ch.3 Flashcards
social categorization
Categorization - process of simplifying the environment by creating categories on the basis of characteristics that a set of people have in common.
People develop beliefs about members of these groups.
They then use these beliefs to guide future interactions with social group members.
schema
cognitive structures that contain a person’s knowledge and beliefs about a particular object or social group
Schemas influence what people pay attention to, how they organize information, and what they later remember.
Two aspects of categorization:
Content: What characteristics are associated with particular groups?
Process: What is the process by which people form and use social categories?
basic social categories
categories for which a wealth of information is available and usually easily observable.
Gender
Race
Age
People use a person’s basic category membership to draw conclusions about the person’s traits, social roles, and physical characteristics.
Often used in initial interactions with people.
other social categories
People make decisions about how to interact with others based on other social categories or other types of information.
Sexual orientation, religion, and aspects of physical appearance
People make judgments based on nonverbal cues.
Facial expression, posture, and gait
level of specificity
People first notice basic category information.
People recognize that a person can simultaneously be a member of more than one category.
Subtype - combination of two or more basic category memberships or combination of basic category memberships with role or trait information.
ingroup and out group
ingroup and out group distinction is the most basic cognitive distinction
Minimal group paradigm - ingroups and outgroups can be created from the most minimal conditions.
ingroup favoritism- viewing one’s group as more deserving than another group.
the out group homogeneity effect
People tend to see members of their own group as very different from one another, but underestimate the difference between members of other groups.
People believe outgroup members have similar traits and occupy similar social roles.
reasons:People interact more with their own group members and have more information about their unique qualities.
The nature of interactions with ingroup members is more familiar, and less affected by social norms.
People are motivated to see themselves as unique and look for ways to distinguish themselves from their group to maintain their individuality.
Ingroup vs. outgroup comparisons are typically made at the group level.
the ultimate attribution error
Biased judgments that occur when people assume that their own group’s negative behavior can be explained by situational factors but similar negative actions by members of other groups are due to their internal stable characteristics.
Positive behaviors by an outgroup are dismissed as due to special advantages, luck, or unusual characteristics of the situation.
The same positive behaviors by an ingroup are attributed to stable personality traits.
social role theory
People observe others and pay attention to the social roles others occupy and associate the characteristics of the role with the individuals who occupy it.
Correspondence Bias - the tendency to misjudge the demands of the situation.
People give relatively little weight to how transient situational factors constrain behavior and believe another’s actions reflect the person’s stable personality (people in line anywhere).
Social role theory proposes that this leads to the development of stereotypic beliefs.
illusory correlation
Beliefs that incorrectly link two characteristics (if you are smart at one thing you are smart at everything).
People’s tendency to overestimate the relationship between two categories when the information is distinctive, or stands out within the context of the judgment.
Firmly held as accurate associations but are based on inaccurate information processing.
Once these associations are made, they may be very difficult to change and may set the stage for how additional information is processed.
sources of stereotypic beliefs
Social Learning Theory
People learn about social behavior either directly (by being rewarded or punished for their actions) or vicariously (by observing the consequences of others’ behavior).
They retain those beliefs and behaviors that are rewarded, and discontinue those beliefs that result in punishment.
stereotype accuracy
Are stereotypes accurate?
Answering that question is not as simple as it may seem.
Generally, beliefs are not totally unfounded, but have a basis in social reality (kernel of truth).
defining accuracy
Measured by percentage estimates or measures of dispersion.
Percentage estimates – based on whether social group members typically do possess the stereotypic characteristic associated with them.
Dispersion – an estimate of the diversity of group members.
risks of assuming accuracy
Problems with methodology
What is an acceptable operational definition of the characteristic?
Characteristics are often abstract attributes that are not based on verifiable demographics.
Which comparison group should be used?
stereotypes can function three ways
cognitive function, ego defense function,social adjustment function
cognitive function
People categorize others because their cognitive resources are limited (tough to think outside the box).
Schemas provide useful shortcuts in making decisions about others.
Knowledge Function
Its use stems from the need to maintain a meaningful, stable, and organized view of the world.
