Cognitive Schemas:
hypothetical cognitive structures that
consist of prior knowledge which affects how we categorize and interpret
incoming information
Types of Schemas:
a) Person
Effects how we ---
b) Events (e.g., weddings
and funerals)
• attend
• encode
• retrieve information
c) Role
d) Self
Schemas and memory
Occupational Labels
Waitress
Librarian
Consistent and inconsistent descriptive
information given about the traits, interests,
etc. of a waitress and librarian
Job title (schema) given before or
after descriptive information
Memory of facts
The procedure is really quite simple. First you arrange
things into different groups. Of course, one pile may be
sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you
have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities that is
the next step; otherwise you are pretty well set. It is
important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do
too few things at once than too many. In the short run
this may not seem important, but complications can
easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first
the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon,
however, it will become just facet of life. It is difficult to
foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the
immediate future but then, once cam never tell. After the
procedure is completed one arranges the materials into
different groups again (Bransford & Johnson, 1972, p.
722)
Schemas and
perception
Car accident
“Hit”
(shown on film)
versus
“Smashed”
34 mph
41 mph
2x more likely
to indicate
presence of
glass in the
accident (none
was present)
Schemas and behavior
Phone conversation
with males
Low
Physical attractiveness
of female described to
males
High
Females did not know
how they were described
to males
Females behavior was warmer and more friendly when
they were described to the male as “attractive”
Males were
warmer, more
friendly, and
used more
humor when
talking to the
“attractive”
female
Heuristics: Cognitive shortcuts
Availability heuristic: What information is most available (seen,
noticed); what to comes to mind quickly (media influence)
Example: Death by plane crashes
Representative heuristic: Classifying things (objects, people) based
on how similar it is to a typical (average) member of a group
Base rate information: Data about the frequency of occurrence of
something in the population (often underutilized)
Sampling bias: Making judgments based on a sample that is small or
skewed (not typical)
Representativeness Heuristic
•
•
•
•
Belief in the “Law of Small Numbers”
Hot Hands, Streaks, “Momentum,” etc.
Base rate neglect
Comparison of clinical predictions and
actuarial (statistical) predictions
Availability Heuristic
• Substituting ease of access for data on
frequency of occurrence
• Factors that increase availability
–
–
–
–
–
Emotionality of events
Recency of events
Ease of visualization
Imagining events
Vividness of events or testimonials
Self-Fulfilling Prophesies
• Confirmation bias
• Pygmalion effect
– Distortion of observations
– Creation of demand characteristics that elicit
predicted behaviors
“It will never happen to me”
• Positive outcomes are overestimated (especially
with respect to oneself)
• Negative outcomes are underestimated
• Students estimate that they are 15% more likely
to experience a positive outcome than the
average student
• Students estimate that they are 20% less likely
to experience a negative outcome than the
average student
Counterfactual Thinking (what might have
been; what could I have done different?)
Negative Event
Imagine doing something different
(“better”)
• Enhances positive mood
• May allow for the development of
new strategies for future use
Counterfactual Thinking (cont.)
Test
Score
Grades
A
Upward counterfactual
thinking (dissatisfaction)
B
Lowered counterfactual
thinking (satisfaction)
Counterfactual Thinking (cont.)
Inaction Inertia
75% Off
Sale
Stock is selling
for $5.00/share
Plan or think
about buying an
item but don’t do
so
Plan or think
about buying the
stock but don’t do
so
25% Off Sale
Unlikely to buy
the item now
even though it
may still be a
good deal
Stock rises to
$10.00/share
Unlikely to buy
the stock now
even though it
may still be a
good purchase
Psychological Accounting
• You are on vacation and want to go to the
theater. Do you spend $30 on a theater
ticket if you
– Discover that you lost the $30 ticket you
purchased earlier in the day
– Discover that you lost $30 from your wallet
while touring earlier in the day
Psychological Accounting
• You are going to buy a jacket and a calculator.
The jacket costs $125 and the calculator costs
$15 at the store. You learn that you can buy the
calculator at a different store (20 minute drive
away) for $10. Do you drive to the other store to
get the calculator?
• You are going to buy a jacket and a calculator.
