HEURESTICS:

Simple rules for making complex decisions or drawing inferences in a rapid manner and seemingly
effortless manner (BARRON)

The aim of heuristic is to study the methods and rules of discovery and invention. A few traces of
such study may be found in the commentators of Euclid; a passage of PAPPUS is particularly
interesting in this respect. The most famous attempts to build up a system of heuristic are due to
DESCARTES and to LEIBNITZ. both great mathematicians and philosophers.

Newell et al. (Feigenbaum and Feldman 1963, p. 114; see also Newell 1980, p. 17) were the first to
use heuristics as a noun meaning heuristic process. They claim to be using heuristic here according
to the standard dictionary definition, “serving to discover or find out,” but they also oppose its
meaning to that of algorithm.

A classic definition comes from the cognitive psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, who
are pioneers in the study of heuristics. In their 1974 paper Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics
and Biases, they define heuristics as follows:

"Heuristics are mental shortcuts that usually involve focusing on one aspect of a complex problem
and ignoring others."

ROLE OF HEURESTICS TO FORM SOCIAL COGNITION:

Almost every day, people are intended to make choices or judgments regarding almost everything
they encounter and provide feedback. And often people do so even in the presence of limited
information. Since we have limited capability to inculcate all the cognitions, we often try to reduce
the effort we spend on social cognition. In all the complex situations, where the correct answer is
not obvious (conditions of uncertainty), a controlled conscious thinking becomes difficult and
demands mental effort. Therefore people tend to rely on automatic processing.

Automatic processing is not always a smart choice but it makes various decisions and reasoning on
the basis of various shortcuts. These mental shortcuts are named heuristics which makes quick
estimate of the situation and provides with a conclusion in a relatively effortless manner. Heuristics
tend to simplify our lives and usually gives right conclusion but sometimes they lead to errors.

TYPES OF HEURESTICS :
Representative Heuristics :
Representativeness heuristic A strategy for making judgments based on the extent to which current
stimuli or events resemble other stimuli or categories . ( BARRON)

Example: Meeting a neighbour who is gentle, shy, conservative, and has a large library may lead one
to guess she is a librarian because she matches the stereotype, despite other possibilities.

Potential Accuracy and Inaccuracy:

These judgments can sometimes be accurate, as individuals with certain traits often gravitate toward
particular groups or occupations.

However, judgments based on representativeness may overlook base rates—the actual frequency of
a category within a population (Kahneman & Tversky, 1973).

Example: Despite matching the librarian stereotype, it’s statistically more probable she could be a
manager because there are many more managers than librarians.

Ignoring Base Rates Can Lead to Errors:

Base rates provide essential information about probabilities within the broader population. Ignoring
them can skew perceptions and lead to errors in judgment.

4. Application Beyond People:

The heuristic also applies to cause-effect judgments. People may assume a high-magnitude cause
(e.g., a treatment-resistant virus) produces high-magnitude effects (e.g., many deaths) and vice
versa.

Cultural Differences in Using the Representativeness Heuristic:-

North Americans often rely more on the heuristic, expecting “like to go with like.”

East Asians tend to consider a broader range of factors when making judgments, leading to less
reliance on simplified judgments.

Example: Canadians strongly associated a high-magnitude virus with many deaths, while Chinese
participants were less likely to assume such a direct link (Spina et al., 2010).

This heuristic shows both the efficiency and potential pitfalls of intuitive thinking and highlights
cultural influences on judgment strategies.

2.AVAIBILITY HEURESTICS :
It suggests that the easier it is to bring information to mind, the greater its impact on subsequent
decisions or judgments.

In some cases, availability may also involve the amount of information we bring to mind. We tend to
apply the ease of retrieval rule to judgments about ourselves more than to judgments about others.
Availability heuristic tends to make judgments regarding the frequency of any event or how often it
is likely to happen.

For example - Suppose you are asked about the frequency of people taking psychology as their
majors. We tend to answer this by making a quick search of the likelihood of this even to have
happened. Using the ease of remembering this likely example of the event helps us draw inferences
about it. We make an instant search of how many times we have encountered people who have
taken psychology as their majors and would conclude accordingly. But using this heuristic too tends
to make us at fault.

For example, if you are a student of psychology majors, it is obvious that you come to know about
many people taking psychology and hence would answer that many people tend to take so. In
contrast, another student who has physics as his major may not be familiar with people taking
psychology, therefore he cannot bring the instances of people taking psychology and would
underestimate the likelihood of the event to occur.

If information comes to mind easily, it’s often because it’s frequent or important, which can make
this heuristic helpful.

However, it can also lead to errors, especially in social judgments.

Overestimating Rare Events: We may overestimate the likelihood of rare, dramatic events (e.g.,
plane crashes, murder) because they are easy to remember.

