Chapter 4 Key Terms and Chapter Summary

Question 1

social cognition

Answer 1

on social cognition, a term that
refers to all the processes of perception, interpretation, belief, and memory with which
we evaluate and understand ourselves and other people

Question 2

primacy effect

Answer 2

Our judgments of others are influenced by a primacy effect, a 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.

Question 3

confirmation bias

Answer 3

people ordinarily display a confirmation bias: They seek information
that will prove them right more often than they look for examples that would prove
them wrong

Question 3

overconfidence

Answer 3

thinking that we’re more accurate than we really are and making more mistakes than
we realize

Question 4

positive illusions.

Answer 4

that portray their partners in the best possible light

Question 5

attributions

Answer 5

An attribution
identifies the causes of an event, emphasizing the impact of some influences and mini-
mizing the role of others.

Question 6

actor/observer effects

Answer 6

They generate different explanations for their own behav-
ior than they do for the similar things they see their partners do

Question 7

self-serving biases

Answer 7

in which they readily take credit for their successes but try to avoid
the blame for their failures

Question 8

reconstructive memory

Answer 8

to describe the manner in which our memories are continually
revised and rewritten as new information is obtained.
Reconstructive memory influences our relationships.For one thing, partners’ cur-
rent feelings about each other influence what they remember about their shared past

Question 9

marital paradigms

Answer 9

which are broad assumptions about whether, when, and under
what circumstances we should marry that are accompanied by beliefs about what
it’s like to be married.

Question 9

growth beliefs

Answer 9

good relationships are believed to develop gradually as the partners work at surmount-
ing challenges and overcoming obstacles, and a basic presumption is that with enough
effort, almost any relationship can succeed.

Question 10

destiny beliefs

Answer 10

because they assume that two people are either
well suited for each other and destined to live happily ever after, or they’re not

Question 11

self-fulfilling prophecies

Answer 11

which are false predictions that become true because they lead people to behave in
ways that make the erroneous expectations come true. Self-­ fulfilling prophecies are
extraordinary examples of the power of perceptions because the events that result from
them occur only because people expect them to, and then act as if they will

Question 12

self-concepts.

Answer 12

which encompass all of the beliefs and feelings we have about ourselves.
Our self-concepts include a wide array of self-knowledge along with our self-esteem,
and all the components of the self-concept are intimately tied to our relationships with
others.

Question 13

self-enhancement

Answer 13

the desire for positive, complimentary
feedback

Question 14

self-verification.

Answer 14

the desire for feedback that is consistent with one’s exist-
ing self-concept

Question 15

transference

Answer 15

old feelings can be “transferred” to new
partners, influencing our behavior and our implicit attitudes toward them, when those
new partners subtly remind us of significant others from our past

Question 15

implicit attitudes

Answer 15

which are the unintentional and automatic
associations in our judgments that are evident when our partners come to mind

Question 16

impression management

Answer 16

trying to influence the impressions of us that
others form.

Question 17

intimidation

Answer 17

people portray them-
selves as ruthless, dangerous, and menacing so that ­ others will do their bidding.

Question 18

ingratiation

Answer 18

when we seek acceptance and liking from others; we do favors, pay compliments, men-
tion areas of agreement, and are generally charming to get others to like us.

Question 19

self-promotion

Answer 19

recounting our accomplishments or strategi-
cally arranging public demonstrations of our skills. Self-promotion is a frequent strategy
of impression management in a workplace

Question 20

supplication

Answer 20

people sometimes pre­ sent themselves as inept or infirm to avoid obligations and to
elicit help and support from others

Question 21

self-monitoring

Answer 21

readily adjust their behavior to fit
the varying norms of different situations.

Question 22

emotional intelligence

Answer 22

a set of abilities that
describes a person’s talents in perceiving, using, understanding, and ­ managing emotions

Question 23

First Impressions (and Beyond)

Answer 23

When we first meet others, we jump to conclusions because of stereotypes and
primacy effects. Confirmation biases then affect our selection of ­ subsequent data, and
overconfidence leads us to put unwarranted faith in our judgments.

Question 24

The Power of Perceptions

Answer 24

Partners’ perceptions can be very consequential.

Question 25

Idealizing Our Partners

Answer 25

Happy partners construct positive illusions that emphasize
their partners’ virtues and minimize their faults.

Question 26

Attributional Processes

Answer 26

The explanations we generate for why things happen are called
attributions. Partners are affected by actor/observer effects and self-serving biases, and they
tend to employ either relationship-­ enhancing or distress-maintaining patterns of attribution.

Question 27

Memories.

Answer 27

We edit and update our memories as time goes by. This p­ rocess of
reconstructive memory helps couples stay optimistic about their futures.

Question 28

Relationship Beliefs

Answer 28

Our assumptions about the role marriage will play in our lives
take the form of marital paradigms. Dysfunctional relationship beliefs such as destiny
beliefs are clearly disadvantageous. Growth beliefs are more realistic and profitable.

Question 29

Expectations

Answer 29

Our expectations about others can become self-fulfilling prophecies,
false predictions that make themselves come true.

Question 30

Self-Perceptions

Answer 30

We seek reactions from others that are self-enhancing and
complimentary and that are consistent with what we already think of ­ ourselves—with self-
verification leading people to seek intimate partners who support their existing self-concepts.

Question 31

Nonconscious Social Cognition.

Answer 31

We often have both positive and negative
associations with our partners, implicit attitudes, of which we are unaware. We also may
not recognize how, through transference, experiences with prior partners can influence
our feelings and behavior in current relationships.

Question 32

Impression Management

Answer 32

We try to influence the impressions of us that others form.

Question 33

Strategies of Impression Management.

Answer 33

Four different strategies of impression
management—ingratiation, self-promotion, intimidation, and supplication—are commonplace.

Question 34

Impression Management in Close Relationships.

Answer 34

High self-monitors are less
committed to their romantic partners, but all of us work less hard to pre­ sent favorable
images to our intimate partners than to others.

Question 35

So, Just How Well Do We Know Our Partners?

Answer 35

We generally don’t understand our partners as well as we think we do.

Question 36

Knowledge

Answer 36

As a relationship develops and partners spend more time together,
they typically do understand each other better.

Question 37

Motivation.

Answer 37

The interest and motivation with which people try to figure each other
out help to determine how insightful and accurate they will be.

Question 38

Partner Legibility

Answer 38

Some personality traits, such as extraversion, are more visible
than others.

Question 39

Perceiver Ability.

Answer 39

Some judges are better than others, too. Emotional intelligence is
important in this regard.

Question 40

Threatening Perceptions

Answer 40

However, when accurate perceptions would be worrisome,
intimate partners may actually be motivated to be inaccurate.

Question 41

Perceiver Influence

Answer 41

Perceptions that are initially inaccurate may become more
correct as we induce our partners to become the people we want them to be.

Question 42

Summary

Answer 42

Right or wrong, our judgments matter.