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Pictures and Words

Pictures and Words. Elinor Amit. Behavioral Decision Making: Building Approaches from Laboratory Insights October 31th 2011. How do we think about things?. The 3 main approaches: Words (inner speech) (e.g., Vygotsky, 1934; Oppenheim & Dell, 2010)

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Pictures and Words

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  1. Pictures and Words Elinor Amit Behavioral Decision Making: Building Approaches from Laboratory Insights October 31th 2011

  2. How do we think about things?... The 3 main approaches: • Words (inner speech) (e.g., Vygotsky, 1934; Oppenheim & Dell, 2010) • Pictures (mental imagery) (e.g., Kosslyn et al) • Abstract, a-modal representations (e.g., Caramazza, Hillis, Rapp, & Romani, 1990; Lambon Ralph, Graham, Patterson, & Hodges, 1999; Rapp, Hillis, & Caramazza, 1993; Tyler & Moss, 2001; Mahon & Caramazza, 2008)

  3. How do we think about things?... The 3 main approaches: • Words (inner speech) (e.g., Vygotsky, 1934; Oppenheim & Dell, 2010) • Pictures (mental imagery) (e.g., Kosslyn et al) • Abstract, a-modal representations (e.g., Caramazza, Hillis, Rapp, & Romani, 1990; Lambon Ralph, Graham, Patterson, & Hodges, 1999; Rapp, Hillis, & Caramazza, 1993; Tyler & Moss, 2001; Mahon & Caramazza, 2008)

  4. “the two most vivid forms of working memory are mental images... and snatches of inner speech” Pinker, 2008

  5. Apple

  6. Red apple

  7. Apple Red apple

  8. Differences between words and pictures Red apple

  9. We will discuss today… • The association between medium and psychological distance • The implications of the medium of representation to moral judgment

  10. We will discuss today… • The association between medium and psychological distance • The implications of the medium of representation to moral judgment

  11. Visual representation Proximal event Verbal representation Distal event The medium/morality hypothesis How do we think about things?... It depends…     Amit, Algom, & Trope, 2009

  12. What is psychological distance? The distance between an individual and a target. • Subjective • Egocentric

  13. What is psychological distance? • Temporal: How much time separates between the individual’s present and the target event • Spatial: How far in space is the event from the individual • Social: How different is the social target from the individual Bar Anan, Liberman & Trope, 2006

  14. Why is medium associated with distance? • Pictures and words serves different cognitive functions: • Words preserve the invariant & essential properties of the item for a distal use • Pictures preserve the stimulus in details for an immediate use.

  15. Construal Level Theory (CLT) Mental construal processes serve to traverse psychological distances and switch between perspectives. Distal events  not so much information => abstract representation, entailing the essence, invariant features of the referent. Proximal events  there is information => concrete, subordinate representation. Trope & Liberman, 2003; 2010

  16. Main hypothesis Pictures and words are associated with psychological distance: • People elect to represent close targets in pictures and distal targets in words. • Pictures impart a feeling of proximity, whereas words impart a feeling of distance.

  17. cognitive processing: - Identification - Categorization - Selective attention - Memory • Social cognition: - Interpersonal communication - Moral judgment • Neural correlates

  18. cognitive processing: - Identification - Categorization - Selective attention - Memory • Social cognition: - Interpersonal communication - Moral judgment • Neural correlates

  19. Speeded Identification: Social distance Medium: pictures, words Distance: socially near, far Task: speeded identification football soccer Socially proximal Socially distal Amit, Algom, & Trope, 2009, Jep: General

  20. Speeded Identification: Social distance F(1,13)=7.63, p < .05 Amit, Algom, & Trope, 2009, Jep: General

  21. Speeded Identification: Spatial distance Medium: pictures, words Distance: spatially near, far Task: speeded identification Amit, Algom, & Trope, 2009, Jep: General

  22. Speeded Identification: Spatial distance F(1,15)=6.3, p < .05 Amit, Algom, & Trope, 2009, Jep: General

  23. Mental travel Exp.1: event related design, 11 subjects Exp.2: block design, 10 subjects Tomorrow CHAIR + + + 10 years APPLE  20 sec  1 sec Amit, Rim, Greene, & Trope, in prep

  24. Mental travel (Harvard sample) far>near near>far Language regions Visual regions precuneus Fusiform R calcarine BA47L Fusiform L BA 21 L N=10, p =.001

  25. Interim conclusion Pictures are associated with proximity, whereas words are associated with distance. • This association influence performance in various cognitive tasks (e.g., identification) - People spontaneously elect to represent proximal things visually (embodied cognition), and distal things verbally.

