PSYC 215 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Autopilot, Counterfactual Thinking
16 May 2018
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Lecture 7 Jan 30th
➢ Automatic Thinking:
• Low-effort thinking (on automatic pilot)
• Thinking that in unconscious, unintentional, involuntary and
effortless.
• Example: recognizing a common object (sunglasses or situation
(birthday party)
• We rely on schemas for this information.
▪ Schemas are mental structures people use to organize their
knowledge about the social world.
▪ They influence the way in which we process information, i.e.
information we notice, think about and remember.
▪ Information that is relevant to a schema is processed quicker
than information that is not relevant.
▪ The activation of one schema can facilitate in the activation of
other closely related schema.
▪ Functions:
o Help us organize and make sense of our world and to
fill in the gaps of our knowledge.
o Helps us to have continuity and to relate new
experiences to our past.
▪ Which schemas are applied?
o Accessibility: the extent to which schemas and
concepts are at the forefront of people’s minds and are
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