Essays
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Cognitive Processes Involved in Stereotyping - Fiske, Susan T.
Social psychologists have studied stereotypes since the start of the twentieth century. Investigation proceeded at first descriptively, then in a process‐oriented manner that evolved with the broader field into increasingly cognitive explanations, and now marrying those approaches to social neuroscience. The illustrative case is stereotype content, first studied in the 1930s, then dormant as more process‐oriented topics dominated, and recently revisited in several models including the stereotype content model reviewed here. Fundamental dimensions of social cognition, including stereotypes, depend on inferred intentions for good or ill (warmth) and ability to enact them (competence). These dimensions follow, respectively, from inferred cooperation/competition and from inferred societal status. In turn, the warmth‐by‐competence space predict emotional prejudices and discriminatory tendencies, as evidenced by laboratory experiments, social neuroscience, random sample surveys, and cross‐cultural comparison. -
Dissociation and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) - Huntjens, Rafaële J. C.
Dissociative experiences are thought to occur acutely (e.g., during or immediately following trauma) or chronically and are considered to reduce the subjective distress accompanying stressful events. Growing evidence is consistent with a model that distinguishes between two qualitatively different types of phenomena—“compartmentalization” and “detachment.” Compartmentalization involves a deficit in the ability to deliberately control processes or actions that would normally be amendable to such control (e.g., amnesia and dissociative identities). Detachment refers to an experienced state of disconnection from the self or the environment (e.g., depersonalization, derealization, and numbing). -
Embodied Knowledge - Pecher, Diane
In theories of grounded cognition, mental representations (concepts) share processing mechanisms with systems for perception and action. In this view, mental representations are simulations of embodied experiences. This view is supported by empirical data showing that concepts, linguistic processing, and emotion processing interact with perception and action. Key issues for further research are the question how abstract concepts are grounded in sensory‐motor processing, how language and concepts are related, and the development of formal models. -
Event Processing as an Executive Enterprise - Ross, Robbie A.
Actual experience as life unfolds tends to be an ebb and flow of dynamic, multimodal sensations, many of which are fleeting. Yet what is encoded, recalled, and talked about tends to be events—units of experience that are conceptualized as having both a beginning and an end. In this essay, we consider processing mechanisms that enable the extraction of event structure from the dynamically unfolding stream of experience. Two proposals emerge from our own and others' recent research on event processing: First, fluent detection of structure within activity streams appears to hinge on knowledge of the predictability relations within those streams. Second, skill at event processing seems to involve harnessing such knowledge of predictability relations to selectively direct attention to information‐rich portions of the activity stream. If this account is correct, individual differences in knowledge and executive skill should influence event‐processing fluency. As well, children's developmental progress in event processing should reveal the telltale impact of increasing knowledge and executive skill. Our hope is that research pursuing these ideas will ultimately make it possible to enhance event‐processing fluency for all, which in turn has the potential to facilitate memory, learning, and social interaction. -
Heuristics: Tools for an Uncertain World - Neth, Hansjörg
We distinguish between situations of risk, where all options, consequences, and probabilities are known, and situations of uncertainty, where they are not. Probability theory and statistics are the best tools for deciding under risk but not under uncertainty, which characterizes most relevant problems that humans have to solve. Uncertainty requires simple heuristics that are robust rather than optimal. We propose to think of the mind as an adaptive toolbox and introduce the descriptive study of heuristics, their building blocks, and the core capacities they exploit. The question of which heuristic to select for which class of problems is the topic of the normative study of ecological rationality. We discuss earlier views on the nature of heuristics that maintained that heuristics are always less accurate because they ignore information and demand less effort. Contrary to this accuracy–effort trade‐off view, heuristics can lead to more accurate inferences—under uncertainty—than strategies that use more information and computation. The study of heuristics opens up a new perspective on the nature of both cognition and rationality. In a world of uncertainty, Homo sapiens might well be called Homo heuristicus. -
How Form Constrains Function in the Human Brain - Verstynen, Timothy D.
