Choose One Essay Option (1, 2, Or 3) ✓ Solved

Choose one essay option (1, 2, or 3). For the chosen option,

Choose one essay option (1, 2, or 3). For the chosen option, answer two of the three subquestions listed; do not answer all three.

Essay option 1:

a. Johnson & Wilson (article) - What were the differences in size & strength perceptions of Asian, Black, & White men? How did racial stereotypes influence judgments?

b. Lovaglia (article): Discuss the Robber's Cave study (Carolyn Sherif & Muzafer Sherif).

c. Discuss three of the four ways in which schemas influence behavior. Use at least two related studies discussed during lecture.

Essay option 2:

d. Talhelm (article): Discuss how the Starbucks findings are related to individualism & collectivism in different parts of China.

e. Lovaglia (article): Discuss Ridgeway’s research on the Glass Ceiling.

f. Psychological Distance: Use two of Milgram's obedience variations to explain the relevance of psychological distance.

Essay option 3:

g. Dal (article): Discuss the interaction between introversion/extraversion & social loafing.

h. Lovaglia (article): Discuss Steele's research on Stereotype Threat.

i. Peer Pressure: Discuss three examples of normative social influence from Asch's variations: Allyship, Privacy, Group Size.

Paper For Above Instructions

Selected Option and Subquestions

This response addresses Essay option 1, subquestions (a) and (c): (a) the Johnson & Wilson findings about perceived size and strength across Asian, Black, and White men and how racial stereotypes shape those judgments; and (c) three ways schemas influence behavior, supported by empirical studies discussed in lectures.

Perceptions of Size and Strength Across Racial Groups

Johnson and Wilson's article examined how observers estimate physical attributes—specifically size and strength—of men from different racial groups and found systematic bias: Black men were perceived as larger and stronger than White men, and White men were often estimated as larger or stronger than Asian men (Johnson & Wilson, 2005). These perceptual differences are not mere measurement noise but reflect culturally stored stereotypes associating Black men with physical threat and muscularity and associating Asian men with smaller body size. Such stereotype-consistent misperceptions echo findings from other research showing race-linked threat perceptions and misestimation of physical characteristics. For example, Eberhardt et al. (2004) demonstrated that racialized cognitive associations can alter visual processing, contributing to quicker threat-related categorizations of Black faces, and Plant and Peruche (2005) showed how these biases influence split-second decisions in high-stakes contexts (e.g., weapon identification).

Mechanistically, racial stereotypes provide a cognitive shortcut: when perceivers lack individuating information, they rely on cultural beliefs that link race to attributes such as strength or aggressiveness (Devine, 1989; Fiske & Taylor, 2013). Johnson and Wilson (2005) report that stereotype activation increases size/strength estimates even when objective cues (height, clothing) are controlled for, suggesting top-down influence on perception. This aligns with work showing that expectation and categorization can shape low-level perception (Darley & Gross, 1983). In real-world terms, inflated perceptions of size and strength for Black men can increase risk of excessive force in policing and contribute to social exclusion, demonstrating how perceptual distortions perpetuate inequality and danger for targeted groups (Eberhardt et al., 2004; Plant & Peruche, 2005).

Three Ways Schemas Influence Behavior (with Supporting Studies)

1. Attention and Encoding

Schemas guide what people attend to and encode into memory: schema-consistent information receives prioritized processing, while inconsistent details are often ignored or distorted. Bartlett's classic work (1932) showed that memory for stories is reconstructed according to cultural expectations; later laboratory demonstrations such as Brewer and Treyens (1981) found that people recall schema-consistent objects in an office even when they were absent. These findings illustrate that schemas shape the very content of memory by filtering input at the encoding stage (Bartlett, 1932; Brewer & Treyens, 1981).

2. Interpretation and Inference

Schemas influence how ambiguous information is interpreted and what inferences are drawn. Hamilton and Gifford’s (1976) and Darley and Gross’s (1983) studies demonstrate expectation-driven interpretation: individuals form illusory correlations between groups and behaviors and interpret ambiguous actions in light of stereotypes. Darley and Gross (1983) showed a hypothesis-confirmatory bias where identical behaviors were judged differently after participants received a positive or negative contextual label. In the context of Johnson & Wilson's findings, perceivers with activated racial schemas will interpret neutral postures or facial expressions as more threatening for members of stereotyped groups, resulting in biased judgments and differential behavioral outcomes.

3. Memory Reconstruction and Decision-Making

Schemas guide what is later recalled and can distort recollection to match expectations—shaping decisions based on reconstructed memories. Brewer and Treyens (1981) again illustrate how schema-driven reconstruction produces false memories for schema-consistent items. At a decision level, Devine (1989) showed that even when people explicitly reject stereotypes, implicit schema-driven associations can influence judgments and actions in subtle ways. Bargh and Chartrand (1999) highlighted automaticity: many schema-driven influences operate outside conscious awareness and can affect behavior rapidly and unintentionally.

Taken together, these three schema functions—guiding attention/encoding, shaping interpretation/inference, and reconstructing memory/affecting decision-making—explain how cultural stereotypes about race can bias observers’ perceptions of physical attributes such as size and strength. Johnson and Wilson's specific empirical findings fit squarely within this theoretical framework: stereotype activation feeds into attention and interpretation processes, producing systematic perceptual biases that then influence memory and behavior (Johnson & Wilson, 2005; Bartlett, 1932; Brewer & Treyens, 1981).

Implications and Interventions

Understanding these mechanisms suggests intervention points. Reducing stereotype-driven perceptual bias may require changing the salience of race as a category (e.g., focus on individuating information), training to counteract automatic associations, and altering situational cues that activate threat schemas (Devine, 1989; Fiske & Taylor, 2013). Practical interventions used in applied settings—such as repeated non-threatening exposure, structured decision protocols, and bias-awareness training—can attenuate the automatic influence of schemas and reduce the harmful real-world consequences of perceptual distortions (Eberhardt et al., 2004; Plant & Peruche, 2005).

In sum, Johnson and Wilson's work illustrates how racial stereotypes systematically skew perceptions of size and strength, and schema theory (with empirical backing from Bartlett, Brewer & Treyens, Hamilton & Gifford, Darley & Gross, and others) explains the cognitive processes by which these biases arise and persist. Addressing these schema-driven distortions is essential to reduce biased judgment and inequitable treatment in social and institutional contexts.

References

  • Johnson, K., & Wilson, T. (2005). Perceived size and strength: Racial stereotypes and judgments. [Course article].
  • Eberhardt, J. L., Goff, P. A., Purdie, V. J., & Davies, M. (2004). Seeing black: Race, crime, and visual processing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(6), 876–893.
  • Plant, E. A., & Peruche, B. M. (2005). The consequences of race for police officers' responses to criminal suspects. Psychological Science, 16(2), 180–183.
  • Bartlett, F. C. (1932). Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology. Cambridge University Press.
  • Brewer, W. F., & Treyens, J. C. (1981). Role of schemata in memory for places. Cognitive Psychology, 13(2), 207–230.
  • Hamilton, D. L., & Gifford, R. K. (1976). Illusory correlation in interpersonal perception: A cognitive basis of stereotypic judgments. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 12(4), 392–407.
  • Darley, J. M., & Gross, P. H. (1983). A hypothesis-confirming bias in labeling effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(1), 20–33.
  • Devine, P. G. (1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic and controlled components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(4), 646–660.
  • Bargh, J. A., & Chartrand, T. L. (1999). The unbearable automaticity of being. American Psychologist, 54(7), 462–479.
  • Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (2013). Social Cognition: From Brains to Culture (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.

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