Underestimating Common Events: We often underestimate more frequent but less memorable
causes of death (e.g., heart disease, stroke).

Media coverage : Media coverage of dramatic events makes them easier to recall, reinforcing
these errors in judgment.

Fear of Flying vs. Driving: People often fear flying more than driving, even though car accidents
are statistically more dangerous

Anchoring and adjustment heuristic

This heuristics involve the tendency to deal with uncertainty in many situations by using something
we do know as a starting point, and then making adjustments to it. The seller’s price provides such a
starting point, to which buyers try to make adjustments in order to lower the price they pay. Such
lowering makes the buyer feel that, by comparison to the original asking price, they are getting a
very good deal. This too is how “sale pricing” and highly visible “reductions” work in retail stores—

These adjustments may not be sufficient to reflect actual social reality; perhaps because once we
attain a plausible value, we stop the process. This heuristic can be understood by various instances
we undergo daily. Suppose someone is selling his used car via different sites. The person tend to
price the car more than what he is expecting to receive.

You, the one who wishes to buy would make a quick search regarding the average price of that car
and would start negotiating the price from the price marked(the anchor) and would eventually come
to a lower price than the marked one. You will find the deal satisfactory. Later on you found out that
another similar car was marked lesser than the amount you paid for it. Then why did you find the
earlier deal a great one. This is because of the anchoring bias i.e. we tend to use the information as a
reference point or anchor and then adjust it to draw conclusions.

Another instance can be you trying to figure out the number of hours your friend must be utilizing
for his studies by comparing it to yours. Objects and options that are more easily retrieved from
memory may be judged in a heuristic fashion as “good,” as better than objects and options that are
new, rarely encountered, or represent a change from the status quo. In a group of studies done by
Eidelman, Pattershall and Crandall (2010), tend to find out if people heuristically favor “old” over
“new,” or the opposite, to the test. In order to check this, they gave their participants pieces of
chocolates and added to this they were told that one of the chocolate was sold in Europe and even
remained in the market or 70 years around whereas another piece was told to be a new brand which
has been in market for only 3 years. Participants were then asked to rate how much they enjoyed
the taste of the chocolate, whether they were impressed by it, and whether they would purchase it.
They were even asked to evaluate their reasons about the purchasing of the chocolate. It was found
that the subjects reported the chocolate which have been in the market for so long as tastier than
the latter one, which was a new brand.
AFFECT AND COGNITION :
1.Interplay Between Affect and Cognition:

Affect: Refers to our current moods or emotions, which can impact our mental state and influence
how we perceive, interpret, and interact with the world. Affect is dynamic, with moods changing
throughout the day, and it can be influenced by many factors, including personal experiences, social
interactions, and even the environment.

Cognition: Encompasses mental processes such as thinking, processing, storing, remembering, and
using information. Cognition involves how we make sense of the world, solve problems, make
decisions, and interact with others based on past experiences, knowledge, and perceptions.

Two-Way Relationship: There is a continuous interplay between affect and cognition. This
relationship is bidirectional, meaning that each one can strongly influence the other. Moods and
emotions can shape cognition, affecting what we pay attention to and how we remember or
interpret information. Similarly, the way we think and process information can impact our emotions,
sometimes shifting our mood based on our thoughts or conclusions.

2. Influence of Affect on Cognition

Mood and Perception:

When in a positive mood, people tend to perceive situations, people, and ideas in a more favorable
light. This is because positive moods open individuals up to broader thinking and encourage a more
optimistic outlook.

For instance, a person in a good mood might view an ambiguous comment as humorous rather than
critical. This perceptual shift can significantly impact day-to-day social interactions and overall life
satisfaction.

Mood Dependence:

People in positive moods are more likely to trust information as accurate or reliable, even if the
content is neutral or ambiguous. This mood-dependent judgment means that our emotional state
can alter our perception of truth, sometimes increasing gullibility when in a positive mood.

Practical Implications: For instance, in job interviews, interviewers tend to give higher ratings to
candidates when in a good mood, perceiving them more positively than they might otherwise. This
suggests that moods can unintentionally shape critical decisions in professional settings.

Confidence and Accuracy:

Positive moods can increase confidence in our judgments and interpretations of others. When
happy, people tend to feel that their understanding of situations or others' intentions is accurate.

However, while this boost in confidence can be beneficial in making quick decisions, it can
sometimes reduce accuracy. For example, someone in a positive mood may overlook subtle cues or
misinterpret intentions, missing details that a more critical, neutral mood might catch.

3. Affect’s Impact on Memory

Mood Congruence:

Our current mood acts as a filter for what we notice and remember. Positive moods increase the
likelihood of noticing and storing positive information, while negative moods lead us to focus on
negative information.

