Class 6: The New Look I. New Look Timeline: 1940s – 1950s a. NOT a single theory, but family of related theories and approaches. b. Integrates psychoanalytic.

Class 6: The New Look I

New LookTimeline: 1940s – 1950s

a. NOT a single theory, but family of related theories and approaches.

b. Integrates psychoanalytic concepts with social psychology (social perception, aggression, etc).

b. Empirically demonstrates psychodynamic phenom: projection, suppression, displacement.

Examples of New Look Investigations

a. Value and need shape perception

b. Displacement and scapegoating; frustration --> aggression.

They Saw a Game, Hastorf &

Cantrel,1949.

Value and need---in perception: Bruner & Postman, 1947

Untimely Demise of New Look

New Look emphasizes unconscious processes on external perception

a. Perceptual Defense – fail to see threats, or see them fully, to avoid anxiety threats arouse.

b. Perceptual Vigilance – over-attend to, perhaps exaggerate, threatening stimuli.

Fatal criticism:

Perceptual defense = See thing --> fear thing --> mentally block out thing.

How is it possible to NOT SEE a thing you saw?New developments answer this but not available 50 yrs ago.

Thibaut & Coules, 1952

Communication and Hostility

Purpose: Demonstrate catharsisCatharsis = reduction of emotional tension by

expressing underlying emotion.Prediction: Expressing hostility toward offender

--> reduced hostility towards this person.

Method: obnoxious confederate and note-swapping task.

Experimental conditionsNo-comm: no chance to respond to insultComm: Oppty. to respond to insult

DV: Diagnostic evaluation of confederateResults: Comms produce more friendly comments than do No-comms.

Feshbach & Singer, 1957

Purpose: Demonstration of projection

Projection = "Infusion of perception with emotion“

Symmetrical: project own emotions on to others."I feel sad, therefore see you as sad“

Complementary: project instigating emotion on to others. "I feel afraid, therefore see you as scary“

Feshbach & Singer, 1957Predictions

1. When afraid, will see fear in others2. Suppression of fear will --> more projected fear.

Method Ss zapped or not zapped, and watch neutral film of person

completing tasks.Also, Ss either express or don't express feelings

when shocked.Use of neutral faces for projection is like? ______________

DVs Direct fear, indirect fear, indirect aggress, neg. personality.

Kuleshov Effect

Feshbach & Singer Results

Fear Condition show more fear than controls

Suppressors show more fear than expressors (somewhat)

Projection is stronger for "indirect fear" than for "direct fear“

Fear condition complementary projection; see target as angrier.

Why does suppression amplify projection?a. Self-perception: "Gee, hard to suppress. Therefore

I must be really upset".b. Increased tension: Fear --> tension -> increased fear -->

increased projection.

Feshbach, 1963Emotional Restraint and Projection of Positive Affect

Purposes:1. Projection occurs for positive as well as negative states2. To refute Freudian explanation (hidden desires)3. To support alternative explanation: as emotion becomes

more salient, harder to separate the source from the result of the emotion (e.g., misattribution, Zillman)

Predictions:1. Happy --> perception of more happiness in happy others2. Happy --> perceive less happiness in sad others3. Suppressed happy --> more projection4. Projection more likely in same-sex target

Feshbach Results

Self-rated happiness: Restraint > Express; "Laughter in church" phenomenon

Ratings of faces:Restraint > Express, BUT not different from ControlProjection occurs more for genuinely happy faces,

less so for mildly happy or neutral faces.

Suggests projection amplifies existing attributes, rather than imposes attributes that do not exist.

Silverman's Mission

Believes in Psychoanalysis (P-A)

But, also is empiricist

P-A appears unavailable to testing

Silverman attempts to show psychodynamic processes can be empirically demonstrated.

Subliminally Activated Symbiotic Fantasies: Richard Hardaway, Psych. Bulletin, 1990

Symbiotic Attachment: Infant needs mom to buffer external and internal stimuli.

(Also, needs mom to confirm ability to be understood.)

Infant needs opportunity to explore on his/her own.

Drama of individuation —gaining independence w/o being in danger or feeling deserted.

Schizophrenia (according to P-A): Failure to resolve this drama well. Schizo can't distinguish internal from external stimuli.

Subliminal Symbiotic Activation

Object Relations Theory

Good parent is good object--internalized "working model" of security, affection, caring available at hard times. Reified into general sense of being good, lovable.

Requires that actual parents do these things, during critical devel. phases

People who didn't get this have weaker sense of own worth, competence.

Schizeo like diabetic. Diabetic can't produce insulin

Schizo can't generate own ego-support

Diabetic treated with exogenous insulin

Can Schizo be treated with exogenous support?

Subliminal message: psychic hypodermic

SSA Technique

Subliminally flash messages to subject (schizo).

Palliative message: MOMMY AND I ARE ONE

Control message: PEOPLE ARE WALKING

S is assessed for schizo. symptoms

S. gets: Mommy and I are One (M + I = 1) or People are Walking (PAW)

S is reassessed for symptoms

Repeat, but S gets opposite message, and again reassessed

Result: Symptoms improve after getting M + I = 1

SSA Procedure

Maybe just a happy-mood effect

Maybe PAW is a downer

Silverman's studies riddled with methodological flaws

Not all studies work

Are SSA Results Real?

Hardaway approach: Meta-Analysis (M-A)

1. M-A is way to review entire body of research

2. Logic of M-Aa. Get all relevant research on topicb. Establish inclusion/exclusion rulesc. Treat each study as if it were a subjectd. Compute overall effect, across all studies

3. Hardaway result: SSA effect is modest but reliable

a. Not due to "mommyness"b. Not due to "are one"c. Not gender specificd. Not restricted to schizos—works on "normals"

Not clear from Silverman

Hardaway explanation: semantic networka. SSA reduced anxietyb. SSA positive memoriesc. Pos memories pos emotionsd. Pos emotions stabilized distress,

improved coping

So How Does SSA Work?