2.1.1- Judging and perceiving others Flashcards
What is social cognition?
How we perceive, think about and use information to understand and make judgments about ourselves and others in different social situations.
Define person perception.
The mental processes we use to understand and form impressions of other people.
What are the two ways judgments in person perception can occur?
- Directly from the person we are judging
- Indirectly through hearing about the person from another source
What primarily influences first impressions?
Physical cues – the way people look and the way they act.
What is attribution in psychology?
The process by which we explain the cause of our own or another person’s behaviour.
What are internal attributions?
Explanations of behaviour due to the characteristics of the person involved.
List factors that can influence internal attributions.
- Psychological state
- Ability
- Attitude
- Motivation
- Mood
- Age/gender
What are external attributions?
Explanations of behaviour due to factors associated with the situation the person is in.
List causes of external attributions.
- Actions of another person
- The task
- Luck/fate
- Environment
- Events they have experienced
What is the fundamental attribution error?
The tendency to overestimate the influence of personal factors and underestimate the impact of situational factors on other people’s behaviour.
What is an attitude?
An evaluation a person makes about an object, person, group, event or issue.
What are the criteria for attitude formation?
- An evaluation of something
- Settled and stable
- Learnt through experience
What does the tri-component model of attitudes illustrate?
The relationship between the affective, behavioural, and cognitive components of attitudes.
What does the ‘A’ in the tri-component model stand for?
Affective – our emotions and intuitive feelings about something.
What does the ‘B’ in the tri-component model represent?
Behavioural – our outward and observable actions about something.
What does the ‘C’ in the tri-component model refer to?
Cognitive – our thoughts and beliefs towards something.
Define stereotype.
A widely held generalisation about the personal characteristics of the members of a social group.
What is the process through which stereotypes are formed?
Social categorisation process.
Provide an example of a stereotype.
Girls wear too much make-up.
What data should be collected when analyzing stereotypes in drawings of scientists?
- Number of drawings that are male/female
- Number of drawings wearing glasses
- Number of drawings dressed in a lab coat
- Number of drawings in a lab environment or using lab equipment
- Age depicted of the scientist
What is cognitive dissonance?
The discomfort experienced when holding conflicting beliefs or attitudes.
True or False: Attitudes are always consistent with behaviours.
False
Fill in the blank: The _______ attribution theory explains that our explanation of behaviour can refer to internal or external factors.
[attribution]
What are the positive and negative influences of heuristics?
Heuristics can simplify decision-making and problem-solving but may lead to cognitive biases.
