Ch4: Social Cognition Flashcards
1
Q
social cognition
A
all the processes of perception, interpretation, belief, and memory with which we evaluate and understand ourselves and other people
2
Q
how do first impressions impact interactions and relationships
A
- first impressions have enormous staying power with our initial perceptions continuing to be influential months later
- can be persistent even if erroneous
- we start judging others within milliseconds of meeting someone
- we categorize people into stereotypes we already hold upon first meeting
- existing beliefs are influential at every stage of a relationship, and when it comes to friends and lovers, we may see what we want to see ad hold confident judgements that aren’t always right
3
Q
stereotypes
A
- supply us with preconceptions about what people are like
- judgements that are often incorrect but hard to avoid
- influence us automatically even when we are unaware of using them
4
Q
primacy effect
A
- the tendency for the first information we receive about others to carry special weight, along with our instant impressions and our stereotypes, in shaping our overall impressions of them
- our quick first judgments of others influence our interpretations of later info we encounter
5
Q
confirmation bias
A
- seeking information that will prove that we are right more often than looking for examples that will prove us wrong
- confirmatory biases elicit one-sided info about others that fits our preconceptions
6
Q
overconfident
A
thinking we are more accurate than we really are and making more mistakes than we realize
7
Q
positive illusions
A
- portraying our partners in the best possible light// judging our partners more positively than other people do
- these illusions are a mix of realistic knowledge about our partners and idealized perceptions of them
8
Q
attributions
A
- the explanations we generate for why things happen, particularly why a person did or did not do something
- identifies the causes of an event, emphasizes the impact of some influences, and minimizes the role of others
- influences/causes of the event can be:
- internal or external (person’s personality vs. situational/circumstantial)
- stable or unstable (our abilities vs. our moods)
- controllable or uncontrollable (manageable vs. out of our control)
9
Q
6 influences of perception
A
- idealization
- explanations/attributions
- memories
- relationship beliefs
- expectations
- self-perceptions
10
Q
actor/observer effect
A
- we generate different explanations for our own behaviour than we do for similar things done by our partners
- people are aware of the external pressures on themselves but not on others
- more likely to make internal attributions for others
11
Q
self-serving biases
A
- when partners readily take credit for their successes but try to avoid the blame for their failures
- people feel responsible for the good things that happen to them, but prefer external excuses when things go wrong
- lead partners to believe that arguments are mostly their partner’s fault
12
Q
relationship enhancing attributions
A
- positive actions by the partner are judged to be intentional, habitual, and indicative of the partner’s fine character
- discounting transgressions and seeing them as accidental, unusual, and circumstantial
13
Q
distress maintaining attributions
A
- regard a partner’s negative actions as deliberate and routine and positive behaviour as unintended and accidental
14
Q
reconstructive memory
A
- the manner in which our memories are continually revised and rewritten as new information is obtained
- if you are happy in your relationship now, you are likely to not focus on past rough periods
- on the other hand, if you are currently unhappy, you are less likely to look at the past in a positive way
15
Q
marital paradigms
A
broad assumptions about whether, when, and under what circumstances we should marry that are accompanied by beliefs about what its like to be married
16
Q
romanticism
A
- the view that love should be the most important basis for choosing a mate
- people who are high in romanticism believe
a) each of us has only one perfect “true” love
b) true love will find a way to overcome any obstacle
c) love is possible at first sight
17
Q
six relationship beliefs that are not true
A
- disagreements are destructive
- “mindreading” is essential
- partners cannot change
- sex should be perfect every time
- men and women are different
- great relationships just happen
18
Q
destiny beliefs
A
- assumptions that two people are either well suited for each other and destined to live happily ever after, or they’re not
- often inflexible views of intimate partnerships
19
Q
growth beliefs
A
- views that happy relationships are the result of hard work
- good relationships are believed to develop gradually as the partners work at surmounting challenges and overcoming obstacles, and a basic presumption that with enough effort, almost any relationship can succeed
20
Q
self-fulfilling prophecies
A
false predictions that become true because they lead people to behave in ways that make these expectations come true
21
Q
rejection sensitivity
A
the tendency to overreact and be defensive to even small snubs
22
Q
optimism
A
- anticipating that good things will happen
23
Q
self-concepts
A
- all of the beliefs and feelings we have about ourselves
- people seek feedback from others that will enhance their self-concepts and that sustains our existing self-concepts
24
Q
self-enhancement
A
the desire for positive, complimentary feedback
25
self-verification
the desire for feedback that is consistent with one's existing self-concept
26
marriage shift
- occurs when Self-verification motives become more important than self-enhancement motives.
- people with negative self-concepts actually feel closer to spouses who don't approve of them than those who do
27
impression management
- trying to influence the impressions of us that others form
- four different strategies: ingratiation, self-promotion, intimidation, supplication
28
ingratiation
- use ingratiation when we seek acceptance and liking from others
- doing favours, pay compliments, mention areas of agreement, and are generally charming to get others to like us
- common form of impression management with romantic partners
29
self-promotion
- recounting our accomplishments or strategically arranging public demonstrations of our skills
- frequent strategy used in a workplac
30
intimidation
- people portraying themselves as ruthless, dangerous, and menacing so that others will do what they want
31
supplication
- when people sometimes present themselves as inept or infirm to avoid obligations and to elicit help and support from others
32
self-monitoring
- people who readily adjust their behaviour to fit the varying norms of different situations
- people can be low self monitoring or high self monitoring
33
high self monitoring
- alert to social cues that suggest what they should do and they are able to tailor their behaviour to fit in
- high self monitors tend to have more friends than low self monitors
34
low self monitoring
- stays consistent in how they present themselves no matter the situation
- tend not to have lots of friends, but the ones they do are deep friendships
35
implicit attitudes
- unintentional and automatic judgements that are evident when our partners come to mind
- ex. someone asks "how is your bf doing?" and you automatically smile before you answer
36
transference
- unconsciously bring past experiences into our reactions with current partners
- ex. having a bad dream about your partner and then waking up still mad at them
37
managing how others view us
-people usually go to less trouble to maintain favourable images for our intimate partners that we do for others --> worry less about how we're coming across and try less hard to appear likable
38
Factors that lead to how well we know our partners
1. knowledge --> intimate partners know a lot about each other, but we generally don't know our partners as well as we think we do
2. motivation--> how motivated we are to get to know them
3. partner legibility --> how obvious and observable are our partner's behaviour
4. perceiver ability --> how well we can judge someone --> emotional intelligence
5. threatening perceptions --> purposeful inaccurate perceptions of partner to avoid doubts about relationship
6. perceiver influence --> people continually shape each other's behaviour
39
emotional intelligence
a set of abilities that describes a person's talents in perceiving, using, understanding, and managing emotions
- people with high EI can read others' feelings sensitively
