Psych Notes PDF

Week of October 7th Intergroup Cognition Overview 1. Implicit vs. Explicit Processing ○ Implicit: Automatic, uncontrollable, not accessible by introspection. ○ Explicit: Conscious, controllable, introspectively accessible. 2. Key Concepts ○ Two Levels of Processing:...

Week of October 7th Intergroup Cognition Overview 1. Implicit vs. Explicit Processing ○ Implicit: Automatic, uncontrollable, not accessible by introspection. ○ Explicit: Conscious, controllable, introspectively accessible. 2. Key Concepts ○ Two Levels of Processing: Implicit Bias: Developed gradually; influenced by family, peers, media, and experience. Explicit Bias: Formed through conscious interactions; changes with age. 3. Social Categories and Bias Formation ○ Social Categories help in reasoning (e.g., stereotypes) and social interactions (friendships, group preferences). ○ Development of Bias: Ingroup preference emerges before outgroup dislike, typically seen at age 3-4 for ingroup preference, and around 7 for outgroup dislike. Bias can be shaped by direct experience, peer/family influence, media exposure, and biological factors. 4. Developmental Studies on Bias ○ McGlothlin & Killen (2006): Contact impacts bias reduction. ○ Aboud (1988): Explicit race bias peaks at age 7 and decreases through adolescence. ○ Bigler, Jones, & Lobliner (1997): Children categorize spontaneously by age 6, showing ingroup preference. 5. Implicit Bias Measurement ○ Implicit Association Test (IAT): Measures reaction time to assess the strength of associations between concepts (e.g., race and positivity/negativity). ○ Findings suggest an implicit White+Good / Black+Bad association among European-Americans from childhood through adulthood. 6. Patterns in Intergroup Preference  ○ Children (6-10 years) show early ingroup preferences; remains stable into adulthood. ○ High-Status Group Bias: Often persists across ages, indicating stable implicit biases influenced by social context. 7. Implicit Preference Studies by Ethnicity ○ European-American: Strong White+Good / Black+Bad association. ○ African-American: Some implicit Black+Good / White+Bad associations. ○ Latino-American and Japanese Studies: Similar ethnic ingroup preferences with nuanced differences in strength. 8. Malleability of Implicit Bias ○ Bias formed early is relatively stable but may adapt through age and contextual changes. ○ Some interventions suggest potential for changing implicit bias but highlight the need for consistent exposure to counter-stereotypes. 9. Conclusion ○ Explicit Preferences evolve with age, but implicit biases show stability over time. ○ Shared environments contribute to these biases, pointing to developmental and environmental factors in intergroup cognition. Week of October 14th Sources of Bias (Rudman’s 4 Sources of Intergroup Bias reading) 1. Early Experiences: Initial encounters shape later perceptions. 2. Affective Experiences: Emotional reactions influence bias formation. 3. Cultural Biases: Social norms define acceptable beliefs and behaviors. 4. Cognitive Consistency Principles: Self-affirming biases (e.g., “If I am good and I am X, then X is also good”). Essentialism in Social Cognition  Definition: Belief that certain categories have a “natural” essence that defines them. Seen as stable, unchangeable, and intuitive. ○ People perceive categories as real, discovered, and rooted in nature, not human-made. ○ Assumes an essence gives category members their characteristics, leading to stereotypes based on superficial similarities. Application: When applied to social groups, it creates rigid perceptions (e.g., "racial groups have innate traits"). ○ Essentialism is a bias (not a fact) in how we conceptualize identity. ○ Essentialism does not apply accurately to human social groups (e.g., race), even though people may treat it that way. Language and Essentialism Noun Labels: Labels like “carrot-eater” (vs. “eats carrots”) reinforce the stability of a trait, suggesting permanence and identity. ○ By age 5, children view traits labeled with nouns as more enduring than traits described with verbs. ○ Gelman & Heyman (1999): Children believe that noun-labeled characteristics (e.g., “She is a carrot-eater”) are more stable over time and resistant to change compared to verb-labeled descriptions. Implications for Stereotyping: ○ Nouns imply that traits are central to identity, stable, and resistant to change, leading to stronger assumptions about group characteristics. ○ This linguistic cue plays a role in forming attitudes and stereotypes, contributing to biases in social and intergroup cognition. Week of October 21st Core Aspects of Language and Development Stages 1. Symbols: Arbitrary pairings between words and meanings. 2. Generativity: Ability to create new sentences and ideas using existing language. 