Attitudes, Stereotypes & Social Influence Flashcards
What is social cognition and what does it involve
the way that we behave in social settings and also how we interpret the behaviors of others. Social cognition involves:1 the detection of facial expressions and emotional responses (social perception)2 understanding other people’s cognitive or emotional states (social understanding), and3 carrying out behaviors that take into consideration the goals and needs of ourselves and others (social decision-making) (Arioli et al., 2018).A person’s social cognition and behavior influence the way they view themselves and the way they relate to others.
What is person perception
- The processes by which people think about, appraise and evaluate other people.
- Leads us to make judgements about people based on limited information; therefore, it is not always accurate. When making these judgements we use physical cues, saliency detection and social categorization.
Explain Physical Cues
Physical cues such as physical appearance, facial expressions and overall manner serve as signals that allow us to draw conclusions about a person.
Explain Saliency Detection
Salient features, also known as attention-getting features, are those physical features that are prominent or distinctive.
Saliency detection refers to the tendency to notice physical features that are unique, novel or stand out from the norm.
Explain Social Categorization
Social categorization is the process by which we group individuals based upon their perceived social category. The most common social categories are sex, race and age. We also make judgements about people based on other characteristics. These include occupation and perceived social status, as well as perceived sexual orientation (Stolier & Freeman, 2016).
Explain the Attribution process and what are the two kinds of Attributions
Attribution is the process of attaching meaning to behavior by looking for a cause or causes to explain the behavior. As we observe others, we tend to make inferences about their actions. Why did Mr. Taylor yell at the class? Why did Oscar walk home with Sophie and not Meg? Why did Kim leave the party early? When considering the behaviors of others, we attempt to attribute (explain) their behavior in relation to various causes.
It is believed that people make two types of attributions. internal (dispositional) and external (situational)
Explain the difference between internal (dispositional) and external (situational) attributions
Internal attributions (also known as dispositional attributions) refer to factors within the person that shape their behavior. These include personality characteristics, motivation, ability and effort. External attributions (also known as situational attributions) refer to environmental factors that are external to the individual, such as their location or the people around them (Maio & Augoustinos, 2005).
What are Attitudes and how are they formed
Attitudes are learned ideas we hold about ourselves, others, objects and experiences. Attitudes are not innate. They are learned through exposure to the environment and can cause a person to respond in a positive or negative way. If a person positively evaluates someone or something, they will have a positive attitude towards that person or object.
Explain the tricomponent model of attitudes (ABC Model)
The tri-component model of attitudes proposes that there are three elements that contribute to attitude formation. These components are known as the ABC of attitudes. They are the:
»Affective component: feelings or emotions towards the object or person
»Behavioral component: the actions towards various people, objects or institutions
»Cognitive component: the belief about an object or person.
What are some Limitations of the tri-component
»It does not indicate the strength of an attitude, and understanding the strength of an attitude is useful. Strong attitudes are generally seen to be firmly held and resistant to change, therefore they impact behavior (Olson & Maio, 2003).
»Inconsistencies often exist between what a person thinks and feels and their behavior (cognitive dissonance). For example, an individual might hold negative views towards a particular ethnic or religious group, but not express them in their daily interactions with individuals from that group.
What is a stereotype
Stereotypes are generalized views about the personal attributes or characteristics of a group of people. Stereotyping places people in categories based on their shared characteristics and their membership of a particular group. Common stereotypes include those based on gender, age, ethnicity and occupation
what is the effect of stereotypes
Stereotypes tend to simplify people by grouping them into ‘us’ and ‘them’ categories. People who share common traits with you are seen as part of the ‘in-group’ and those who do not share these traits (or share traits that you perceive to be negative) are in the ‘out-group’. Even though stereotypes sometimes include positive traits, they can still lead to prejudice. This is because stereotypes are mainly an expression of a negative attitude towards a group and are used to maintain control over other people. When people have been stereotyped, the easiest thing for them to do is to abide by others’ expectations – even if the expectations are demeaning. That is why no one likes to be stereotyped. Being forced into a small, distorted social ‘box’ by stereotyping is limiting and insulting. Stereotypes rob people of their individuality (Fiske, 1993).
Define cognitive Dissonance
When a person acts in a way that is inconsistent with their attitudes or perception of themselves, the contradiction will generally make them uncomfortable. This discomfort can motivate them to make their thoughts or attitudes align with their actions (Petty et al., 1997). This inconsistency is known as cognitive dissonance.
Define Cognitive Bias
Despite our best attempts to make rational, logical judgements, flaws can emerge that influence our choices. These flaws are called cognitive biases. Cognitive biases are systematic errors (consistent mistakes) that occur in our decision-making.
Define Prejudice
Prejudice is a negative preconceived notion that we hold towards individuals due to their membership in a particular group. Prejudice leads to discrimination or the unequal treatment of people who should have the same rights as others.
Define Discrimination
Discrimination is the action of being prejudiced or treating others in an unfair manner based on the negative attitude held about that person or the group to which they belong. Discrimination frequently prevents people from doing things they should have the opportunity to do.
Identify some forms of Discrimination
Sexism
Racism
Ageism
Identify methods of reducing prejudice
Intergroup Contact
Sustained Contact
Superordinate goals
Mutual Interdependence
Equality of Status
Changing Social Norms
Explain Intergroup Contact
contact between the people who hold the stereotype and those who are the target of the stereotype.
Explain Sustained Contact
Stereotypes can be broken down and replaced by more positive attitudes when the intergroup contact is maintained over a period of time
