Chapter 04 - Social Cognition: Thinking about People and Situations Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

availability heuristic

A

The process whereby judgments of frequency or probability are based on how readily pertinent instances come to mind.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

representativeness heuristic

A

The process whereby judgments of likelihood are based on assessments of similarity between individuals and group prototypes or between cause and effect.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

base-rate information

A

Information about the relative frequency of events or of members of different categories in a population.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

bottom-up processing

A

“Data-driven” mental processing, in which an individual forms conclusions based on the stimuli encountered in the environment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

confirmation bias

A

The tendency to test a proposition by searching for evidence that would support it.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

construal level theory

A

A theory about the relationship between temporal distance (and other kinds of distance) and abstract or concrete thinking: psychologically distant actions and events are thought about in abstract terms; actions and events that are close at hand are thought about in concrete terms.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

fluency

A

The feeling of ease (or difficulty) associated with processing information.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

framing effect

A

The influence on judgment resulting from the way information is presented, such as the order of presentation or the wording.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

heuristics

A

Intuitive mental operations, performed quickly and automatically, that provide efficient answers to common problems of judgment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

How does the desire to entertain tend to bias the kinds of stories that are reported most frequently in the media? What effects might this bias have on people’s beliefs about the world?

A

The media tend to overreport negative, violent, and sensational events because these types of stories attract viewers’ attention more than positive, altruistic, and everyday events. Research shows that 80 percent of the crime reported in the media is violent, whereas in reality only 20 percent of crime is violent. Unfortunately, this bias can lead people to fear victimization and view the world as a terribly dangerous place, especially if they live in an area where crime is more prevalent. This bad news bias can also prevent people from learning about inspiring, altruistic acts, such as relief efforts to help victims of natural disasters and ordinary citizens helping their neighbors through hard times.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

How valid are snap judgments? Do brief exposures to a person’s physical appearance or “thin slices” of the individual’s behavior provide meaningful information about what that person is really like?

A

Snap judgments often contain a kernel of truth about a person, but not the whole truth. Research described in this chapter showed that snap judgments of a political candidate’s competence, based on a brief look at the candidate’s photo, were predictive of electoral success, suggesting that these judgments corresponded with the general consensus about the candidate based on larger samples of his or her behavior over time. There is no clear evidence, however, that snap judgments of competence reliably predict actual competence, and the same is true for judgments of most other traits. Therefore, it is best to avoid making important decisions solely on the basis of snap judgments.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

If you were developing an advertising campaign for a fitness class, what kinds of framing strategies might you use to increase the chances of people signing up for the class? In particular, consider spin framing, positive and negative framing, and temporal framing.

A

An example of spin framing could be to highlight the low cost of the class: “Sign up now and save $20.” An example of positive framing could be to describe the benefits of the class for physical appearance: “Get beach-ready!” An example of negative framing (which generally has greater impact) could be to describe the potential health risks of not exercising: “Inactive people are nearly twice as likely to develop heart disease.” An example of temporal framing could be to encourage people to sign up well in advance, before they have a chance to construe the class in potentially less pleasant, concrete terms (sweating, exhaustion, and so on).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

illusory correlation

A

The belief that two variables are correlated when in fact they are not.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Imagine you’re working on a group project with three other students and you are all asked to indicate your individual contribution to the project, relative to the other group members’ contributions, in the form of a percentage. If you were to sum the individual percentages reported by each group member, would you expect it to add up to roughly 100 percent? Why or why not?

A

The sum of estimates would likely be above 100 percent due to the availability heuristic, a mental shortcut that leads people to overestimate their own contributions to joint or group efforts and to underestimate others’ contributions. Examples of your own hard work are more available to you because you can experience them firsthand, whereas examples of others’ hard work may be harder to bring to mind, making them seem less frequent. As a result, all four group members may estimate their individual contributions as over 25 percent, leading to an impossible total. Research indicates that people tend to overestimate their own contributions even when these contributions are negative (like starting arguments), suggesting that this phenomenon is not explained simply by a motivational bias to present oneself in a favorable light.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

pluralistic ignorance

A

Misperception of a group norm that results from observing people who are acting at variance with their private beliefs out of a concern for the social consequences; those actions reinforce the erroneous group norm.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

primacy effect

A

A type of order effect: the disproportionate influence on judgment by information presented first in a body of evidence.

17
Q

priming

A

The presentation of information designed to activate a concept and hence make it accessible. A prime is the stimulus presented to activate the concept in question.

18
Q

subliminal

A

Below the threshold of conscious awareness.

19
Q

recency effect

A

A type of order effect: the disproportionate influence on judgment by information presented last in a body of evidence.

20
Q

regression effect

A

The statistical tendency, when two variables are imperfectly correlated, for extreme values of one of them to be associated with less extreme values of the other.

21
Q

regression fallacy

A

The failure to recognize the influence of the regression effect and to offer a causal theory for what is really a simple statistical regularity.

22
Q

Research on priming suggests that it is possible for a stimulus to activate a schema even if a person is not consciously aware of the stimulus. Can you think of ways that you might be able to use priming to influence others’ behavior?

A

To increase creativity, you could have people work in a green or blue environment. To make someone more attracted to you, you could wear red or put a red border around a photo of yourself. To make people behave more honestly, you could put up a poster of something or someone with eyes, which makes people feel like they are being watched. To make people more concerned about preventing climate change, you could make your case about it in an especially hot room.

23
Q

self-fulfilling prophecy

A

The tendency for people to act in ways that bring about the very thing they expect to happen.

24
Q

Suppose you’re about to go on a blind date when a mutual friend warns you that your date can be a little cold and unfriendly. According to research on the confirmation bias, how might this information influence the impression you ultimately form about your date?

A

If you expect your date to be cold and unfriendly, you might be more likely to pick up on behaviors that confirm your expectations; for example, you might notice that your date is short with the waiter. You might also be more likely to ask leading questions that elicit information consistent with your expectations; for example, if your date is a professor, you might ask, “So do your students drive you crazy?” As a result of your biased observations and behavior toward your date, your date may indeed reveal more cold and unfriendly characteristics, and you may consequently form a more negative impression that confirms your initial expectations.

25
Q

top-down processing

A

“Theory-driven” mental processing, in which an individual filters and interprets new information in light of preexisting knowledge and expectations.

26
Q

What role might pluralistic ignorance play in the problem of binge drinking on college campuses? What could school administrators do to reduce pluralistic ignorance in this context?

A

College students who are privately concerned about the dangers of binge drinking may keep quiet because they assume that most other students view binge drinking as acceptable and they don’t want to embarrass themselves by speaking out. But it’s possible that many other students feel the same way and are not sharing their feelings for similar reasons. To counter this form of pluralistic ignorance, school administrators could launch an information campaign designed to show students that positive attitudes about binge drinking are not as widespread as they may seem.