2: Social Perception and Attitudes Flashcards
Non-verbal communication: five basic channels:
facial expressions, eye contact, body movements, posture and touching.
Attribution
- efforts to understand why people have acted as they have
Correspondent inference
(how we decide what traits a person possesses based on overt actions informed by: freely chosen, noncommon, social desirability)
covariation theory
(internal or external attributions based on: consensus, consistency and distinctiveness)
emblems
body movements that carry specific meanings linked to a culture.
We are more likely to make inferences about peoples when (Correspondent inference)
- Their actions are freely chosen,
- There are distinct effects (noncommon, one specific factor, leads to a specific outcome) and
- The behaviour is low is social desirability or violates social norms.
Covariation theory
we make internal (dispositional) or external (situational) attributions based on three factors: consensus, consistency and distinctiveness.
- internal/external, stable/unstable? Controllable/uncontrollable?
Action Identification
the interpretation we put on an act in terms of level of abstractions (meaning, high level abstraction is making inferences about a person’s intentions and goals)
Correspondence Bias / Fundamental Attribution Error
over attribution to internal causes, the inclination to overlook certain external causes of a person’s behaviour, “Thats just who they are”
-most common when distinctiveness and consensus are low
Actor-Observer Effect
we tend to perceive our own actions as being linked to external causes, and the actions of other as more reflective of their traits
Self-serving bias
“I’m good, you’re lucky.” One’s positive outcomes = internal causes, one’s own negative outcomes – external outcomes.
- general in scope, but powerful in its effect for 2 main reasons:
cognitive (expectation to succeed) and motivational (the need to protect, self-esteem)
Hubris – exaggerated self-confidence
Suppose you saw a parent at the supermarket yelling at her child. Apply Kelley’s Covariation Theory and attribute the parent’s behaviour to external and internal causes. Compare these attributions with those you might make using Davis’s theory of correspondent inference.
Covariation
External causes: maybe they just lost a job and are living in poverty, didn’t sleep much last night, or are dealing with intergenerational trauma
Internal: rude person, short temper, authoritative person
Correspondent inference
1. Freely chosen? – the parent could have chosen to control their temper
2. Non-common – is this considered normal behaviour to me? Or is this considered abnormal?
3. Social desirability – this person is acting in a socially undesirable way, so I will pay more attention to it and make more inferences
My cousin takes astrology seriously. She believes that the events in her life have been predetermined by the positions of the stars and planets at the time of her birth. She won’t make a major decision without first consulting her horoscope. How would you expect this general, external self-attribution to affect her behaviour?
Cognitive Processes underlying persuasion are
Determined by
our capacity to process information, level of motivation and influence by more peripheral cues (distraction)
The two Cognitive Processes underlying persuasion:
Systematic – careful consideration, requires effort, absorbs information processing capacity and
Heuristic – peripheral route, mental short cuts,
no relevance + strong and convincing arguments =
persuasion is not strongly influenced by the strength of the arguments, tend to process through heuristic mode
Classical conditioning
conditioned and unconditioned stimulus (direct route – more generally effective), repeated pairing to create a memory link, indirect – unaware of link being formed, but positive feeling toward the unconditioned stimulus), via subliminal conditioning and mere exposure, classical conditioning can occur without awareness
Instrumental conditioning
differential rewards and punishments, families likely continue political and social views due to instrumental conditioning, the desire to fit in
Do attitudes predict behaviour?
Attitudes do not necessarily predict behaviour especially in social contexts
-attitudes high in clarity and correctness and more likely to predict behaviour in private and in public.
Pluralistic ignorance
erroneously believing that other have different views than themselves (can limit expression in public)
what factors contribute to a strong attitude?
extremity, certainty and degree of personal experience
How does reasoned thought guide behaviour?
reasoned thought guides behaviour more when there is a plan for how and when, (behaviour intentions, implementation plans)
what predicts behaviour?
careful thought to our attitudes, intentions, norms and perceived control over our actions, all predict behaviour
Attitude-to-behaviour-process Model
suggests that attitudes can be activated by shaping interpretation of the situation, which in turn influences behaviour.
fear appeals appear to
induce argument against the threat
messages not designed to be persuasive
= more persuasive due to the effect of forewarning
How do we resist persuasion?
Reactance – a negative reaction to others’ attempts to reduce our freedom of choice (related to the experience of threat)
Forewarning – more opportunity to produce counter arguments, resist
forewarning does not prevent persuasion when people are distracted
(there are instances when forewarning can induce agreeance “I’ll look stupid if I don’t agree with this expert.)
ego depletion
is the idea that self-control draws on a limited mental resource that can be used up. (makes people consider the strength of an argument less)
Cognitive Dissonance
an inconsistency between attitudes and behaviours, tend to make us uncomfortable, relate with activity in the left front regions of the brain
Strategies for resolving Dissonance
reduce discomfort – DIRECT: alter behaviour, deciding that the inconsistency does not matter (trivialization), INDIRECT: trivialization is not feasible, focus on other methods to feel good about themselves (self affirmations, substance use etc.)
Cultural tightness vs looseness
(tight (India and non-western cultures) =
personal attitudes are less strongly linked to behaviour = perceived normative appropriateness is crucial for predicting behaviour)