In neural systems, form and function are intimately linked; the communication dynamics across networked areas depends on the organization and integrity of the connections between them (i.e., axons and tracts). With the growth of diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) and fiber tractography tools over the past decade, it has become possible to visualize the physical architecture of the human brain at an unprecedented resolution. This information has provided the first glimpses into the component circuitry supporting cognition, presenting a unique opportunity for cognitive neuroscientists. For the first time we can visualize the connections in the living brain, allowing us to measure individual differences in anatomical connectivity, relate this connectivity to brain function, and gain insights into the link between white matter architecture and behavior. In many ways, this technology is still in its infancy and its full potential has not yet been realized. Here, I outline the importance of understanding neuroanatomical connectivity as a hard constraint on neural computation. Beginning with an overview of the typical patterns of connectivity seen in neural systems, I go on to show how current neuroimaging tools can visualize several different types of connectivity in the brain. By highlighting recent findings showing how neuroanatomical organization and brain function are related during cognitive tasks, I emphasize the utility that structural brain mapping approaches can have for the broader social and behavioral sciences. -
Knowledge Transfer - Nokes‐Malach, Timothy J.
Controversy regarding the nature and frequency of knowledge transfer has received significant attention for more than a century, and this debate has sparked advances in our theoretical understanding of transfer as well as educational practices designed to promote it. We review the classical cognitive approach to studying transfer and highlight several important critiques of that approach regarding issues of context, assessment, and individual differences. These critiques have pushed research to improve understanding of the learning processes that facilitate transfer, the application processes that enact it, and the measurement of it. Research investigating the relationship between achievement goals and transfer serves as an example of the ways issues of context and individual differences are being integrated into the study of transfer. Future work on transfer should continue to refine and clarify how we define, assess, and promote it. -
Mental Models - Byrne, Ruth M. J.
People construct small‐scale models of reality to understand the world and descriptions of it. Their iconic mental representations capture structural aspects of the elements simulated. They think about alternative possibilities that are consistent with assertions that contain logical connectives such as “if” and “or,” quantifiers such as “all” or “some,” and relational terms such as “in front of” or “before.” They reason and make decisions by combining mental models, and they search for counterexamples to their conclusions. People construct mental models when they make deductive inferences and when they make inferences about probability and risk, as well as when they form concepts, solve problems, make moral judgments, or create alternatives to reality in their counterfactual thoughts. -
Misinformation and How to Correct It - Cook, John
The increasing prevalence of misinformation in society may adversely affect democratic decision making, which depends on a well‐informed public. False information can originate from a number of sources including rumors, literary fiction, mainstream media, corporate‐vested interests, governments, and nongovernmental organizations. The rise of the Internet and user‐driven content has provided a venue for quick and broad dissemination of information, not all of which is accurate. Consequently, a large body of research spanning a number of disciplines has sought to understand misinformation and determine which interventions are most effective in reducing its influence. This essay summarizes research into misinformation, bringing together studies from psychology, political science, education, and computer science. -
Models of Duality - Krishna, Anand
Duality models generally assume that human psychology is based on two separate systems of information processing. These systems have specific characteristics that differentiate them from one another. Such models are increasingly common in social psychology today. A selection of duality models is discussed and categorized according to three factors: the type of mental representation used in the specified processes (experiential vs. nonexperiential), the methods of processing (associative vs. propositional), and the differing degree of automaticity (based on the aspects of efficiency, awareness, intentionality, and controllability) of the processes. In addition, models' statements about the superiority of one process over the other are enumerated. Foundational models of attribution, stereotyping, persuasion, and more general models are explained in an overview. Central aspects of these foundational models are extracted and applied in a discussion of current duality models in general social psychology, as well as newer dual‐process models of attitudes, moral judgments, and self‐regulation. Models positing a process superior in information processing are contrasted with models positing two processes with different specializations in information processing, and the implications of improved integration and specialization are discussed. -
Neuroeconomics - Levy, Ifat
In recent years, researchers in economics, psychology, and neuroscience have joined forces in the study of decision‐making processes to form the new discipline of neuroeconomics. Neuroscientists turned to theories in economics and psychology to make sense of the increasing amounts of neurobiological data. At the same time, economists and psychologists turned to neuroscience for mechanistic constraints on their theories. Neuroeconomics studies tackle a host of topics, from financial choices through reinforcement learning to social decision making. Combining behavioral techniques with brain imaging in humans and electrophysiological recordings in animals, as well as complementary techniques, this interdisciplinary research has already generated new insights about the neural architecture of decision making. The neural mechanisms of some of the behavioral decision processes are increasingly understood, but many challenges remain. Extending neuroeconomics research to psychiatric disorders and incorporating new research tools are promising avenues for future studies. -
Retrieval‐Based Learning: Research at the Interface between Cognitive Science and Education - Nunes, Ludmila D.