3. Recursion: Ability to rephrase ideas without losing meaning. Parts of Language Phonemes: Smallest sound units distinguishing words. Phonemes differ across languages (e.g., "th" or "k" sounds). Morphemes: Smallest meaningful units of language (e.g., "I," "me," "un-"). Syntax: Rules for structuring words into sentences. Chomsky’s “principles and parameters” approach suggests universal elements in language structure. Pragmatics: Non-verbal elements (e.g., intonation, body language) that affect meaning. Stages of Language Development Phonological Development: Begins before birth; perceptual phonology largely complete by 10 months. Semantic Development: Fast acquisition post-10 months, especially nouns. Syntactic Development: Simple two-word “telegraphic speech” by age 2, slowed development by age 5-6. Pragmatic Development: Starts in infancy and continues throughout life. Quinean Reference Problem (QRP) Challenges children face in identifying word meanings: Whole-Object Bias: Tendency to assume words refer to entire objects. Mutual Exclusivity Bias: Each object has one label, and each label applies to one object. Basic-Level Bias: Preference for identifying objects at a basic categorical level. Linguistic Context: Grammar cues help (e.g., “He is gavagaying” implies an action). Theories of Language Development 1. Behaviorist Account: Learning through reinforcement (e.g., corrections and rewards). 2. Connectionist Account: Neural network model—language learned similarly to other skills. 3. Statistical Learning Account: Sensitivity to patterns and statistical probabilities aids language acquisition. 4. Nativist Account: Language is innate; universal grammar theory supported by evidence like Nicaraguan Sign Language. - Lecture 18 Wednesday - Week of October 28th Gender Development and Social Learning 1. Four Key Processes in Social Learning Theories: ○ Attention to gender-related information ○ Memory for gender information ○ Motivation to perform gender-typed behavior ○ Production of gender-consistent behavior 2. Parental Influence: ○ Parents Do: Reward stereotypical behaviors (e.g., supporting gender-typical activities like sports for boys, ballet for girls). Buy gender-typed toys and communicate differently (e.g., emotions). ○ Parents Do Not: Show significant differences in warmth, responsiveness, or activity restrictions across genders. 3. Conversational and Observational Learning: ○ Gender-Essentialist Statements: Messages about gender roles, such as “boys don’t do ballet.” ○ Fathers often use more instructional talk with sons and comment more on daughters' appearance. 4. Gender Schema Theory: ○ Gender Schemas: Mental frameworks that incorporate knowledge about gender, creating in-group/out-group distinctions. ○ Self-Socialization: Children actively seek information about their gender (e.g., a preference for trucks leads to more learning about trucks). ○ Confirmation Bias: Retaining schema-consistent information and disregarding inconsistent info. ○ Motivation for Gender-Typed Behavior begins once children label their own and others' genders in toddlerhood. 5. Social Cognitive Theory: ○ Learning via: Tuition (direct teaching), Enactive Experience (reactions from others), Modeling (observing others). ○ Gender Asymmetry: Cross-gender behavior is less tolerated in boys, tied to the societal status of men; fathers especially enforce traditional masculine behaviors.  6. Social Role Theory: ○ Gender expectations stem from societal labor divisions, reinforcing traditional roles. ○ Chores and Activities are often assigned based on gender, reflecting broader social expectations. 7. Kohlberg’s Cognitive Developmental Theory: ○ Gender Identity (30 months): Basic identification, but not yet seen as fixed. ○ Gender Stability (3-4 years): Semi-fixed, influenced by appearance. ○ Gender Constancy (6 years): Fully fixed, leading to self-socialization. 8. Media Influence on Gender Stereotypes: ○ Portrayal in Media: Most major characters are cisgender males, often depicted in stereotypical ways. ○ Exposure: Children ages 3-11 average 2-4 hours of screen time daily; media often reinforces binary gender roles. 9. Gender Sensitivity and Self-Socialization: ○ Emerges Early: Sensitivity to gender norms appears in infancy. ○ Self-Socialization: Across theories, children’s understanding of gender norms largely guides their behavior, emphasizing autonomy in gender development. Week of November 4th Gender Development: Biological and Social Factors 1. Beyond Socialization ○ Children’s gender identity often persists regardless of socialization attempts, suggesting a biological component. ○ Three physiological categories at birth: female, male, and intersex. ○ Cases of failed gender reassignment highlight that gender identity is internal and not solely shaped by physical sex. 2. Biological Influences on Gender Development ○ Hormones: Differences in androgen levels affect behavior. Androgens (higher in males) influence physical and social development from prenatal stages onward. ○ Animal Studies: Testosterone in female rats/macaques increased male-typical behaviors. Female rats with exposure to male hormones (via adjacent siblings) showed masculinized traits.  ○ Human Studies: CAH (Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia): Overproduction of androgens leads to physical and behavioral effects, with CAH girls showing preferences for male-typical toys and activities. 