Accessibility and fit as determinants of the salience of social categorizations

The present article proposes a theoretical model of factors affecting the salience of social categorizations. The model is strongly related to the accessibility×fit formulation by Bruner (1957) and to Oakes' (1987) functional perspective on category salience. The results of an experimental series using the ‘Who said what?’ paradigm are presented, which examined several hypotheses derived from the model. In Study I it was shown that the salience of a social categorization with high chronic accessibility (sex categorization) was related to perceptions of issue relevance (normative fit) and intercategory differences (meta‐contrast ratio). Furthermore, in line with the salience model measures to increase the situational accessibility, (i.e. a priming procedure) of categorizations with low chronic accessibility (educational group and home town categorizations) failed to affect category salience as long as participants perceived no comparative and normative fit of these categorizations (Study II). Under conditions where comparative fit of these categorizations was perceived, however, the priming procedure successfully enhanced category salience (Studies II and III). Results are largely consistent with the hypotheses derived from the salience model and support Oakes' functional approach to category salience. Finally, the complex interrelation between situational accessibility and perceived fit will be discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inter‐category versus intra‐category fit: when social categories match social context

The goal of the research reported in this article was to examine whether social categorization, commonly thought to be a function of accessibility and intra‐category fit, is also sensitive to changes in inter‐category fit. Intra‐category fit refers to the match between a target person's features and stored categorical knowledge, inter‐category fit to the extent to which category memberships and targets' features covary across perceived group members. In Experiments 1, 2, and 3, members of social categories of low, medium, and high accessibility, respectively, were shown in a group discussion. Inter‐category fit was manipulated in three steps. Category salience in memory increased as an additive function of accessibility and inter‐category fit. Experiment 4 replicated the effects of inter‐category fit while intra‐category fit and the information presented for individual discussants were held constant. The present studies are the first to demonstrate an effect of inter‐category fit on a relatively direct measure of spontaneous social categorization. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Feature-based versus category-based induction with uncertain categories

Previous research has suggested that when feature inferences have to be made about an instance whose category membership is uncertain, feature-based inductive reasoning is used to the exclusion of category-based induction. These results contrast with the observation that people can and do use category-based induction when category membership is known. The present experiments examined the conditions that drive feature-based and category-based strategies in induction under category uncertainty. Specifically, 2 experiments investigated whether reliance on feature-based inductive strategies is a product of the lack of coherence in the categories used in previous research or is due to the use of a decision-only induction procedure. Experiment 1 found that feature-based reasoning remained the preferred strategy even when categories with relatively high internal coherence were used. Experiment 2 found a shift toward category-based reasoning when participants were trained to classify category members prior to feature induction. Together, these results suggest that an appropriate conceptual representation must be formed through experience with a category before it is likely to be used as a basis for feature induction.     

The two faces of typicality in category-based induction

Studies of category-based induction using different methods have found somewhat contradictory results for whether typical items are a stronger basis for induction. Typical category items are generally more similar to other category items than are atypical ones, and they are also more likely to be categorized into the category in question. We propose that the first aspect (representativeness) influences induction, but the second (uncertainty about the correct category) does not. Two experiments using artificial categories found support for this prediction. Two further experiments manipulated pictures of objects and also found that representativeness in the category influenced the strength of induction, but uncertainty of classification did not. Thus, the two aspects of typicality have different effects on category-based induction.     

Category-based and attribute-based reactions to others: Some informational conditions of stereotyping and individuating processes

This paper suggests that people can form impressions in a variety of ways that range from primarily category-based processes to primarily attribute-based processes, and that the process partially depends on the configuration of available information. Easily categorized configurations are hypothesized to elicit relatively category-based processes, while not easily categorized configurations are hypothesized to elicit relatively attribute-based processes. In Experiment 1, subjects first rated the likability of job-category labels and relevant trait attributes, in isolation from each other. At a later session, stimulus people were depicted by category labels (occupations) and relevant attributes (traits) in varying combinations. Typicality ratings confirmed the manipulated ease of categorizing the various information combinations. Correlations between subjects' evaluations of each stimulus person and their independent prior ratings of the components supported the idea of a continuum anchored respectively by relatively category-based and by relatively attribute-based impression formation processes. In the second study, think-aloud data further supported the current hypotheses: subjects spontaneously examined the fit between category and attributes, and they used the attributes more in the attribute-based conditions than in the category-based conditions. The protocol data also reveal some processes intermediate on the continuum between primarily category-based and primarily attribute-based processes; these include subcategorizing, generating new categories, and self-reference. Social perceivers apparently use flexible impression formation processes, depending on the configuration of available information.     