For instance, if someone hears positive feedback while in a good mood, they are more likely to
remember it later than if they were in a negative mood.

Mood-Dependent Memory:

Our current emotional state not only affects what we notice but also what we retrieve from
memory. When in a particular mood, people are more likely to recall memories associated with
similar past moods.

Practical Example: Suppose you meet someone while in a good mood; you may remember positive
aspects of that person. Later, when in a similar mood, you’re more likely to recall those positive
interactions. Conversely, meeting someone in a bad mood may lead to remembering them
negatively, creating biased perceptions based on mood.

4. Affect and Creativity

Positive Affect and Creativity:

Being in a positive mood broadens mental associations and fosters creativity. This expansion of ideas
and associations enables people to think more freely, making connections between concepts that
might otherwise seem unrelated.

Research shows that high-arousal positive moods (e.g., excitement or happiness) are more effective
in boosting creativity than low-arousal positive moods (e.g., relaxation). High energy encourages
dynamic thinking and the ability to envision new possibilities, making it highly valuable in tasks
requiring innovation.

5. Affect and Heuristic Processing

Heuristic Processing:

Positive affect often encourages the use of heuristics, or mental shortcuts, which are decision-
making tools based on past experiences and general rules. While heuristics can simplify decision-
making, they may sometimes lead to errors if misapplied.

For instance, when in a positive mood, people might rely on familiar strategies or rules of thumb
rather than thoroughly analyzing a new situation

Decision Making:

Heuristic thinking is beneficial in familiar situations, allowing quick responses. However, it can hinder
decision-making for complex or unfamiliar issues, as these situations often require detailed analysis
rather than shortcuts.

In contrast, negative moods can lead to more cautious, detailed thinking, which is useful in complex
decisions but might slow down processes in straightforward situations.
6. Affect and Attribution of Motives

Positive Affect:

Positive moods encourage people to attribute good intentions to others, interpreting others' actions
as well-meaning or positive. This mindset fosters positive social interactions, reinforcing trust and
cooperation.

For instance, someone in a good mood might interpret a coworker’s blunt comment as constructive
rather than critical.

Negative Affect:

Negative moods lead to the opposite effect, where people are more likely to interpret others'
actions as motivated by negative intentions. This skepticism can lead to conflict or distrust in social
interactions.

For example, a person in a negative mood might view a friend’s lateness as inconsiderate rather than
due to unforeseen circumstances, creating tension.

7. Practical Implications of Affect-Cognition Interplay

Social Relationships: Mood plays a significant role in shaping judgments about others. For example,
positive moods can improve interactions by making us more open and forgiving, while negative
moods may create conflict by increasing critical judgments.

In personal relationships, understanding how moods influence perceptions can improve empathy
and reduce misunderstandings.

Problem-Solving and Decision-Making:

Positive moods can aid in routine or familiar problem-solving by encouraging heuristic thinking.
However, for novel problems requiring detailed analysis, this reliance on mental shortcuts may
result in oversights.

In professional settings, awareness of how mood affects problem-solving can help individuals avoid
potential errors and recognize when they need to adopt a more analytical approach.

Learning and Memory:

Affect influences not only what is stored in memory but also how information is retrieved. This has
implications for education and training, where learning in positive moods can aid memory retention,
and recalling information may be easier when in a similar emotional state.

Recognizing mood’s impact on memory can improve strategies for learning, enabling people to
optimize how and when they study or retrieve important information.
In conclusion, the interplay between affect and cognition significantly shapes our daily lives.
Emotions color our perceptions, memories, and decisions, while cognitive processes can influence
our mood, creating a continuous cycle. This awareness can help us navigate personal and
professional situations more effectively, allowing us to make thoughtful adjustments based on our
moods and the tasks at hand.

Cognition and Its Influence on Affect

While much research has focused on how affect (emotions) influences cognition (thoughts), there is
strong evidence for the reverse: cognition can also shape emotions. This relationship shows that our
thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions can influence how we feel in specific situations. Cognitive
processes can play a role in shaping our emotional responses, regulating our moods, and coping with
emotional challenges. Key theories and studies illustrate various ways cognition impacts affect,
including:

The Two-Factor Theory of Emotion

Activation of Affective Schemas

Cognitive Regulation of Emotional States

1. Two-Factor Theory of Emotion (Schachter, 1964)

Theory Overview: Schachter's Two-Factor Theory proposes that we often interpret our emotions
based on the situations we find ourselves in because internal emotional cues can be ambiguous.

Ambiguity in Emotions: When we experience arousal (e.g., increased heart rate, sweaty palms), we
may not initially know what emotion we feel. We interpret or label this feeling by observing the
context.

