Chapter 6 & 16 Flashcards
What is perception?
is a process by which individuals
organize and interpret their sensory impressions in
order to give meaning to their environment.
What is attribution Theory?
suggests that when we observe
an individual’s behavior, we attempt to determine
whether it was internally or externally caused.
Determination depends on three factors:
Distinctiveness
Consensus
Consistency
What is internally caused?
those that are believed to be
under the personal control of the individual.
What is externally caused?
resulting from outside causes.
What is the Fundamental attribution error?
We have a tendency to underestimate the
influence of external factors and overestimate the
influence of internal or personal factors.
What is Self-serving bias?
Individuals attribute their own successes to
internal factors.
What is selective perception?
Any characteristic that makes a person, object, or
event stand out will increase the probability that
it will be perceived.
Since we can’t observe everything going on
around us, we engage in selective perception.
What is the Halo effect?
The halo effect occurs when we draw a general
impression on the basis of a single characteristic.
What is the contrast effect?
We do not evaluate a person in isolation.
Our reaction to one person is influenced by other
persons we have recently encountered.
For example, an interview situation in which one
sees a pool of job applicants can distort
perception.
Distortions in any given candidate’s evaluation
can occur as a result of his or her place in the
interview schedule.
What is stereo typing
Judging someone on the basis of our perception
of the group to which he or she belongs.
This is a means of simplifying a complex world,
and it permits us to maintain consistency.
We have to monitor ourselves to make sure
we’re not unfairly applying a stereotype in our
evaluations and decisions.
What is a self fulling prophecy?
or the Pygmalion
effect, characterizes the fact that people’s
expectations determine their behavior.
How to individuals make decisions?
choosing from two or
more alternatives.
People satisfice
they seek solutions that are
satisfactory and sufficient.
What is bounded rationality?
They construct simplified models that extract
the essential features.
What is Intuitive decision making?
occurs outside
conscious thought; it relies on holistic
associations, or links between disparate pieces of
information, is fast, and is affectively charged,
meaning it usually engages the emotions.
What is Overconfidence Bias
Individuals whose intellectual and interpersonal
abilities are weakest are most likely to
overestimate their performance and ability.
What is anchoring bias?
Fixating on initial information as a starting point
and failing to adequately adjust for subsequent
information.
What is confirming bias?
Type of selective perception.
Seek out information that reaffirms past choices,
and discount information that contradicts past
judgments.
What is Availability Bias?
Tendency for people to base judgments on
information that is readily available.
What is Escalation of Commitment?
Staying with a decision even when there is clear
evidence that it’s wrong.
Escalation is most likely to occur when individuals
view themselves as responsible for the outcome.
What is the randomness error?
Our tendency to believe we can predict the outcome
of random events.
Decision making becomes impaired when we try to
create meaning out of random events.W
What is risk aversion?
The tendency to prefer a sure thing instead of a risky
outcome.
Ambitious people with power that can be taken
away appear to be especially risk averse.
People will more likely engage in risk-seeking
behavior for negative outcomes, and risk-averse
behavior for positive outcomes, when under stress.W
What is hindsight bias?
The tendency to believe falsely that one has
accurately predicted the outcome of an event, after
that outcome is actually known.
What is utilitarianism?
decisions are made solely on the
basis of their outcomes or consequences.
Focus on rights – calls on individuals to make
decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and
privileges as set forth in documents such as the Bill
of Rights.