Where to look first for an explanation of induction with uncertain categories

Recent research has examined how people predict unobserved features of an object when its category membership is ambiguous. The debate has focused on whether predictions are based solely on information from the most likely category, or whether information from other possible categories is also used. In the present experiment, we compared these category-based approaches with feature conjunction reasoning, where predictions are based on a comparison among exemplars (rather than categories) that share features with a target object. Reasoning strategies were assessed by examining patterns of feature prediction and by using an eye gaze measure of attention during induction. The main findings were (1) the majority of participants used feature conjunction rather than categorical strategies, (2) people predominantly gazed at the exemplars that were most similar to the target object, and (3) although people gazed most at the most probable category to which an object could belong, they also attended to other plausible category alternatives during induction. These findings question the extent to which category-based reasoning is used for induction when category membership is uncertain.     

Social identity,attribution, and emotion: Comparisons of Americans,Korean Americans,and Koreans

The social identity of another person, in addition to the social identity of self, can be an important factor affecting the types of attribution judgments and emotions that individuals indicate for the other person. In April 2007, the perpetrator of the shooting incident on the Virginia Tech University campus was identified as a person who emigrated to the USA from Korea at a young age. The current study compared non‐Korean Americans, Korean Americans, Koreans in the USA, and Koreans in Korea in terms of their attributions and emotions concerning the perpetrator and the shooting incident. Participants were asked to indicate (1) the extent to which they attributed the cause of the incident to either American society or the perpetrator, (2) their emotions (e.g., upset), and (3) the extent to which they categorized the perpetrator as an American, a Korean American, or a Korean. The results indicated that non‐Korean Americans were most likely to attribute the cause of the incident to the perpetrator as opposed to American society. Non‐Korean Americans, Korean Americans, and Koreans in the United States had more negative emotions (e.g., unhappy, sad, and upset) about the incident than Koreans in Korea did. The results also indicated that individuals differed in their attributions and emotions depending on how they categorized the perpetrator. For example, categorizing the perpetrator as being a Korean was positively related to Americans’ tendency to hold the perpetrator responsible, while categorizing the perpetrator as being an American was negatively related to the tendency to hold the perpetrator responsible among Koreans in Korea. The findings may imply that social identity theory, intergroup emotion theory, and cultural orientations (e.g., individualism and collectivism) can provide insights into people's reactions to a tragic incident.     

What is typical about the typicality effect in category-based induction?

Research on category-based induction has documented a consistent typicality effect: Typical exemplars promote stronger inferences about their broader category than atypical exemplars. This work has been largely confined to categories whose central tendencies are also the most typical members of the category. Does the typicality effect apply to the broad set of categories for which the ideal category member is considered most typical? In experiments with natural and artificial categories, typicality and induction-strength ratings were obtained for ideal and central-tendency exemplars. Induction strength was greatest for the central-tendency exemplars, regardless of whether the central tendency or the ideal was rated more typical. These results suggest that the so-called “typicality” effect is a special case of a more universal central-tendency effect in category-based induction.     

Object detection in natural scenes: Independent effects of spatial and category-based attention

Humans are remarkably efficient in detecting highly familiar object categories in natural scenes, with evidence suggesting that such object detection can be performed in the (near) absence of attention. Here we systematically explored the influences of both spatial attention and category-based attention on the accuracy of object detection in natural scenes. Manipulating both types of attention additionally allowed for addressing how these factors interact: whether the requirement for spatial attention depends on the extent to which observers are prepared to detect a specific object category—that is, on category-based attention. The results showed that the detection of targets from one category (animals or vehicles) was better than the detection of targets from two categories (animals and vehicles), demonstrating the beneficial effect of category-based attention. This effect did not depend on the semantic congruency of the target object and the background scene, indicating that observers attended to visual features diagnostic of the foreground target objects from the cued category. Importantly, in three experiments the detection of objects in scenes presented in the periphery was significantly impaired when observers simultaneously performed an attentionally demanding task at fixation, showing that spatial attention affects natural scene perception. In all experiments, the effects of category-based attention and spatial attention on object detection performance were additive rather than interactive. Finally, neither spatial nor category-based attention influenced metacognitive ability for object detection performance. These findings demonstrate that efficient object detection in natural scenes is independently facilitated by spatial and category-based attention.     