Role of External Cues: Our surroundings and circumstances help us determine if our arousal signifies
emotions like love or anger.

Example of Love: Increased arousal in the presence of an attractive person might be interpreted as
love or infatuation.

Example of Anger: Experiencing the same arousal after being cut off in traffic might be interpreted as
anger or frustration.

2. Activation of Schemas with Strong Affective Components

Schemas and Affect: Schemas are mental frameworks that help us organize and interpret
information. When schemas involve strong emotional components, activating them can evoke
specific emotions.
Social Categorization and Affect:

Influence of Social Identity: When we categorize others based on social identity (e.g., race, group
affiliation), our emotions may vary depending on whether we perceive them as part of our in-group
or out-group.

Empathy and Social Identity: Research (Avenanti, Sirigu, & Aglioti, 2010) demonstrated how racial
categorization influenced empathic responses to observed pain.

Study Findings: Participants showed lower brain activity in pain areas when viewing a needle
injection in a hand of a person from an out-group compared to an in-group member.

Impact on Empathy: Caucasian participants exhibited lower empathic brain responses to a Black
hand receiving a painful injection than to a White hand. The reverse was true for African-descendant
participants, who showed more empathic reactions toward a Black hand.

Implications: Our thought patterns about others, such as group affiliations or stereotypes, shape
how we emotionally respond to their experiences, indicating a cognitive influence on affect.

3. Cognition and the Regulation of Affective States

Importance of Emotion Regulation: Managing emotions, especially in response to negative events, is

critical for well-being and social harmony.

Role of Cognitive Techniques: People use cognitive mechanisms to regulate their moods, choosing
certain thoughts or activities to influence their emotions. This can be seen in behaviors that improve
mood temporarily, even if they have long-term negative consequences.

Using Temptation as a Mood-Regulation Strategy

Engaging in Enjoyable Activities: When feeling down or distressed, people often engage in mood-
enhancing activities, such as shopping (retail therapy), eating comfort food, or drinking alcohol.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Impact: Although these activities provide temporary relief, they may lead
to adverse effects (e.g., debt, weight gain) over time. Despite knowing the potential downsides,
people may still choose them to alleviate immediate emotional discomfort.

Cognitive Factors in Temptation and Mood Improvement

Traditional View: It was previously believed that emotional distress reduced people’s ability or
motivation to resist impulsive behaviors.

Cognitive Reappraisal: Tice et al. (2000) suggested that people sometimes give in to temptations to
cope with strong negative emotions, using these behaviors as a form of emotional self-regulation
rather than acting out of pure impulse.
Study by Tice et al. (2000)

Objective: The study explored how cognition, through mood regulation strategies, can affect
behavior. The research aimed to understand if people in a bad mood would engage more with
distractions (i.e., procrastinate) compared to those in a good mood, and under what conditions.

Study Design:

Mood Induction: Participants were placed in either a positive or negative mood through storytelling.
Positive mood stories involved saving a child’s life, while negative mood stories involved causing a
child’s death.

Mood Stability Condition: Participants were told their mood was either changeable over time or
"frozen" and unlikely to change.

Practice vs. Distractors: Participants were given a 15-minute practice session for an intelligence test,
with attractive and tempting distractors available (e.g., video games, magazines) versus less
appealing options (e.g., preschool puzzle).

Key Findings:

Mood-Driven Procrastination: Participants in a negative mood were more likely to engage in

distractors, especially when they believed their mood could change.

Frozen Mood Condition: When participants believed their moods could not change, they were less
inclined to engage with the distractors, showing that people’s cognitive beliefs about mood stability
influenced their actions.

Implications: The study suggests that cognitive beliefs about mood changeability can influence
mood-regulating behaviors. When people think their mood can be improved, they may seek
distractions as a way to lift their spirits.

Practical Implications of Cognition’s Influence on Affect

1. Emotional Awareness and Labeling:

Recognizing that emotions may be influenced by context and interpreting them accurately can lead
to better emotional awareness and management.

Misinterpreting arousal could lead to misguided decisions, such as mistaking nervousness for
romantic attraction or anger, depending on the context.

2. Reducing Bias and Enhancing Empathy:

Understanding that cognitive schemas impact empathy levels can help people become more aware
of their own biases and take steps to reduce them.
Encouraging inclusive and diverse thinking could foster empathy across different social groups,
reducing the influence of in-group/out-group dynamics on emotional responses.

3. Effective Emotion Regulation:

People can utilize cognitive strategies, like reappraisal (thinking differently about an emotional
situation) or controlled distraction, to manage negative emotions without resorting to potentially
harmful behaviors.

