chapter 6 (social cognition) Flashcards
o Attribution o Biases affecting attribution o Fundamental attribution error o Actor-observer bias o Self-serving bias o Attitude o Tri-component model of attitudes o Cognitive dissonance o Stereotype o Prejudice o Old-fashioned vs modern prejudice o Discrimination o Social learning (not in textbook) o Modelling (not in textbook)
Define cognitive dissonance.
A psychological state where people are aware of inconsistencies between their attitudes and beliefs
Define attitudes.
An evaluation a person makes about a person, object, group, event or issue
What are the three components in the tri-component attitude model?
- Affective (feelings)
- Behavioral (actions)
- Cognitive (thoughts/beliefs)
Define stereotypes.
- Generalizations / oversimplified beliefs about characteristics of a social group
Define prejudice.
A negative attitude towards another person or social group, formed in advance
Define the difference between old-fashioned and modern prejudice.
Old-fashioned: members of the majority group openly reject minority group; views are more obvious
Modern: views are more subtle and expressed in ways more likely to be accepted within the majority group
Define discrimination
When a person or a social group is treated differently than others
Define the fundamental attribution error.
The tendency to overestimate the influence of personal factors, and underestimate the impact of situational factors
Define the actor-observer bias.
The tendency to attribute our own behaviour to external or situational factors, yet attribute others’ behaviour to internal factors
Define the self-serving bias.
When judging ourselves we tend to take the credit for our successes and deny responsibility for failure, which we blame on external factors
Define modelling.
The process in which one or more individuals or other entities serve as examples (models) that a child will emulate
Define social learning.
How people learn social behaviour by observing and imitating the behaviour of others.
Define attribution.
The process by which we explain the cause of our own or another person’s behaviour.
