Perception and AttitudesCan You Read This?Shanley case goes to the jury Closing arguments spotlight accuser By Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff | February 4, 2005 Stereotypes of AmericansWomen in ScienceCausal TheoriesCommonsense TheoriesFundamental Attribution ErrorFundamental or Cultural?Perception and Attitudes15.301 Managerial PsychologyFall, 2006Can You Read This?Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingshuinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredrthe ltteers in a wrod are, olny taht the fristand lsat ltteres are at the rghit pcleas. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitllraed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseaewe do not raed ervey lteter by ilstef, but the wrod as a wlohe.Perception (and Memory) is Constructed(Loftus & Palmer)• Watch film that includes multi-car crash. Asked how fast were the cars going when they:“Smashed” 40.8 mph“Collided” 39.3 mph“Hit” 34.0 mph“Contacted” 31.8 mph• One week later, Did you see any broken glass?“Smashed” 32% yes“Hit” 14% yesShanley case goes to the juryClosing arguments spotlight accuserBy Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff | February 4, 2005CAMBRIDGE -- Paul R. Shanley's accuser is a victim overwhelmed with true memories of abuse by his parish priest, or he's a suggestible man who believes vivid stories that were planted in his mind…The alleged victim, a 27-year-old firefighter, accuses Shanley of molesting him during Sunday school hours from ages 6 to 11, in the pews, rectory, confessional, and boys' room of St. Jean Church in Newton. The accuser says he forgot about the abuse, but remembered it in 2002, when he learned of Boston Globe stories about Shanley and a Sunday school classmate. Last year, he was awarded $500,000 in a civil settlement with the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston…The defense earlier called Elizabeth Loftus, a professor at the University of California at Irvine, to challenge the alleged victim's so-called repressed memories. Loftus said scientific experiments have proven that people can be manipulated into remembering things that never happened."I don't believe there is any credible scientific evidence for the idea that years of brutalization can be massively repressed," she said.But under cross-examination, Loftus said she agrees that people can forget traumatic events and remember them later.Stereotypes of Americans19331. Industrious2. Intelligent3. Materialistic4. Ambitious5. Progressive1969MaterialisticAmbitiousPleasure lovingIndustriousIntelligent2001MaterialisticLazyIndividualisticPleasure lovingIndustrious• 1933 Princeton undergraduates wrote down attributes to characterize each of 10 groups, e.g., Americans, Germans, Italians, and checked the most typical 5• Repeated in 1951 and 1969 and recently at another universityWomen in Science• Harvard President Lawrence Summers generated a media storm when he appeared to imply at a conference on diversifying the science and engineering workforce that women and men may differ in innate aptitude.• “Nancy Hopkins, a professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who once led an investigation of sex discrimination there that led to changes in hiring and promotion, walked out midway through Dr. Summers' remarks.‘When he started talking about innate differences in aptitude between men and women, I just couldn't breathe because this kind of bias makes me physically ill,’ Dr. Hopkins said. ‘Let's not forget that people used to say that women couldn't drive an automobile.’" Sam Dillon, NYTimes, 1/18/05Causal Theories• We organize our perceptions in cause-effect relationships: answer “why?”• Why did Lawrence Summers make his remarks: Is he prejudiced? Is he bold? Is he careless? • Why was the reaction so severe: Was he unfairly quoted by the press? Attacked by the PC police?• Take an easier situation: Why did Lee get an A on the quiz?Commonsense Theories• Consistency (over time) – how did Lee do on the first quiz in the course?• Distinctiveness – how does Lee do on quizzes in other courses?• Consensus – how did other students do?It’s about Lee: consistent, not distinctive, atypicalIt’s the quiz: inconsistent, distinctive, typicalIt’s the course: consistent, distinctive, typicalIt’s the fit: consistent, distinctive, atypicalIt’s just luck: inconsistent, distinctive, atypicalFundamental Attribution Error• Over-attribute events to dispositional rather than situational qualities• We tend to see people as bundles of traits• This is related to stereotypes – we often explain skills and abilities as arising from traits that are part of an entire group of people, such as gender, ethnicity, nationalityFundamental or Cultural?• Young children attribute behavior to situations, so dispositional attributions are learned• Comparison of US and Japanese newspaper accounts of Western and Japanese business scandals showed NYTrefers to the individual (e.g. “Salomon’s errant cowboy” who “attacked his work as aggressively as he hit tennis balls”) but Asahi Shimbunrefers to the firm (e.g., Daiwa “is embarrassed that its internal controls and procedures were not sufficient”) (Menon et al, JPSP, 1999)Attitudes, Beliefs, Behaviors• Attitudes are evaluative judgments of liking and disliking, i.e., they are emotions• Beliefs are propositions about the world, e.g., oranges are round, 15.301 is fun• Attitudes are related to predispositions to behave: do attitudes cause behavior?• Studies of people with selective brain damage who can think rationally but have no “feelings” show they cannot decide!How Do You Feel About…MITWall StreetPresident BushBroccoliThe XIX AmendmentWar in IraqCopying on an examParis HiltonNuclear power plantsSources of Attitudes• Familiarity: more liking for faces seen more frequently. People like mirror prints of their faces more than regular print, but friends like regular print better (Mita et al, 1977)• Association/Role Models: ads with nice places, attractive people; task in crowded/nice setting Ædis/liking for a stranger• Training: parental praise and toys vs. withdrawal of attention. Phone interview study asking Harvard students about Harvard, say “good” after + or – statements Æ attitude one week later• Beliefs: Smoking causes cancer, cancer causes death, I dislike death, therefore I dislike smokingMeasuring Attitudes• Approach/Avoidance behaviors– E.g., purchases, proximity • Non-verbal emotion indicators–