Food rejection and the development of food category-based induction in 2–6 years old children

We studied children’s inductive inferences within the domain of food categories. There has so far been little research on inductive reasoning about food among children, despite the theoretical and practical importance of knowing what knowledge children bring to the table and how they use it. We tested the hypotheses that children’s food category-based induction performances and their food rejection are negatively correlated, and that these performances are influenced by the colour typicality of the food items. We recruited 126 children aged 2–6 years, and administered a category-based induction task. Participants were successively shown 8 sets of three pictures containing one target picture (a vegetable) and two test pictures (a vegetable dissimilar in colour to the target picture and a fruit similar in colour to the target picture). For each set, participants were told a novel property about the target picture and asked to generalise this property to one of the two test pictures. Additionally, the parents of each child filled out a questionnaire about his or her food rejection tendencies. Results on accuracy (i.e. if participants generalised the properties according to category membership, not perceptual similarity) provided the first empirical evidence in favour of a negative relationship between children’s food rejection and food category-based induction.     

The out-group must not be so bad after all: the effects of disclosure,typicality, and salience on intergroup bias

Two contact studies integrated the personalization (M. B. Brewer & N. Miller, 1984) and category-based models (M. Hewstone & R. J. Brown. 1986), proposing that greater reduction of intergroup bias can be achieved by the interactive effects of disclosure and typicality (Study 1) or disclosure and salience (Study 2). In Study 1 the impact of self-disclosure and typicality combined interactively to augment intergroup acceptance. Study 2 extended these findings by examining the combined effects of disclosure and category salience. It also explored the mediational roles of group-relevant and person-relevant information on the effects of typicality and disclosure, respectively. Results showed that during cooperative dyadic out-group contact, self-disclosure, typicality, and salience were key factors for reducing bias toward new members of that out-group category.     

Acquisition of subordinate categories by 3-year-olds: The roles of attribute salience,linguistic input,and child characteristics

This study was concerned with factors that may affect young 3-year-olds' acquisition of subordinate categories. Three factors were considered: (a) salience of the attribute or attributes which differentiate a subordinate category from other subordinates subsumed under the same basic level category, (b) presence or absence of linguistic input identifying the relevant attribute, and (c) characteristics intrinsic to the child. Three child characteristics were measured: (a) size of general comprehension vocabulary, (b) size of subordinate category name vocabulary, and (c) cognitive style. Results indicated that subordinate categories were easier to learn if their differentiating attribute was highly salient and/or linguistic input identifying the relevant attribute was provided. Correlational analyses pointed to a series of relations between the child characteristics measured and the number of subordinate categories acquired during the experiment, particularly for low salience categories. Implications of the three factors for the acquisition of expertise on object domains are considered.     

How many processes underlie category-based induction? Effects of conclusion specificity and cognitive ability

Two studies investigated participants' sensitivity to the amount and diversity of the evidence when reasoning inductively about categories. Both showed that participants are more sensitive to characteristics of the evidence for arguments with general rather than specific conclusions. Both showed an association between cognitive ability and sensitivity to these evidence characteristics, particularly when the conclusion category was general. These results suggest that a simple associative process may not be sufficient to capture somekey phenomena of category-based induction. They also support the claim that the need to generate a superordinate category is a complicating factor in category-based reasoning and that adults' tendency to generate such categories while reasoning has been overestimated.     

