Chapter 6,7 & 8 Flashcards
social cognition
how we perceive people, interpret, analyse and use information to judge people, explain attitude of people and mentally construct our social world
Cognitive bias
a type of systematic error in thinking
Schema
a concept that helps us organise information and interpret information
Person perception
how impressions are formed – mental processes that we use to form impressions and opinions of other people
Person Perception Types (4)
physical cues, body language, saliency detection, social categorisation
making attributions
the process in which we explain the causes of ours and others’ behaviours
types of attribution (2)
internal and external
internal attribution
attributing behavior to an internal factor, such as personality, ability, intellect
Sourced within the person
external attribution
factors not relating to the individual
fundamental attribution error
tendency to attribute other people’s behaviours to internal factors
actor observer bias
tendency to attribute our own behaviour to external factors but others to internal
Self-serving bias
tendency to attribute our successes to internal factors and failures to external
Attitude
an evaluation a person makes about an object, person, group, event or issue
Tri-component Model (ABC) of attitudes
Affective, behavioural and cognitive aspects and how they develop our attitude toward something
affective component:
emotional
behavioural component:
how you act on your emotions
cognitive component
how you think about the situation
limitations
a persons’s attitude and behaviours aren’t always consistent with one another
stereotypes
A collection of beliefs that we have about the people who belong to a certain group, regardless of individual differences among members of that group
why are stereotypes helpful
they can help us make quicker decisions
Ingroup/outgroups: a group you identify with and a group that you don’t
a group you identify with and a group that you don’t
Cognitive dissonance:
When the cognitive and behavioural aspects do not line up
Stigma:
a negative attitude against someone based on a distinguishing characteristic
Prejudice:
the negative attitude people possess towards individuals based only on their membership of a group
Old fashioned prejudice:
deliberate and overt prejudice
Modern prejudice:
a more subtle form of prejudice that insinuates rejection while displaying acceptance
Strategies to reduce prejudice:
sustained contact, mutual independence, equality, superordinate goal
Discrimination:
the negative behaviour directed towards people or groups due to that prejudice. Occurs when prejudice leads to negative behaviour (especially illegal actions) directed towards the targets of prejudice.
Social influence:
refers to how people change their behaviour or attitudes due to the direct or indirect influence that they encounter
Negative or positive, weak or strong
Collective:
a collection of people who exert minimal influence on each other and don’t interact with every other person
group
Two or more people who interact with and influence one another and work towards a common goal (4 conditions)
4 conditions of a group
- Two or more people 2. Interact 3. Influence 4. Shared purpose
status within a group
importance – perception of a member’s position as perceived by members of that group
power within a group
REVIEW THE TABLE
Role:
behaviour adopted by an individual that influences the way one acts, and can also influence power and status
Groupthink
A way of thinking by individual members of a group characterised by a strong tendency to seek agreement when decision-making or problem-solving, thereby overriding any realistic consideration of possible alternative, better options
Groupshift:
occurs when discussion leads a group to adopt attitudes or actions that are more extreme than the initial attitudes or actions of the individual group members
Deindividuation
A psychological state of reduced self-consciousness and inhibition when in a crowd – could help explain the extreme behaviours some people exert in a group, like mob or gang related activity
Anonymity:
makes individuals feel anonymous and less accountable, leading them to conform to behaviours they wouldn’t normally
Collectivist culture:
prioritise group interests over individual desires, valuing long term relationships and community support
Individualistic culture:
emphasise personal goals and self reliance
Obedience
Occurs when we follow the commands of someone with authority, or the rules or laws of our society
2 types of obedience
constructive and destructivec
constructive obedience
occurs when there is compliance with the orders of an authority that results in a positive outcome.
Destructive obedience
Occurs when there is compliance with the orders of an authority that results in a negative outcome
conformity
The tendency to adjust one’s thoughts, feelings or behaviour so that they become more consistent with those of other people, or with accepted standards about how a person should behave in certain situations (i.e. social norms)
factors influencing conformity
group size, unanimity, culture
social loafing
tendency for people to exert less effort when pooling efforts towards a common goal
Informational influence:
reliance on behaviours and info that others may have that we don’t
Normative influence:
need to be socially accepted
Stanford Prison Experiment
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