Social Cognition: Impression Formation

• Impression formation is a field of study focusing on mental representations when encountering information about others.
• It is the process by which individuals perceive, organize, and integrate information to form impressions of others.

Dual Ways to Process Information

• Impression formation involves a dual process model.
• Individuals can act as cognitive misers, displaying a lack of objectivity and relying on stereotypes, heuristics, schemas, and half-truths in making inferences.
• Individuals can strive to be flexible, objective, and effortful in their thinking.

Models of Impression Formation

• Continuum Model - Fiske & Neuberg
• Dual Process Model - Brewer

Continuum Model (Susan Fiske & Steven Neuberg)

• Impressions form along a spectrum, from quick, category-based judgments (using stereotypes) to deliberate, individuated impressions.
• The position on the spectrum depends on the perceiver's motivation and available information about the target person.
• The more motivated and attentive someone is, the less they rely on stereotypes and the more they consider individual details.
• People form impressions of others through various processes on a continuum, reflecting the extent to which a perceiver utilizes a target's attributes.
• The distinctions among these processes are matters of degree rather than distinct shifts.

Continuum of Impression Formation Processes

• The four stages of impression formation perceivers go through are: initial categorization, confirmatory categorization, recategorization, and piecemeal integration.
• Processes are mediated by attention and interpretation.

Initial Categorization

• This happens rapidly upon first encountering a person.
• It is based on salient features.
• Influences how one thinks, feels, and behaves towards a person.
• Personal relevance and the amount of attentional resources determine if one moves beyond this stage.

Confirmatory Categorization

• Additional info will be used to maintain initial categorization.
• Requires perceivers to effortfully attend to stereotype-consistent information.
• Threats to self-esteem, defense of ingroup, or the need to justify a power position can trigger this.

Recategorization

• Involves trying to find a different category that adequately organizes current information.
• Occurs when the initial categorization is faulty or no longer plausible or believable.
• Facilitated by weak initial categorization with judgment-irrelevant/category-irrelevant attributes or clearly inconsistent attributes.

Piecemeal Integration

• This is the most individuating stage of the model.
• Involves integrating attribute-by-attribute to form an overall assessment.
• The initial category becomes just another attribute that contributes to the overall impression.

Public Expression & Further Assessment

• Perceivers express cognitions, affect, and behaviour associated with the formed impression.
• This occurs at any stage.
• People may continue to engage in categorization or recategorization as more information becomes available.

Core Premises of the Continuum Model

• Perceivers prioritize categorization over individuation.
• The ease of information fit between category and attributes influences progress along the continuum.
• Attention to attribute information mediates the use of various impression formation processes.
• Motivational factors influence progress along the impression formation continuum, based on social interdependence structure and the criteria set by the primary motivating agent.
• Attention to and interpretation of attribute information mediate the motivational influences on impression formation.
• Category-based processes are typically used over attribute-based processes.
• If category-based processes work well enough, additional attribute-oriented processes are not needed.
• Category uses feelings, thoughts, and behaviours associated with the category effortlessly and immediately.
• How well a target’s attributes fit with a category determines what end of the continuum the perceiver utilizes.
• When a target does not appear to fit a category, the perceiver is pushed towards more individuating processes beginning with recategorization, moving on to piecemeal integration if necessary.
• Sufficient attentional resources must available to use more individuating processes.
• The use of attribute information depends on attention allocation.
• Outcome dependency motivates people to engage in different types of impression formation processes.
• When people are dependent on others for outcomes, they are more motivated to engage in individuating processes.
• When people are not dependent on others for an outcome, they are more motivated to engage in category-based processes.
• How dependent people are on others influences attention to and interpretation of target information.
• Powerless/dependent people are more likely to attend to those in control, and also to form non-stereotyped impressions.
• Powerful people are less likely to attend to others, and more likely to form stereotypical impressions.

Dual Process Model (Brewer)

• States impression formation takes place through two different processing modes including top down/category-based and bottom up/person-based processing.
• Selection of which processing mode occurs early on.
• Modes of processing are distinct pathways.
• Each mode will result in different cognitive output.
• Parallel activation of modes are possible, and each still results in different impressions nevertheless.

Stages of the Dual Process Model

• Identification
• Determining Relevance
• Choice of Mode of Processing
  • Top down processing = categorization
  • Bottom up processing = personalization

Factors Influencing Selection of Processing Mode

• Affective investment
• Similarity to target person
• Relevance of target person to desired goals

Role of Knowledge in Each Mode

• After mode is selected, the type of processing is based on the knowledge structure accessed, nature of stimulus info, and level of perceiver’s effort.
• Category-based processing activates category knowledge and matches stimulus to prior knowledge.
• Person-based processing uses prior knowledge to draw inferences from attributes themselves.

Effortful vs. Effortless processing In Both Processing Modes

• Effortless processing and effortful processing occur in both category and person-based frameworks.
• Category-based processing can lead to effortless reliance on stereotypes or effortful sub-typing.
• Person-based processing can lead to effortless reliance on a “halo effect”, or a more integrated and coherent impression through effort.

Clarifying Misconceptions about Dual Process Model

• Category based/top down and person-based/bottom up isn't equal to the categorization-individuation continuum.
• The model doesn't privilege top-down or bottom-up processing.
• Top-down processing isn't the same as heuristic processing.
• Bottom-up isn't the same as elaborated processing.

Explore impression formation: objective evaluation, dual process model and continuum model. Understand categorization, motivation, and schema reliance in forming impressions. Learn about confirmatory categorization.