscious thought
Unconscious thought
Given 3 mins to consider their answers Given a "2back task" as a distractor for 3 mins
Unconscious Thought and DecisionMaking
Results:
Immediate decision and Conscious thought
participants did poorly
Diff scores: 0.47, 0.44, respectively
Unconscious thought participants did
Difference between ratings of best and worst apartment not statistically sig.
much better
Study 2: Unconscious thought condition led to best choices
Diff score: 1.23
Unconscious Thought and DecisionMaking
Conclusions
For certain kinds of decisions and evaluations, unconscious thinking is better than no thinking or conscious thinking For important or complex decisions, it may be best to "sleep on it"
Conclusions
Unconscious thought is fast, uncontrolled, automatic, outside awareness Conscious thought is controlled, effortful, deliberate, intentional, slower, in awareness Behavior and thought can become unconscious via repetition Unconscious thought has a large impact on behavior
Conclusions
Behaviors we believe to be completely controlled consciously are not This challenges just how in control we really are
Unconscious thought may in some cases be better than conscious thought
Illusion of control Experience of will The self as a depletable resource
Quotes
"The most complicated achievements of thought are possible without the assistance of consciousness." Sigmund Freud
Quotes
"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." Albert Einstein
Assignment due Tuesday, April 28
Respond to this prompt again, with another short essay, this time 3 pages long:
For this assignment, I would like you to write about your very deepest thoughts and feelings about an extremely important emotional issue that has affected you and your life. In your writing I'd like you to really let go and explore your very deepest emotions and thoughts. You might tie your topic to your relationships with others, including parents, lovers, friends, or relatives; to your past, your present, or your future; or to who you have been, who you would like to be, or who you are now.
Assignment due Tuesday, April 28
3 typed pages this time Write on same topic as before Do in either 1 or 2 sessions, your choice Include a cover page with your name, then do not put your name in the text, to assure your anonymity
Alternate Assignment
If, for whatever reason, you'd prefer a different assignment
Read "Love and Attachments" chapter from Haidt's The Happiness Hypothesis Write a 3 page response Apply the ideas from the chapter to experiences you've had in your life
Also due Tuesday, April 28
E.g. relationships with parents, siblings, romantic partners, etc.