This essay reviews research on retrieval‐based learning, which refers to the general finding that practicing active retrieval enhances long‐term, meaningful learning. The idea that retrieval promotes learning has existed for centuries, and the first experiments demonstrating retrieval practice effects were carried out near the beginning of experimental research on learning and memory. Interest in retrieval practice was sporadic during the past century, but the topic has received intense interest in recent years as part of a broader movement to integrate research from cognitive science with educational practice. The essay provides a selective review of foundational research and contemporary work that has been aimed at deepening our theoretical knowledge about retrieval practice and integrating retrieval‐based learning within educational activities and settings. -
Spatial Attention - Cave, Kyle R.
Visual perception requires selective filtering. The process of selecting a portion of the visual input according to its location is described as spatial attention. Spatial attention has been measured with a wide variety of experimental techniques, including spatial cuing, spatial probes, distractor interference, ERP, and SSVEP. The results show that spatial attention sometimes takes the form of a gradient, with strong facilitation of processing within a central region and less facilitation and perhaps even inhibition in the surround. The positioning of the attentional gradient is controlled in part by a bottom‐up system that directs attention to locations that differ from surrounding locations in basic features. There is also top‐down direction of attention, which favors locations with features matching a defined target. A variety of different experiments have demonstrated that attention can be allocated to a particular location in the visual field, but another set of experiments show that attention can be allocated to a visual object, and that attention that is directed to one part of an object can spread to other parts of the same object. It is difficult to determine whether spatial attention and object‐based attention are controlled by the same system or by separate systems. Determining the boundaries between different attentional systems should become easier with the use of ERP data to provide precise timing information about attentional processes, and fMRI to localize the brain regions controlling attention and to measure attentional modulation of perceptual processing activity. -
The Psychological Impacts of Cyberlife Engagement - Kwan, Virginia S. Y.
This essay synthesizes scientific research across two decades on the influence of cyberlife engagement on cognitive processes, mental and physical health, and interpersonal interactions, highlighting the increasingly pervasive presence of digital innovation in society. New possibilities afforded by the integration of technology in commerce, relationships, therapy, and education are discussed, as are prevalent topics of interest within cyberpsychological research. We present an analysis of the positivity with which information and communication technology is portrayed in scientific literature since its emergence in society and discuss important future directions of study as technology's presence and influence continue to grow on an exponential scale. Last, we present current voids in cyberpsychological research, focusing particularly on the question of digital culture, or the impact of cyberlife engagement on global cultures as both geographical and custom‐based barriers are traversed with increasing ease. -
Understanding Biological Motion - van Boxtel, Jeroen J. A.
The ultimate goal of biological motion perception is to be able to understand actions so as to provide an answer to the question, “Who did what to whom and why?” This inference capacity enables humans to go beyond the surface appearance of behavior in order to successfully interact with others and with the environment. In addition to its functional importance, understanding biological motion bridges several major fields, including perception, reasoning, and social cognition. However, despite its paramount role in human perception and cognition, only limited progress has so far been made in understanding biological motion. After reviewing the relevant literature, this essay argues that future research needs to identify the contributions of three basic processes involved in understanding biological motion: perception of animacy, causality, and intention. The involvement of these basic processes needs to be investigated both in the typical healthy population as well as in populations with mental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia. We also suggest that a productive research approach should focus on more interactive actions of the sort often observed in the natural social environment, rather than solely using the single‐actor displays that have been typical in previous work. It is further emphasized that there is a need for a theoretical and computational framework within which these different types of processing can be united. We propose that the predictive coding framework provides a good candidate.