Chapter 6 - Social cognition Flashcards
- Judging and perceiving others - Cognitive dissonance and cognitive biases - Heuristics - Prejudice, discrimination, and stigma
Person perception
the different mental processes used to understand and form impressions of other people
Attribution
an evaluation made about the causes of behaviour and the process of making this evaluation
Attribution
an evaluation made about the causes of behaviour and the process of making this evaluation
Internal attribution (personal attribution)
when we judge behaviour as being caused by something personal within an individual
External attribution (situational attribution)
when we determine the cause of a behaviour as resulting from situational factors occurring outside the individual
Fundamental attribution error
out tendency to explain other people’s behaviour in terms of internal factors, while ignoring possible external factors
Attributional style
tendencies and repeated patterns in the way someone makes attributions
Attitude
an evaluation of something, such as a person, object, event, or idea
Tri-component model of attitudes (known as ‘A-B-C’ or ‘tripartite’ model)
a model which illustrates the relationship between the affective, behavioural, and cognitive components of our attitudes
Affective component
our emotions and intuitive feelings towards something, reflected in our attitude
Behavioural component
our outward and observable actions that reflect our point of view about something
Cognitive component
our thoughts and beliefs towards something
Stereotype
a widely held belief and generalisation about a group, such as people, animals or objects
Cognitive dissonance
the psychological tension that occurs when our thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviours do not align with one another
Cognitive biases
unconscious, systematic tendencies to interpret information in a way that is neither rational nor based on objective reality
Confirmation bias
the tendency to search for and accept information that supports our prior beliefs or behaviours and ignore contradictory information
Actor-observer bias
the tendency to attribute our own actions to external factors and situational causes while attributing other people’s actions to internal factors
Self-serving bias
the tendency to attribute positive success to our internal character and actions and attribute our failures to external factors or situational causes
Self-serving bias
the tendency to attribute positive success to our internal character and actions and attribute our failures to external factors or situational causes
False-consensus bias
the tendency to overestimate the degree to which other people share the same ideas and attitudes as we do
Halo effect
the tendency for the impression we form about one quality of a person to influence our overall beliefs about the person in other respects
Heuristics
information-processing strategies or ‘mental shortcuts’ that enable individuals to form judgements, make decisions, and solve problems quickly and efficiently
Base-rate fallacy
a type of bias in which decisions, social perceptions, and judgements are influenced more by vivid memories and experiences than statistical fact
Anchoring (adjustment) heuristic
an information-processing strategy that involves forming judgements based on the first information received about an idea or concept
Availability heuristic
an information-processing strategy that enables individuals to form a judgement, solve a problem, or make a decision based on information that is easily accessible
Representative heuristic
an information-processing strategy that involves making a categorical judgement about an idea, event, or person based on their similarity to other items in that category
Affect heuristic
an information-processing strategy that involves using emotions to make a judgement or decision
Prejudice
an often negative preconception held against people within a certain group or social category
Discrimination
the unjust treatment of people due to their membership within a certain social category
Stigma
the feeling of shame or disgrace experienced by an individual for a characteristic that differentiates them from others
Mental wellbeing
an individual’s current psychological state, involving their ability to think, process information, and regulate emotions