Children's Use of Social Categories in Thinking About People and Social Relationships

A series of studies investigated White U.S. 3- and 4-year-old children's use of gender and race information to reason about their own and others’ relationships and attributes. Three-year-old children used gender- but not race-based similarity between themselves and others to decide with whom they wanted to be friends, as well as to determine which children shared their own preferences for various social activities. Four-year-old (but not younger) children attended to gender and racial category membership to guide inferences about others’ relationships but did not use these categories to reason about others’ shared activity preferences. Taken together, the findings provide evidence for three suggestions about these children's social category-based reasoning. First, gender is a more potent category than race. Second, social categories are initially recruited for first-person reasoning but later become broad enough to support third-person inferences. Finally, at least for third-person reasoning, thinking about social categories is more attuned to social relationships than to shared attributes.     

The Influence of Ethnicity,Social Class,and Context on Judgments About U.S. Women

Abstract

In 2 studies, the authors investigated impression formation as influenced by category-based stereotypes associated with ethnicity and social class. The participants in Study 1 made judgments about 1 target woman, described as interested in running for office in the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) of her children's school. The hypothetical woman was presented to the respondents along with her photograph and information about her ethnic background (Anglo-Saxon, Latina, or Jewish) and occupation (middle class or working class). In Study 2, the authors changed the context and presented a younger target woman (also varied by ethnicity and social class) to the respondents as the new girlfriend of their older brother or cousin. In both studies, judgments were assessed by the participants' responses to 45 bipolar adjectives that, in each case, yielded 8 component factors. In both hypothetical contexts, social class was a powerful trigger for a variety of negative expectations: With respect to ethnicity, the Latina women were judged to be more unsuitable for the job of PTO vice president than were the Anglo-Saxon or Jewish women. The authors discussed potential psychological and social consequences of such category-based judgments.     

Causal knowledge and categories: the effects of causal beliefs on categorization, induction, and similarity

Despite the recent interest in the theoretical knowledge embedded in human representations of categories, little research has systematically manipulated the structure of such knowledge. Across four experiments this study assessed the effects of interattribute causal laws on a number of category-based judgments. The authors found that (a) any attribute occupying a central position in a network of causal relationships comes to dominate category membership, (b) combinations of attribute values are important to category membership to the extent they jointly confirm or violate the causal laws, and (c) the presence of causal knowledge affects the induction of new properties to the category. These effects were a result of the causal laws, rather than the empirical correlations produced by those laws. Implications for the doctrine of psychological essentialism, similarity-based models of categorization, and the representation of causal knowledge are discussed.     

Social categorization,visual cues,and social judgements

Recent research on social cognition suggests that lifelike visual and vocal information about a person may strongly mediate the impact of prior social categorical knowledge on social judgements. Other research, however, on the contribution of visual cues to impression formation, suggests that they have relatively little impact. This study sought to resolve these conflicting findings by examining the effect of visual cues on social judgements when subjects possess prior social categorical knowledge varying in salience to the experimental task. Videotaped target interviews were monitored by observers in either sound and vision or sound only, and measures were taken of the targets' perceived personality, their ‘actual’ and ‘predicted’ social performance, and social acceptance by observers. Whilst salience of categorization strongly influenced the quality of judgements, visual cues had little if any effect. However, visual cues strongly influenced subjects' confidence in all three sets of judgements, sound and vision subjects being consistently more confident than their sound only counterparts. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research in both social cognition and visual cues.     

Level of Education and Category Fluency Task among Spanish Speaking Elders: Number of Words,Clustering, and Switching Strategies

ABSTRACT

It has been well documented that education influences the individual's performance on category fluency tasks but it is still unclear how this effect may differ across the different types of category tasks (i.e., animals, fruits, vegetables and clothing). This study aims (1) to analyze the effect of the level of education on four different types of category fluency tasks among elder Hispanic Americans and (2) to provide normative information on a population with different education levels that was previously screened for neurological and psychiatric conditions. In addition this study examines the semantic strategies used by these individuals to complete the fluency tasks. The sample included 105 healthy Hispanic individuals (age 55–98; 29 males and 76 females) divided into three education groups (<6, 6–11 and >11 years of education). Results showed that after controlling for age and gender, education has a main effect and is a strong predictor of performance in verbal fluency for the categories animals and clothing with increasing educational attainment being associated with higher category fluency scores and with more switches between categories. These findings suggest that the category fruit is less influenced by level of education than the other three semantic categories and may be a more appropriate test across different educational groups. Results from this study provide a reference for clinicians assessing verbal fluency in Spanish speaking populations.