Conclusion

The relationship between cognition and affect illustrates how thoughts and mental processes can
shape our emotional responses. This interplay is seen in how we interpret emotions through
external cues (Two-Factor Theory), categorize social groups and exhibit empathy, and regulate
affective states using cognitive techniques. These insights have valuable applications in improving
emotional intelligence, fostering empathy, and developing healthier ways to cope with stress and
negative emotions. By understanding and utilizing these cognitive-affective mechanisms, individuals
can better navigate their emotional experiences and social relationships.
Status Quo Heuristic :

People often exhibit a bias towards the status quo, preferring familiar or long-standing products,
practices, and ideas over new or unfamiliar ones. This bias is based on the assumption that things
that have "stood the test of time" must be good. Similar to the availability heuristic, this
phenomenon suggests that options more easily retrieved from memory or that have existed longer
are seen as superior. This bias is evident in various consumer and social behaviors, where people
assume older products, practices, or ideas have inherent value simply because they have persisted.
However, this assumption can be misleading, as products can remain on the market due to inertia or
consumer habit rather than superior quality.

1. Status Quo Bias: The tendency to favour existing or familiar options, judging them as preferable
over new alternatives. This bias leads people to view the "old" as safer or better.

2. Availability Heuristic: A cognitive shortcut where people judge the value or truth of something
based on how easily they can recall it. In the case of the status quo, items or ideas that are more
accessible in memory are often judged as more favourable.

3. Assumptions About Quality: People assume that products or ideas that have existed for a long
time must be of high quality. This belief is partly based on the reasoning that inferior products would
not have lasted in the market.

A set of studies conducted by Eidelman, Pattershall, and Crandall (2010) explored whether people
heuristically favor "old" over "new." These studies tested various scenarios to see if participants
perceived items, ideas, or traditions as better when they were framed as being long-established
versus recently introduced.

1. Chocolate Tasting Experiment

Design: Participants tasted a piece of chocolate and were told it was either first sold in its region in
1937 or in 2003. Thus, one version was framed as a product that had been on the market for 70
years, while the other was framed as a newer product on the market for only 3 years.

Results:

Taste Ratings: Participants rated the chocolate marketed as "old" (70 years) as more delicious,
impressive, and worth purchasing than the chocolate marketed as "new" (3 years).

Influence of Perceived Age: Interestingly, participants did not recognize that the chocolate's time on
the market influenced their evaluation. Instead, they attributed their preference to taste alone, not
acknowledging the impact of the supposed length of existence on their judgment.

Key Insight: The same chocolate was presented in both cases, but the perceived longevity of the
brand led participants to rate it more favorably. This shows how framing a product as long-standing
can unconsciously influence people’s evaluations.
2. Degree Requirement Proposal Study

Design: In another experiment, students evaluated a proposal for a degree requirement. The
proposal was presented in two ways: once as an established policy and once as a proposed change
to the existing requirements.

Results:

Preference for the Status Quo: Students rated the proposal more favorably when it was framed as
already being in place rather than as a new proposal.

Key Insight: This study suggests that people are more likely to favor policies or ideas framed as part
of the current system, demonstrating a status quo bias in decision-making.

3. Acupuncture Effectiveness Study

Design: Participants evaluated the effectiveness of acupuncture based on how long the practice was
said to have existed. The time intervals provided were 250, 500, 1,000, or 2,000 years.

4. Painting Aesthetic Study

Design: Participants rated the aesthetic qualities of a painting, which they were told was created
either in 1905 or in 2005.

Bias Toward Older Art: The painting was rated as more pleasing when participants believed it was
created in 1905, rather than in 2005.

Key Insight: Similar to the findings in the other studies, the painting's age affected its perceived
quality. Participants used the painting’s age as a heuristic to judge its artistic merit, indicating a
preference for things perceived as “classic” or “timeless.”

Analysis of the Findings

1. Heuristic-Based Judgments: Across these studies, people consistently used the age of an object,
product, or idea as a heuristic for quality, effectiveness, or aesthetic value. This suggests that
longevity can serve as a mental shortcut, signaling a product's worth without requiring in-depth
analysis.

2. Unconscious Influence of Time on Market: Even when participants did not consciously recognize
that the time a product or practice had existed influenced their judgment, their evaluations showed
a preference for longevity. In cases like the chocolate study, participants reported that “taste” was
the basis of their positive ratings, not the product’s age. This reveals how deeply ingrained the status
quo bias and the heuristic of favoring the "old" can be in shaping judgments.

3. Applications in Marketing and Consumer Behavior:

Product Longevity as a Selling Point: Companies often capitalize on this bias by highlighting a
product's history or emphasizing "tried and true" qualities. Terms like "established since" or
“traditional” can tap into this heuristic, leveraging consumer trust in products that appear to have
stood the test of time.

