Chapter 3 Flashcards
schemas
an automatically created cognitive framework that helps guide the way we think about and understand the society around us
prime
to activate a schema though stimulus
♣ Did something that increased the likely hood of your thoughts being predicted due to judgements
perseverance effect
the tendency for a schema to remain intact, even when it comes up against discrediting information
stereotype
a type of schema in which we apply generalized information to an individual base on the group to which he or she belongs
self fulfilling prophecy
a prediction that causes itself to come true
selective filtering
paying more attention to sensory information that fits a given schema, at the same time filtering out information that is inconsistent
automatic processing/thinking
the process of information on the fly using schemas as shortcuts
- involuntary/subconscious
- effortless
controlled processing/thinking
a type of mental processing that takes purposeful thought and effort as decisions or courses of actions are weighed carefully
- voluntary
- effortful
limbic system
the area of the brain thought to be crucial to emotional processing and memory
amygdala
a small structure found in the medial temporal lose of the brain’s limbic system that is involved in automatic processing and emotion
prefrontal cortex
the part of the brain that plays a role in higher order thinking, including judgement, decision making and evaluation
heuristics
simple rules that reduce mental effort and allow us to make decisions or judgement quickly
- quick decision making rules
availability heuristic
a rule use to situate the likelihood of a given occurrence based on how easily one can recall an example that that occurrence
- estimate the extent to which someone fits a particular schema
representativeness heuristic
a rule used to estimate the likelihood of an event based on how well it fits with your experience of a model for that event
- ex. stranger danger
base rate fallacy
ane erroneous conclusion reached when the representativeness heuristic is used to draw a conclusion without considering the base rate
- “the statistical rate”
anchoring and adjusting heuristic
a heuristic in which we use a number as a starting point on which to anchor our judgement
framing heuristic
a rule that guides decision making based on the framework in which a citation or item is presented
- the way it is worded ex. 20% fat vs. 80% non fat
illusion control
Tendency to perceive the world as simpler, more predictable, and easier to control than it really is
ex. bad things happen to bad people
negative bias
the tendency for people to be more sensitive to and more likely to notice and remember negative information, which then influences the evaluation of people and situations
optimistic bias
the belief that bad things will happen to other people and that an inimical is more likely to experience good things in life
overconfidence barrier
a state of having more confidence in one’s judgement of control over a situation than is really justified
counterfactual thinking
the tendency to imagine alternative outcome for an event
- “if only”
- close calls
mood congruence effect
the face that are more likely to remember positive information when in a positive mood and negative information in a negative mood
downward counterfactual
- the imaged worse alternative
- might make you feel better
upward counterfactuals
- you could have done better
- make you feel worse
mood dependent memory
the fact that the mood that we are in when we learn information may serve as a retrieval cue when we try to remember that information
social cognition
how people think about themselves and the social works
social cognition is how we..
o Select info o Interpret info o Remember info o Use info o Make judgement and decision
short cuts in social cognition
- categorical thinking
- heuristics
prototype
image of the typical example of
social schema
categories
representation in your mind about what ? are like
person schema
specific person
what you think a specific person is like
scripts
♣ Type of schemas use in routine events
♣ Cognitive framework that layout our expected sequence of events
effects of categorical thinking
♣ Eases the process of information
♣ Makes interactions/events feel comfortable and predictable
♣ Affects information processing and memory
confirmation bias
more likely to remember the information that fits your schema
disconfirmation bias
allows you to explain it away in order for you to continue to fit your schema
reconstruction memory
when you associated something with another object or person because of a previous association
illusory correlation
perceive a relationship between two variables, where little to no relationship exists
diagnostic information
useful information in deciding category
non-diagnostic
might not be useful in deciding category
when are we more likely to engage in automatic processing
- no time
- stakes are low
- not important to us
- lightly distracted
- tired, not feeling well
when are we more likely to engage in controlled processing
- we have enough time
- stakes are high
- important to us
- focused (when the environment allows us to do so)
- got enough sleep/feeling strong and healthy
thought suppression
- avoid thinking about something
- has both automatic and controlled components
- monitoring process
- the operating process
monitoring process
- automatic
- at the back of your mind
- scanning to ensure its not there
the operating process
- controlled
- tries to get rid of/avoid that thought out of your mind