The jacket costs $125 and the calculator costs
$15 at the store. You learn that you can buy the
jacket at a different store (20 minute drive away)
for $120. Do you drive to the other store to get
the jacket?
Sensitivity to the ratio of costs
• Size of the ratio of the high cost to the
lower cost influences the decision more
than the absolute size of the savings
• Calculator example
$15/$10 – ratio is 1.5 (drive seems worthwhile!)
• Jacket example
$125/$120 – ratio is 1.04 (prices seem nearly
identical)
Priming: Process where recent experience
Coughing
increases the use of a concept, trait, or schema
Sneezing
Experimental Drug for
cancer treatment
50% success rate
Disease
diagnosis;
need for
certain
treatment
Significantly
more people
in this group
recommend
the drug be
approved
50% failure rate
Social Desirability
• Problems with “catch phrases” and
emotionally loaded wording
• Allow versus forbid is question wording
– Should we allow speeches against
democracy? (62% disagreed)
– Should we forbid speeches against
democracy? (46% agreed)
– Questions are equivalent but produced
different frequencies of endorsement with
different wording
Source: U.S. National Center for
Health Statistics, National Vital
Statistics Report, vol. 50, no. 15, Sept.
16, 2002
Causes
of death
Number
All causes
Total deaths
Percent of
total deaths
Deaths
per
100,000
2,403,351
100.0%
873.1
1
Diseases of heart
710,760
29.6
258.2
2
Malignant neoplasms (cancer)
553,091
23.0
200.9
3
Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke)
167,661
7.0
60.9
4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases
122,009
5.1
44.3
5
Accidents (unintentional injuries)
97,900
4.1
35.6
6
Diabetes mellitus
69,301
2.9
25.2
7
Influenza and pneumonia
65,313
2.7
23.7
8
Alzheimer's disease
49,558
2.1
18.0
9
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis
37,251
1.5
13.5
10
Septicemia (infection)
31,224
1.3
11.3
11
Suicide
29,350
1.2
10.7
12
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
26,552
1.1
9.6
13
Hypertension and hypertensive renal disease
18,073
0.8
6.6
14
Assault (homicide)
16,765
0.7
6.1
15
Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids
16,636
0.7
6.0
Footnote regarding causes of death
(demographic differences)
Leading causes of death differ somewhat by age, sex, and race. In 2000 as in
previous years, accidents were the leading cause of death for those under 34
years, while in older age groups chronic diseases such as cancer and heart
disease were the leading causes. The top three causes for males and females—
heart disease, cancer, and stroke—are exactly the same. However, suicide and
chronic liver disease ranked 8th and 10th for males but were not ranked among
the ten leading causes for females. Similarly, Alzheimer's disease ranked 7th for
females but was not among the top ten for males. For white males aged 15–34,
the top two causes are accidents and suicide, while for black males in the same
age group, the top two causes of death are homicide and accidents.
1.
Motor vehicle crashes
Deaths per year: 43,200
Top 10 Most Common of Accidental Deaths
2. Falls
Deaths per year: 14,900
3. Poisoning by solids and liquids
Deaths per year: 8,600
4. Drowning
Deaths per year: 4,000
5. Fires and burns
Deaths per year: 3,700
6. Suffocation
Deaths per year: 3,300
7. Firearms
Deaths per year: 1,500
8. Poisoning by gases
Deaths per year: 700
9. Medical & Surgical Complications and Misadventures
Deaths per year: 500
10. Machinery
Deaths per year: 350
Thought Suppresion
• Effectiveness of not thinking of something (e.g., an event, person)
• Effectiveness of replacing negative thoughts with positive ones
Talking about negative event (s) rather than trying to “forget” them
Magical Thinking
Law of contagion: things which were once in physical contact maintain a
connection even after physical contact has been broken; the essence of
things (good/bad) spreads by contact (e.g., (sweater owned by someone
with a disease)
2) Law of similarity: If things resemble each other (look alike) they are
alike.” (e.g., refusing to eat a piece of cake that looks like a roach)
3) Thoughts and actions can influence physical world outside oneself
(sitting the same way and in the same seat will bring you good luck;
watching a team play will cause them to lose; celebrating winning a bet
before the game is officially over can cause one to lose the bet)