Contrasting Appeal of "New and Improved": Although marketers often highlight novelty ("new and
improved"), these studies suggest that emphasizing a product’s established nature might have a
stronger appeal for certain audiences who view the status quo as a marker of quality.

4. Limitations of the Heuristic:

Potential for Inertia: Products or practices may persist due to habit or lack of alternatives rather than
actual superiority. The bias towards the familiar may lead to an over-reliance on the status quo and
resistance to potentially beneficial new products, practices, or innovations.

Exceptions and Cultural Factors: While age often implies quality, there are instances where novelty is
valued, such as in technology or fashion. Cultural differences may also play a role in whether people
prefer the "old" over the "new."

Practical Implications

1. Consumer Awareness: Understanding this heuristic can help consumers make more informed
choices by questioning if they favor something merely because it’s long-standing or familiar.

2. Product Marketing: Companies can strategically emphasize either a product’s longevity or its
novelty based on target audience preferences, using framing to influence consumer perception.

3. Policy and Decision-Making: Recognizing the status quo bias is important for decision-makers, as it
can affect evaluations of policies, especially when older policies may need updates or improvements.

4. Encouraging Innovation: In environments where innovation is critical (e.g., technology,

healthcare), awareness of the status quo bias can help counteract resistance to change and promote
openness to new ideas.

Conclusion

The tendency to favor the “old” over the “new” highlights how cognitive shortcuts and biases
influence our preferences. People often use the longevity of a product, idea, or practice as a
heuristic cue for its value, assuming that what has lasted must be "good." This cognitive shortcut can
be useful but also has its pitfalls, leading to potential resistance to innovation and reliance on
outdated practices. Recognizing and balancing the status quo bias can help individuals make more
nuanced decisions, whether in choosing products, assessing policies, or embracing new
technologies.
Reasoning by metaphor :
Metaphor:

A linguistic device that relates or draws a comparison between one abstract concept and another
dissimilar concept.

1. Understanding Metaphors and Abstract Concepts:-

Metaphors use abstract concepts to give meaning to concrete events, making them accessible and
relatable.

Example metaphors discussed:

Warfare Metaphor: Frames understanding of people's responses to the contents of a talk in terms of
strategies and defenses seen in warfare.

Weight and Temperature Metaphors: These are used to frame responses, implying the "heaviness"
of a topic or "warmth" of reception.

Journey Metaphor: Applies to concepts of love and relationships, helping people to visualize
relationships as pathways or adventures.

2. Consequences of Metaphor Use in Social Judgment:

Recent research (Landau et al., 2010) shows that metaphors can influence how people make social
inferences and behave in various situations.

Priming with specific metaphors can shape people's perceptions and attitudes in meaningful ways.

3. Example Study on Metaphors and Social Attitudes (Landau, Sullivan, and Greenberg, 2009):

Objective: To examine how a contamination metaphor could influence attitudes toward

immigration.

Study Design:

1. Priming Phase: Participants read about airborne bacteria, with some being informed that
bacteria are harmful to humans and others told they are not.

2. Metaphor Exposure:

Participants read statements about the United States in two versions:

With the Body Metaphor: The U.S. was described as a body, e.g., "After the Civil War, the United
States experienced an unprecedented growth spurt."

Without the Body Metaphor: Descriptions did not use body-related language, e.g., "After the Civil
War, the United States experienced an unprecedented period of innovation."

3. Attitude Assessment: Participants were then asked about their attitudes toward immigration.
Results:

Those primed with concerns about "body contamination" (via harmful bacteria information) showed
more negative attitudes toward immigration when exposed to the "body" metaphor for the U.S.

This effect was less pronounced when the metaphor was absent, suggesting that specific metaphor
priming influenced social judgments on immigration.

4. Conclusion:

Metaphorical language can subtly shape how people perceive and respond to social issues.

The "pictures we paint with words" affect not only how concepts are understood but also how
individuals interpret broader social dynamics.
SOURCES OF ERRORS IN SOCIAL COGNITION:

As a human being, we consciously desire to think logically in order to make somewhat error-free
decisions, evaluations and judgements about people and events in social surroundings. However, at
various occasions our social thought process ignores certain logical standards and we put in less
cognitive effort to comprehend our social world which subsequently leads to errors in our social
cognition.

Cognitive-Experiential Self Theory:

Cognitive-experiential self theory argues that many times we prefer our intuitive thoughts based on
past experiences over logical thinking in order to evaluate a social situation. For example, when a
cricket player scores a century with a pair of shoes he continues to wear the same pair of shoes in
coming matches as well despite the probable dangerous consequences of wearing an old pair of
shoes.

Such intuitive thoughts originate from the past experience that the old shoes were lucky for him.

