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Psychology 1230: Psychology of Adolescence

Don HartmannFall 2005

Lecture #10: ©Social Cognition

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Quiz 1 Information 80% of the multiple choice items will come from

the study guides. The MC portion of the quiz will contain 30-40 items from the following sources:

3-5 questions from each chapter, 1-2 items from each lecture, and 0-1 questions from each handout.

The essay portion will include 3-5 relatively brief essay questions taken from the study guides. You will have some choice over which questions you can choose to answer

Remember, Review session, Tuesday 10:30-11:45 in BS 604 (kitty-corner from my office). Be sure that a representative from your study group is present!

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WEB Discussion Issue #12 #12. Identity. Gypsie Mafia II.

(Summary-Evaluation due on Friday, October 7th). A substantial portion of the Chapter 5 of the text and at least one important theory (Erickson) is devoted to identity during adolescence. Why the emphasis on identity during the period of adolescence. After all, identity issues come up during childhood, mid-life, and old age. Also comment on at least one other contributor’ remarks.

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WEB Discussion #13 #13. Temperament and Personality. Pith-Helmets II.

(Summary-Evaluation due on Monday, October10th ). There continues to be some controversy regarding temperament and its impact of later personality. Talk to one of your parents (perhaps your mother) and find out in which temperament category you would have been classified as an infant (easy, difficult or slow to warm up). How does that match up with where you would be placed in Mary Rothbart & John Bates adolescent temperament categories (positive affect and approach, negative affectivity, and effortful control)? Does that “make sense” to you. Feel free to comment on another contributor’s comments.

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WEB Discussion Process

Group #1 due #2 due #3 due #4 due #5 dueWhippets 09/12 (09/19) 10/03Hotties 09/13 (No takers) 10/054♀+1♂ 09/19 (09/19) 10/04GypsyMafia 09/20 10/07JusticeLeague09/21Psyched 09/22 (09/22)PithHelmets 09/23 (09/23) 10/10MAJACS 09/26

----------Note: Anyone can contribute to any WEB discussion; group members are responsible to

summarizing the discussion. The last day to contribute to any discussion is 3 days before the due date. Dates in parenthesis indicate the date handed in.

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Handout Summary Handout WEB

Date Date 14. HO-Completing a Film Review* 08/14 15. HO-Preparing a Book Review 08/14 16. Completed Class Locator 08/31 17. Lect. #4: Introduction to Theory 09/02 18. Lect. #5: Bandura 09/02 19. Supplemental Lecture: Termpaper

09/06 20. Lect. #6: Method I 09/07 21. Lect. #7: Method II 09/09 22. Lect. #8: Puberty 09/13 23. Lect. #9: Piaget 09/16 24. Lect. #11a: Social Inform. Process. 09/20 25. Lect. #10: Social Cognition 09/26-----*Indicates handouts discussed in class.

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Introduction (2) We will explore how that general information

processing model has been applied to social phenomena—specifically aggression.

Dodge’s Social Information Processing (SIP) model

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Basic Processes in Dodge’s SIP Model

Encoding Cues Interpret Cues Formulation of Goals Generate Responses Evaluate Responses Enact a Response

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The Dodge Model Diagrammatically

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Reactive Aggressors

Have history of bickering with peers. Have hostile attribution bias. More likely to become angry.

Short circuit search.

Respond aggressively.

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Aggression Comes in Many Forms

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Social cuessurrounding harmdoing

Attributionsabout

intentionalityAnger

Aggressiveresponse

influence influence influence

Focus on Interpretation (attributions)

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Where oh where shall we start?

SituationalInferencesof hostile

intent

Aggressive Child’s

Expectanciesabout HostilePeer Intent

HostileCounter-

Attack & PeerRejection

Aggressiveretaliation

which triggers

which leads to

which reinforces

Yie

ld to

bia

sed

scan

ning

of

soci

al c

ues,

yie

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g

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Strengths & Weakness of Dodge’s SIP Model Strengths:

Useful in predicting aggressive responding

Highlights variables that are important in changing behavior

Dynamic

Weaknesso Not developmentalo Does not explicitly deal with emotions

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Lecture Resources

• Damon, W., & Hart, D. (1992). Self-understanding and its role in social and moral development. In M. H. Bornstein & M. E. Lamb (Eds.), Developmental psychology: An advanced textbook (3rd ed., pp. 421-464). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

• Shaffer, D. R. (2000). Social & personality development (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

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Introduction To Social Cognition

Variety of topics that could be dealt with, including how we acquire a sense of self; self esteem; person perception (how we acquire a sense of the other, including role‑taking skills); egocentrism & other aspects of social perspective taking. We’ll highlight most of these today.

