John Bargh - US grants

The preattentive or preconscious analysis of the social environment has been shown to furnish information concerning (a) the abstract categorical membership of discrete behavioral events (e.g., a witnessed behavior being automatically classified as a kind or a shy act), (b) the categorical placement of individuals as members of social groups (as in stereotyping), and (c) the evaluative (i.e., good vs. bad) meaning of frequently experienced social stimuli. The proposed experiments are intended to delineate the specific kinds of information that are provided to one automatically by this social-perceptual mechanism, how strong an influence these sources of information have on consciously-made social judgments, the nature of the connection between this automatic analysis mechanism and the direction of conscious attention (with its further consequences for memory and judgment), and the degree of control one has over one's social-perceptual processes. The goals of the research program are to (a) describe a precise model of a social perception mechanism that accounts for individual differences in sensitivity towards some forms of behavioral information over others, for why one tends to consciously notice and pay attention to some social behaviors and events while not noticing others (i.e., salience effects), and for how the meaning of those events or behaviors is often biased by automatic interpretation processes of which the person is not aware (and so cannot adjust for); (b) to assess the ecological validity of such a model through the use of multiple research paradigms (semantic priming, recognition threshold assessment, lexical decision task, memory load technique, rapid presentation of stimuli), multiple dependent variables (impressions, judgment latencies, judgment confidence), and through the simulation of naturally occurring information environments (e.g., competing stimuli, attentional load, arousal, rapid presentation); and (b) to apply this model to important areas of social research such as stereotyping, depression, and attitudes.

Recent research has demonstrated the automaticity of much of social perception. Stereotypes have been found to become active automatically upon the presence of the group features (e.g., skin color, gender), and behaviors have been found to be automatically categorized in trait terms. In recent research, the PI expanded on these findings to investigate other direct and preconscious effects that the social environment has on psychological phenomena. The current project addresses the next natural question: What is the adaptive significance of these various automatic responses to the environment? One possibility is that they serve a general signaling or appraisal function. Another is that they help smooth social interactions. This research investigates the influence of preconscious thought processes, such as those triggered by particular situations and racial groups, on behaviors, such as task persistence and hostility, which occur without the person's awareness of why they are behaving that way. As such, this research is studying the mechanism of unconscious motivations. Among the implications of this work will be insights into the pervasiveness of discrimination against certain groups and the prospects for change.

The proposed research focuses on several preconscious mental processes that have been found in recent research to occur immediately - without conscious intent, awareness, or guidance - in reaction to social objects, events, and situations. Recent research by several laboratories has demonstrated a variety of such processes that are put into operation immediately by features of social situations, and then operate despite not being consciously (intentionally) chosen, and without needing to be consciously guided to completion. Broadly speaking these effects can be classified as (1) an ongoing automatic evaluation of the environment, (2) an automatic effect of perception on behavior, and (3) automatic goal pursuits in which goals become active in situations to guide behavior without an intervening act of will. There are substantial theoretical implications of these findings of basic, environmentally-driven determinants of evaluation, motivation, and behavior, especially as concerns the necessity and role of conscious deliberative processes in judgment, goal- setting and pursuit, and social interaction. There are also implications for mental health in that these nonconscious causes of emotion and behavior are relatively opaque to introspection; in the case of nonconscious motivation one s behavior is guided and directed towards a goal not intentionally chosen in that given situation; thus one may not be aware of the overall pattern and effect of one s behavior in that situation. Our aim is to uncover the downstream consequences of these immediate automatic processes for subjective states and for interpersonal behavior, and to focus more precisely on the precise mechanisms and mediating processes that produce the observed effects. Several of the proposed studies make use of priming manipulations in order to activate a given interpersonal goal (e.g., competition) or perceptual representation (e.g., a stereotype) without the participant s knowledge; in several experiments this priming is subliminal in nature. The effects of this contextual priming of the person s emotion, judgments, goal pursuit and self-regulation, and interpersonal behavior are then assessed, as is their degree of awareness of the contextual influence.

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Successful self-regulation involves the ability to pursue one's goals and purposes in a flexible and adaptive manner. Key to this ability is the capacities to inhibit, monitor, and plan one's behavior, always within the constraints afforded by one's social and physical environment. Such mechanisms have traditionally been regarded as conscious and strategic. However, recent research has revealed several distinct forms of self regulation - evaluative, motivational, and behavioral - which operate nonconsciously, without the person's intention or awareness. These forms of self-regulation have been shown to facilitate the individual's successful adaptation to the present situation in many ways. Yet the mechanisms underlying these effects are not well understood, nor are the ways these effects combine and interact with each other. Accordingly, the long-term objectives of the proposed research are to (a) further elucidate the underlying mechanisms of these processes, (b) and identify the 'real-life' conditions under which they occur. These issues will be addressed through a variety of approaches. For example, some studies will examine how nonconscious goals direct selective attention within rich, naturalistic scenes, with this attention measured (via eye tracking [unreadable] technology) as a probable mediator of priming effects elicited by that environment. Others will [unreadable] assess whether the blocking or frustration of nonconscious goals produces aggressive tendencies, as does the blocking of conscious goals. Studies will also extend work on interpersonal goal priming from the domain of close relationships to the broader range of others with whom one interacts on a regular basis (e. g., based on their social roles, or official investigatority), and to the domain of societal norms and expectations, as in obedience and conformity phenomena. Understanding the nature, scope, and function of these nonconscious self-regulatory mechanisms is essential for a complete account of healthy functioning and psychological well-being. [unreadable] [unreadable]