Paying Attention to Inconsistent Information:

When we encounter with a person in a social situation, information inconsistent with his/her role
draws our attention even at cost of some consistent and even more relevant information. Social
psychologists have provided evidence that inconsistent information is better remembered than the
consistent information about gender roles. BardachandPark (1996) reported that the
participantsremembered the qualities inconsistent with a gender (‘nuturant’ for males and
‘competitive’ for females) better than those that are usually inconsistent with a gender
(‘adventurous’ for males and ‘emotional’ for females). The findings indicated that the inconsistent
information may be preferred over important consistent information leading to potential errors in
social cognition.

Actor-Observer Bias:

Attributing others’ actions to internal causes, while attributing one's own actions to situational
factors.

Example: Seeing someone else's lateness as irresponsibility while blaming traffic for one’s own
lateness.

9. Projection:

Assuming others share one’s own thoughts or emotions.

Negativity Bias:

The negativity bias refers to the notion that, even when of equal intensity, humanbeing has the
tendency to give greater weight to negative social information and entities (events, objects, personal
traits, etc.) as compared to positive ones. When traits differ in terms of their positivity and
negativity, negative traits are disproportionately impact the final impression.

Planning Fallacy:

While deciding about the time we will take to complete a task, we often underestimate the time
needed and at the time of execution we generally overshoot the time period that we had assigned to
ourselves. This is known as planning fallacy. The reason for this is that while initially taking the
decision about the time required, we generally focus on events or actions to occur in future rather
than focusing on the time we had taken to accomplish a task in the past. This tendency disallows us
to do a realistic estimate of time needed. Furthermore, at the time of initial decision-making, even if
one is reminded of the excessive time incurred in the past, the delay is usually attributed to some
external factors rather than one’s own capabilities to the finish the work in time.

Potential Costs of Thinking Too Much:

At number of occasions, we excessively do careful thinking resulting into confusion, frustration and
wrong judgement. Wilson and Schooler (1991) asked half of their research participants to
“simplyrate” the several strawberry jams and the other half of them to “deeply analyse” the reasons
for the ratings they themselves gave to each jam. The researchers also took the opinion of experts
(who professionally compared various products) about the correctness of judgement made of the
two groups of participants. They found that, according to the experts, the judgement of the second
half of the participants (consisting ofparticipants who deeply analysed their own rating) were not as
accurate as that of the first half (consisting of participants who simply rated the jams).

Counterfactual Thinking:

Counterfactual thinking is a tendency in which people think contrary to what actually occurred.
People think about the already occurred events by framing some possible alternatives in terms of
“What if?” and the “If I had only...” For example, a cricketer thinks that “what could have happened
if played in that match!”

When counterfactual thinking does occur, a wide range of effects can follow—some of which are
beneficial and some of which are costly to the people involved .

Depending on its focus, imagining counterfactuals for outcomes we receive can yield either boosts
to, or reductions in, our current moods. If individuals imagine upward counterfactuals, comparing
their current outcomes with more favourable ones than they experienced, the result may be strong
feelings of dissatisfaction or envy, especially when people do not feel capable of obtaining better
outcomes in the future . Olympic athletes who win a silver medal but who can easily imagine
winning a gold one experience such reactions . Alternatively, if individuals compare their current
outcomes with less favourable ones—it might have been worse—they may experience positive
feelings of satisfaction or hopefulness.
Such reactions have been found among Olympic athletes who win bronze medals, and who can
easily imagine what it would be like to have not won any medal whatsoever. In sum, engaging in
counterfactual thought can strongly influence current affective states, and willingness to gamble on
obtaining those outcomes in the future . In addition, it appears that we often use counterfactual
thinking to mitigate the bitterness of disappointments. After tragic events such as the death of a
loved one, people often find solace in thinking: “Nothing more could be done; the death was
inevitable.” In other words, they adjust their view concerning the inevitability of the death so as to
make it seem more certain and therefore unavoidable.

Magical Thinking:

Magical thinking is the kind of thinking that involves irrational assumptions often associated with law
of similarity or law of contagion. Law of similarity states our assumption that people similar to each
other in appearance may behaving similar fundamental characteristics. For example, some children
might not like to eat a biscuit in the shape of a lizard. Law of contagion is the belief that when two
people or objects come in contact with each other, they pass on their properties to one another and
such an impact last long even after the contact is over. For example, one might not like to wear the
coat used by an HIV patient even after it is dry-cleaned.
AUNTOMATIC AND CONTROLLED PROCESSING :
PRIMING :

Definition and Basics of Priming in Social Cognition:

Priming: A situtation that occurs when stimuli or events increase the availability in memory or
consciousness of specific types of information held in memory(BARON)

Priming refers to the phenomenon where exposure to one stimulus influences responses to a
subsequent stimulus, without conscious guidance or intention. In social cognition, priming is
particularly important as it can shape how we interpret social information, often influencing
judgments and behaviors subtly.

