Information Processing in Social Context

摘要本研究是对认知过程的持续研究的一部分，该认知过程调解了对有关人和事件的信息的使用，以做出社会判断和决策。以前的研究主要集中在对社会背景之外的信息的解释和反应上。因此，在谈话或其他社交场合中，对信息的理解和反应背后的因素并没有得到很好的理解。目前的研究通过调查对一种特定类型的社会信息的反应决定因素来解决这个问题——这种信息旨在引起幽默。具体来说，这些信息产生预期效果的条件，而不是引发其他类型的反应（愤怒、困惑或根本没有反应），将被调查。这些结果将有助于理解这些因素，这些因素是将陈述识别为俏皮话而不是严肃地试图批评或传达敌意或偏见的基础。在其初始阶段，(1)将识别笑话理解背后的认知过程，并研究影响这些过程的情境、信息和个体差异变量。然后，(2)将研究识别对话中出现的那种俏皮话的过程。在研究的后期阶段，将确定在实际的社会互动情境中控制幽默的沟通和识别的因素。当在谈话或其他社交场合交换信息时，对信息的解释部分取决于对信息传递原因的看法（说服、批评、娱乐、取笑或仅仅是传递新知识）。它还取决于接受者对信息所指者的先验知识、之前关于该所指者的其他通信以及通信的来源。根据这些知识，信息可以引发几种不同的反应——愤怒、悲伤或娱乐。人们对诸如性别歧视或种族歧视的故事和评论等决定交流是否会引发愤怒而不是娱乐的因素知之甚少。然而，这些反应的性质可以是一个重要的中介态度，既指的是沟通和他们的来源。除了对理解幽默诱发和社会认知的理论意义外，本研究的结果将有助于理解如何减少社会互动中的错误沟通。＊＊＊

9407058 Wyer ABSTRACT This research is part of a continuing investigation of the cognitive processes that mediate the use of information about people and events to make social judgments and decisions. Previous research has focused largely on the interpretation of and reactions to information that is presented out of its social context. Consequently, the factors that underlie the comprehension of and reactions to information that is exchanged in a conversation or in other social situations are not well understood. The present research addresses this question by investigating the determinants of reactions to a particular type of social information-- that which is intended to elicit humor. Specifically, the conditions in which such information has the intended effect as opposed to eliciting other types of reactions (anger, confusion, or no reaction at all) will be investigated. The results will contribute to the understanding of those factors that underlie the identification of statements as witticisms rather than serious attempts to criticize or to convey hostility or prejudice. In its initial stages, (1) the cognitive processes that underlie the comprehension of jokes will be identified, and the situational, informational and individual difference variables that influence these processes will be examined. Then, (2) the processes that underlie the identification of witticisms of the sort that occur in conversations will be investigated. In later phases of the research, the factors that govern the communication and identification of humor in actual social interaction situations will be determined. When information is exchanged in a conversation or in other social situations, its interpretation depends partly on perceptions of why the information is being conveyed (to persuade, to criticize, to entertain, to tease, or simply to transmit new knowledge). It also depends on recipients' prior knowledge about the referent of the information, other communications about the referent that have preceded it, and the communication's source. Depending on this knowledge, information can elicit several different reactions--anger, sadness, or amusement. The factors that determine whether communications, such as sexist or ethnic stories and comments, provoke anger rather than amusement are poorly understood. Yet, the nature of these reactions can be an important mediator of attitudes toward both the referent of the communications and their source. In addition to its theoretical implications for an understanding of humor elicitation and social perceptions, the results of this research will contribute to the understanding of how to minimize miscommunication in social interactions. ***