Coordinates with pp. 156-157 of chpt. 4, and the first part of chpt. 5.

Next: Identity: Lecture # 11b

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Some Definitions Social cognition: How we mentally

represent and process information about our social worlds.

How do these conception influence our overt social behavior. Social cognition might be viewed at the

mediating link between our socialization experiences and our social behavior. Social cognitions are effected by socialization and in turn affect social behavior.

Socialization

Social Cognition

Social Behavior

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Developing A Sense Of Self

Historical/conceptual perspectives Margaret Mahler likens new-

born to a "chick in an egg“

Cooley and Mead (turn‑of‑century symbolic interactionists): The looking glass self

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So this is the looking-glass self?

“You’re predictable.”

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Developing A Sense Of Self

More historical/conceptual perspectives

•Mead & Baldwin: One can know what the individual thinks about the self if one knows what one thinks about others ‑-the similarity assumption.

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Developing A Sense Of Self

Historical/conceptual perspectives (continued)

William James: “I”--the active self, the knower; and "me", the objective or known self

I ME/

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Self-Esteem

Self‑esteem‑‑affectively tinged self evaluations (Susan Harter, 1999)

Elementary school children have differentiated and relatively stable sense of self in peer, academic, behavioral, and physically‑ related senses of self

Young adults have a still more differentiated sense of self

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Other Aspects of Global Self-Esteem Many girls experience a drop during

adolescence. The highest correlate of global self-

esteem is physical attractiveness (r≈.65)

Improving self-esteem (SE) Identifying sources of high/low SE Value, support & approve of strengths Foster achievement in areas of importance Aid with coping rather than avoiding

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How We Describe Ourselves & Others

Self- and other-description research Younger than 8‑9 emphasize

physical characteristics >9 years, tend to increasingly use

psychological descriptors—and increasingly context dependent.

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Adolescent Egocentrism Heightened self-consciousness of

adolescents, reflected in their belief that others are as interested in them as they themselves are, and in their sense of personal uniqueness.

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Adolescent Egocentrism Heightened self-consciousness of

adolescents, reflected in their belief that others are as interested in them as they themselves are, and in their sense of personal uniqueness.

Personal fable The part of adolescent egocentrism

involving an adolescent’s sense of uniqueness.

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Adolescent Egocentrism: Heightened self-consciousness of

adolescents, reflected in their belief that others are as interested in them as they themselves are, and in their sense of personal uniqueness.

Personal fable The part of adolescent egocentrism

involving an adolescent’s sense of uniqueness.

Imaginary Audience An imagined audience that has the same

interest in the adolescent that they have in themselves—constantly on stage.

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Examples of Egocentrism or other Fallacies in these Reasons for NOT using Contraceptives?

I didn’t think a girl like me could get pregnant. I didn’t think I had sex often enough. I wanted sex to be spontaneous. I felt that if my partner loved me he’d take a

chance. Contraceptive are unsafe. Using a contraceptive would indicate to

everyone that I was planning on having sex. I was waiting for our relationship to get more

serious. I thought my partner would take care of that. My parents might find out.

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Social Perspective Taking

The ability to assume another person’s perspective and understand his or her thoughts and feelings.

Tied to cognitive development Selman is the guy

Analysis of reasoning about interpersonal dilemmas

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The Holly Story Holly is an 8-year-old girl who likes to climb trees. She

is the best tree climber in the neighborhood. One day while climbing down from a tall tree, she falls…but does not hurt herself. Her father sees her fall. He is upset and asks her to promise not to climb trees any more. Holly promises. Later that day, Holly and her friends meet Shawn. Shawn’s kitten is caught in a tree and can’t get down. Something has to be done right away or the kitten may fall. Holly is the only one who climbs trees well enough to reach the kitten and get it down but she remembers her promise to her father.

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Selman’s Stages of Social Perspective Taking

Egocentric viewpoint 3-6 Can label other’s feelings but does not see cause-and-effect reasons for actions

Social-informational perspective taking

6-8

Self-reflective perspective taking

8-10

Mutual perspective taking 10-12 Can step outside two-person dyad and view from 3rd-person perspective.

Social & conventional perspective taking

12-15 Realizes mutual perspective does not always lead to full understanding.

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Summary of Social Cognition Lecture

Social Cognition—e.g., Sense of self

Historical Self-esteem

Self- and other-perception Egocentrism Social Perspective Taking

Next: IDENTITY: #11b Go in Peace