This process operates on the principle of associative networks, where concepts are stored in
memory as interconnected nodes. Activation of one node (e.g., "happy") can spread to related nodes
(e.g., "joy," "laughter"), making these concepts more accessible.

2. Types of Priming

Different types of priming affect social cognition in unique ways:

Semantic Priming:

Occurs when exposure to a word or idea makes related concepts more accessible. For example,
hearing the word "teacher" can prime thoughts of "student," "classroom," or "learning." This type of
priming operates through connections between related concepts.
Example: Reading about kindness might lead someone to interpret another’s neutral actions as
friendly or considerate.

Affective Priming:

Emotions can influence the interpretation of information. A person in a good mood may view
ambiguous social cues (like a slight smile) as positive, while a person in a bad mood may interpret
them negatively.

Example: If someone is primed with joyful or sad music, it can influence their judgment of a neutral
face as either happy or sad.

Stereotype Priming:

Exposure to stereotypical information can activate associated traits, influencing expectations and
judgments about individuals or groups.

Example: Seeing images of elderly people might activate stereotypes about age, causing someone to
unconsciously expect slower responses from older individuals.

This type of priming is especially relevant for understanding implicit biases and can shape social
interactions and judgments in both subtle and profound ways.

3. Effects of Priming on Social Perception

Priming plays a significant role in how we perceive and interpret others' behavior, which can often
reinforce stereotypes.

Example: If a person is primed with words associated with aggression, they might perceive a neutral
facial expression as threatening or hostile. Conversely, being primed with words associated with
warmth may lead them to interpret a neutral interaction as friendly.

4. Behavioral Priming and Its Implications

Behavioral priming refers to instances where priming not only influences thoughts or perceptions
but also affects behavior.

Example: Studies have found that people primed with words related to "politeness" were more likely
to wait patiently before interrupting someone, while those primed with "rudeness" were quicker to
interrupt.

Application: Behavioral priming has implications for workplace culture, as subtle cues in the
environment (e.g., images, slogans) can affect cooperation, productivity, and conflict resolution.

5. Priming and Memory Recall

Priming can make certain memories more accessible by activating related concepts. This is relevant
in social situations where past experiences or emotions might influence our current interactions.

Example: If someone is primed with words related to honesty, they may be more likely to recall
events where they or others acted honestly.

This has applications in therapeutic contexts, where positive priming can encourage individuals to
access constructive memories or experiences, potentially aiding in mental health interventions.

6. Priming and Bias in Social Interactions

Priming is essential in understanding implicit biases, as it can lead to automatic activation of

stereotypes or assumptions that affect social interactions.

Example: Priming with stereotypical cues about a social group can unconsciously influence one’s
behavior toward members of that group, reinforcing social prejudices.

Applications: In education and law enforcement, where unbiased judgment is critical, awareness of
priming effects can help mitigate implicit biases. Diversity training often uses priming-related
exercises to help people recognize and counteract these unconscious influences.

7. Priming in Real-world Contexts

Marketing: Advertisers often use priming by associating products with positive images or emotions,
influencing consumers’ perceptions and purchase decisions.

Social Media and News: Constant exposure to specific narratives or images can prime public
perceptions about events, groups, or issues, shaping social attitudes over time.

Education: Teachers can use positive priming by creating an encouraging classroom environment,
potentially leading to increased student engagement and improved academic performance.

8. Controversies and Limitations in Priming Research

The Replication Crisis: Some priming effects, especially behavioral priming, have faced scrutiny due
to challenges in replicating findings. Critics argue that certain priming effects may be smaller or more
context-dependent than initially believed.

Context and Individual Differences: Priming effects are influenced by individual characteristics (e.g.,
mood, personal beliefs) and context, meaning they don’t always produce the same effect in all
situations. This has led to more nuanced theories about when and how priming operates effectively.

Ethics of Priming: Priming can unconsciously influence thoughts and behaviors, raising ethical
questions about its use, especially in settings like marketing or political messaging where
manipulation could impact choices.

9. Conclusion: Understanding and Harnessing Priming

Priming is a foundational concept in social cognition that underscores how subtle cues can shape our
thoughts, behaviors, and social interactions. While it offers powerful insights into the subconscious
mind, it must be used thoughtfully, especially in contexts where influencing perceptions and
behaviors can have significant consequences.

Future research aims to clarify the boundaries and consistency of priming effects, as well as to
explore more ethical and constructive applications across fields like education, mental health, and
organizational behavior.

Understanding priming in social cognition provides valuable tools for recognizing the often
unconscious influences on our social world, aiding in personal growth, awareness, and the
development of fair and inclusive environments.