3. Aggression and Gender ○ Cognitive/Motivational Influences: Boys often view conflicts as competitions, leading to direct aggression. ○ Biological Factors: Testosterone increases in response to threats, contributing to aggressive behaviors. ○ Environmental Influences: Parents often tolerate boys’ aggression more. Aggressive behaviors are generally discouraged by peers and society, yet boys’ aggression levels are typically higher across cultures. 4. Prejudice and Gender Identity ○ Ingroup Preferences: Preference for same-gender peers appears by age 3, often studied primarily within cisgender groups. ○ Studies on Transgender Attitudes: Gülgöz et al. (2018): Children preferred cisgender peers over transgender, with ingroup bias (e.g., girls preferred both cisgender and transgender girls). Gender Essentialism and Prejudice (Fine et al. 2024): Children who viewed gender as fixed showed more prejudice against gender nonconforming individuals, more pronounced in rural areas. 5. Summary ○ Gender development is influenced by self-socialization as well as biological, cognitive, and social factors. ○ Biological factors (hormones and genetics) play a significant role, and societal influences interact with these to shape gender identity, behaviors, and attitudes. Exam Review Questions: In our unit on gender, we discussed a study in class exploring attitudes towards transgender people among children from early childhood (5 years of age) to middle childhood (10 years of age). T/F The results from this study showed that starting at 5 years of age (early childhood), cisgender children who categorized transgender people by their sex assigned at birth showed greater hostility toward transgender people The figure above from the article by Baron and Banaji 2006, read during the unit on intergroup cognition illustrates that A) Adults show no implicit preferences for whites over blacks B) 10-year-olds show an explicit preference for whites over blacks C) 6-year-olds show implicit preferences for whites over blacks D) 6-year-old show an explicit preference for blacks over white E) none of the above The hypothesis that the human brain contains an innate, self-contained language unit is referred to as: A) Interactionalist B) Modularity C) Universal Grammar D) Pragmatic E) Metalinguistics Morphemes refer to the: A) Rules for combining words of a language B) Elementary units of sounds C) Pairs of words in a language that have the same sound but different meanings D) Smallest units of meaning E) Neurodevelopmental chemicals shape the development of the language area of the brain. The notion that an infinite number of sentences and ideas can be expressed through a finite set of words is referred to as: A) Production B) Generativity C) Constructions D) Infinity E) Recursion Children's phonological development refers to their learning of the A) Meaning system and words of their language B) Cultural rules for how their language is used  C) Rules for combining the words in their language D) Sounds system of their language E) Two of the above Children generally begin to exhibit gender toy preferences as early as: A) 6 months B) 9 months C) 12 months D) 15 months E) 18 months Desrive the two conditions in the Gelman and Heyman 1999 paper assigned in the unit on intergroup cognition: (noun label condition, purple predicate condition) According to Rudman (2004) one of the articles assigned for the unit on intergroup cognition, what are the four sources of implicit intergroup bias. ( Early Experiences, Affective Experiences, Cultural Biases, Cognitive Consistency Principles) Explicit race bias emerges by ___ age and peaks around ___ age (3-4, 8-7) Name two limitations of explicit measures of intergroup bias (social desirability, ) What period in development do children typically experience gender-role intensification? (Adolescence) What period in development do children typically experience gender-role flexibility? (Adolescence, more common for girls) 16 gender question 12 intergroup cognition questions 10-11 language questions Name the four key processes involved in gender socialization according to social learning theories ____ To gender info (attention) ____ For that info ____ To repeat gender-typed behaviour ____ Of gender behaviour Name two ways in which behaviour tends to become gender-differentiated in children between 2-3 years of age (Rough and tumble play, pretend play for costumes, imaginary play, aggression, competition) T/F Gnder-rp;e intensification increases in early childhood, a period when children’s play often becomes especially segregated by gender T/F enactive experience concerns how children learn to be less biased by experiencing what it feels like to be discriminated against At what age do children tend to begin to show an understanding that gender is a social category and that gender roles are social conventions, not biological outcomes? 9-10 years of age _____ Allows adolescents (girls more than boys) to transcend traditional conventions and pursue a more flexible range of interests. (gender role flexibility) ___ are mental representations incorporating everything they know about gender. (gender schema) What is private speech and when do we typically see it? When toddlers talk to themselves out loud it helps organize thoughts and ideas. ______ Describes turn-taking during a speech without much advancement of shared understanding. (collective monologue)