Early-century concepts like cathexis and ego defense anticipated implicit attitudes

Evidence

Implicit social cognition overlaps with several concepts that were significant in works of previous generations of psychologists. Psychoanalytic theory’s concept of cathexis contained some of the sense of implicit attitude, and its concept of ego defense similarly captured at least part of the present notion of implicit self-esteem. Partly under the influence of psychoanalytic theory, in the 1930s and 1940s, attitudes were regarded as capable of unconscious operation. The authoritarian personality concept (Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, & Sanford, 1950) extended the psychoanalytic approach to include social phenomena of prejudice and stereotyping. At a time when the influence of psychoanalytic theory in academic psychology was declining, its conceptions of unconscious phenomena that related to implicit social cognition were being imported into behavior theory (Dollard & Miller, 1950; Doob, 1947; Osgood, 1957). The New Look in Perception of the 1950s focused on several phenomena that are interpretable as implicit social cognition. The developing cognitive approach to these phenomena can be seen in Bruner’s (1957) introduction of the concept of perceptual readiness. Still later, the New Look approach was tied together with psychoanalytic theoretical influences in a cognitive-psychological account by Erdelyi (1974, 1985). — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition, 270

Categorization

• XREF: The lineage from Adorno’s authoritarian personality to implicit prejudice parallels the group-defense/stereotyping arc the reader is tracking in the MOC. — connects to: Early modern psychology theorized fantasy as corrupting sense data before reason could judge — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 238; Implicit theism arises from rapid automatic intuitions rather than reasoned belief — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 594; Psychoanalytic ego-defense accounts of stereotyping failed empirically — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2883 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Cognitive approaches to prejudice pushed out the unconscious and motivation after 1954 #complicates (0.85)
• Dissociation between implicit and explicit measures validates the implicit attitude construct. #corroborates (0.80) — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition, 84
• Social cognition largely operates in an implicit mode #corroborates (0.80) — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition, 269
• Early political psychology explained human behavior through deterministic theories like Marxism, psychoanalysis, and behaviorism #expands (0.78) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 277
• Unconsciously primed concepts trigger corresponding behaviors in people #expands (0.78)
• Implicit theism arises from rapid automatic intuitions rather than reasoned belief #exemplifies (0.75) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 594
• Psychoanalytic ego-defense accounts of stereotyping failed empirically #complicates (0.75) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2883
• Implicit social cognition research reveals prejudice operating below conscious awareness #corroborates (0.75)
• The cognitive revolution redefined prejudice as an attitude, sidelining emotion #complicates (0.73) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2251
• Early implicit priming results were open to alternative non-stereotype explanations. #complicates (0.73) — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition, 199
• Early modern psychology theorized fantasy as corrupting sense data before reason could judge #expands (0.72) — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 238
• Stereotypes can be after-the-fact rationalizations justifying pre-existing emotions #exemplifies (0.72)