  26. Implications of the medium/distance association for public policy

  27. pressure from the government convenience for costumers existing routes location of main public services paths air pollution cost location of businesses bus driver’s union demands

  28. Walk a lot Wait a little ? Walk a little Wait a lot

  29. We will discuss today… • The association between medium and psychological distance • The implications of the medium of representation to moral judgment

  30. We will discuss today… • The association between medium and psychological distance • The implications of the medium of representation to moral judgment

  31. Visual representation Proximal event Verbal representation Distal event The medium/morality hypothesis The medium/distance hypothesis    

  32. Visual representation Proximal event Verbal representation Distal event The medium/morality hypothesis The medium/distance hypothesis    

  33. Visual representation Proximal event Verbal representation Distal event The medium/morality hypothesis The medium/distance hypothesis Implications for behavior…     • If you see something • Do something!

  34. Pictures  “emergency” reaction • Words  not so much

  35. Visual processing Psychologically proximal   High emotional reaction Verbal processing  Psychologically distal  Low emotional reaction 5 >1

  36. Visual processing Psychologically proximal Emotionally-driven judgments   High emotional reaction  “cognitive”-driven judgments Verbal processing  Psychologically distal  Low emotional reaction  5 >1

  37. 5 >1 Yes Dual-Process Moral Cognition ?

  38. No 5 >1 Yes  X Greene et al, Cognition, 2009 Dual-Process Moral Cognition ?

  39. Predictions Visual processing  deontological judgments (rely on emotional reactions) Verbal processing  utilitarian judgments (rely on “controlled” reaction)

  40. Another rationale for the medium/moral judgment prediction Pictures  thinking about means (consistent with deontological moral reasoning) Words  thinking about end-goals (consistent with utilitarian moral reasoning)

  41. Exp 1: How media preferences are related to moral judgments? L.A. Times Wall Street journal

  42. Exp 1: How media preferences are related to moral judgments? More utilitarian r(108) = 0.233, p = 0.011* After controlling for level of education: r(107) = .22, p = 0.018*

  43. Exp 1: How media preferences are related to moral judgments? More utilitarian Hours/day of TV watching R(170) = -0.18, p = 0.017* After controlling for education: r(169) = -0.18, p = 0.01**

  44. Conclusions from Experiment 1: Media consumption preferences are associated with moral judgments tendencies: Visual  deontological style Verbal utilitarian style * Cannot be accounted for by education

  45. Exp 2: How cognitive style is related to moral judgments? Amit & Greene, under revision

  46. Exp 2: How cognitive style is related to moral judgments? N = 50 r = .35 p = .01 R(50)=.346, p < .01 More utilitarian utilitarian Verbal - Visual Accuracy

  47. Conclusions from Experiment 2: Cognitive style is associated with moral judgments tendencies: Visual style  deontological Verbal style  utilitarian Amit & Greene, under revision

  48. Exp 3: How visual and verbal interference affect moral judgments? Condition 2 Condition 1 You are standing near a footbridge… Enemy soldiers have taken over your village…. 5 sec Is it appropriate to smother your baby? Is it appropriate to smother your baby? 5 sec  2.5 sec no…..yes no…..yes Amit & Greene, under revision

  49. Prediction: • pictorial interference prevents representing the dilemma visually, thus leads to more utilitarian judgment. • Verbal interference prevents representing the dilemma verbally, thus leads to more deontological judgment. Amit & Greene, under revision

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