exam 1 - social cognition Flashcards
system 1 processing
fast, automatic, frequent, emotional, stereotypic, unconscious
system 2 processing
slow, effortful, infrequent, logical, calculating, conscious
top-down processing
“theory-driven” mental processing, in which an individual filters and interprets new info in light of preexisting knowledge and expectations
bottom-up processing
“data-driven” mental processing, in which an individual forms conclusions based on stimuli encountered in the environment
representativeness heuristic
process whereby judgments of likelihood are based on assessments of similarity between individuals and group prototypes or between cause and effect
base-rate neglect
tendency to ignore statistical info in favor of dramatic or vivid case histories
regression fallacy
misunderstanding the statistical tendency for extreme behavior to return toward one’s average
availability heuristic
used to evaluate the frequency or likelihood of an event on the basis of how quickly examples are readily available in your memory
anchoring and adjustment
tendency for numerical estimates to be biased by an initial, even arbitrary, starting point, or “anchor”
fluency
the feeling of ease (or difficulty) associated with processing information
assimilation
interpreting new info in terms of existing beliefs
confirmation bias
tendency to test a proposition by searching for evidence in support of it
self-fulfilling prophecy
our expectations lead us to act in ways that cause others to confirm our expectations
belief perseverance
persistence of one’s initial conceptions, even in the face of opposing evidence
illusory correlation
belief that 2 variables are correlated when in fact they are not
construal level theory
relation between psychological distance and the extent to which people’s thinking is abstract or concrete
pluralistic fallacy
phenomenon whereby people act in ways that conflict with their true attitudes or beliefs because they believe others don’t share them
change blindness
failure to notice an obvious change
inattentional blindness
failure to notice the existence of an unexpected item
cognitive misers
people act as untrained scientists, objectively looking at behaviors and making accurate judgments
false-consensus effect
persuasive cognitive bias that causes people to see their own behavioral choices and judgments as relatively common and appropriate to existing circumstances
