Lec 6: attributions Flashcards
what is short term memory
the capacity to keep a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time.
what is long term memory
information from past experiences that may or may not be active
capacity to keep large amount of info for a long time
what is encoding
organization of sensory input into appropriate long term or short term memory
what is consolidation in reference to memory
‘storage’ of memory
what is retrieval in reference to memory
retrieving memory that is stored
explain why and how we have better memory for schema consistent or inconsistent information
schema consistent: associations tend to help us better remember something
(recall study where some ones liking for beer may be attributed to them being a waitress, or some ones liking for classical music may be attributed to them being a librarian)
schema inconsistent: information that conflicts pre-existing schema can be memorable because we tend to try and make sense of it
what is mood congruent memory
we are likely to remember positive information when in a positive mood and vice versa
how does concept for schema consistency change between individualism and collectivism cultures
in individualistic cultures, people appreciate consistency in well defined concepts
in collectivism cultures, individuals have tolerance for inconsistency of concepts over time.
what is dialecticism
a way of knowledge that accepts and acknowledges inconsistency
what is the misinformation effect
process (like priming) in which cues after a given event can plan false memory
example:
watch a video of a car crash
ask one “how fast was the car going when it HIT the other car” the person is likely to recollect the car went moderately fast
ask another “how fast was the car going when it SMASHED the other car”
the person is likely to recollect the car was going very fast.
what is the availability heuristic
tendency to assume that information that is readily available for consciousness is more frequent or common
- can distort judgements
ie) people are more afraid of planes because its easier to recall tragic plane crashes although car crashes are more frequent (just not as reported)
what is ease of retrieval effect
process whereby people judge how frequently an event occurs on the basis of how frequently they can retrieve examples of the event
example:
- ask 2 groups of college to students to recall 6 or 12 times they found themselves assertive
- those who recall 6 events felt themselves more assertive than those who recalled 12 events
- that is because the ease of thinking of 6 events makes it appear that you are often an assertive person
- the difficulty of thinking of 12 events makes one think that they are having a hard time thinking because they are not assertive often
what are causal attributions
explanations of an individuals behavior
what is the locus of causality (internal V external locus)
first dimension of causal attribution
internal locus: attribution of behavior to an internal aspect
(i.e. Justin failed physics because he isn’t intelligent)
external locus: attribution of behavior to an external aspect (i.e. Justin failed physics because his professor was a piece of shit)
what is stability in reference to causal attributions (internal vs external attributions and stability)
the second dimension to causal attributions
- stable internal attributions: unchangeable (i.e. justin failed test due to lack of ability)
- unstable external attributions: changeable (i.e. justin failed test due to lack of effort)
what is a causal schema
a theory one holds about the likely cause of an event (based on personal or general cultural knowledge)
- generally relied on when concepts fit out causal schema instead of think rationally about why an event occurs
what is correspondent inference
a judgment that a person’s attitude, desires, or traits matches or corresponds to his or her behavior.
what do correspondent inferences rely on
- if the individual seems to have a choice in taking an action
- a person has a choice between 2 options with one difference between them both
- if someone acts inconsistently with a particular role
what is fundamental attributions error (FAE)
tendency to attribute behavior to internal qualities of an individual and underestimate the causal role of situational factors
what is the actor-observer effect
we tend to make internal attribution to other individuals but external attributions to ourself.
this is because we are aware of our situation first hand and focus on our surroundings, but we do not know others situations so by nature we assume internal attributions
we tend to make ___ attributions for our successes, but ____ attributions for our failures.
internal; external
to defend our self-worth
how does FAE differ from a collectivist vs individualist perspective
All individuals make FAE, but the causal attribution differs between cultures.
individualists tend to make internal attributions while collectivists tend to make external attributions
what is the stage model of attribution
- identification of behavior
- automatic dispositional inference (internal attributes)
- effortful situational correlation (external, requires salience)
what is covariation principle
the tendency to see a causal relationship between an event and an outcome when the happen at the same time
what are 3 factors that lead us to make causal attributions when ACCURACY is important to us
- consistency of event across time
- distinctiveness across situations
- consensus across people
what is the discounting principle
the tendency to reduce the importance of any potential cause of another’s behavior because other possible causes exist
what are motivational biases
biases that adjust our attributions to support our preferred beliefs
what is the upward counterfactual
an imagine alternative in which the outcome (imagined) is better than what actually happened
- generally make us feel worse
- i.e.) “if only I told her I loved her” (she found a new man)
what is fusiform face area
region in temporal lobe that deals with recognizing faces
what are downward counterfactuals
an imagined alternative in which the outcome is worse than what actually happened
- generally makes us feel better
- i.e.) “You were lucky you didn’t tell her you loved her, she’s literally a serial killer” (she killed said ‘new man’)
what is prosopagnosia
damage to fusiform face area which leads one to have ease in recognizing familiar objects but not faces
why has the fusiform face area evolved
allows us to make impressions on individuals whether they are friend, foe, potential mates, or relatives
what is bottom up version of building an impression
gather observations to make general impression, as we further observe we make inferences/ attributions
what is a negativity bias
tendency to weigh instances of negative behavior more than instances of positive behavior
- occurs because we tend to keep a lookout for bad behavior (survival)
- bad behavior is more salient because it violates norms
what is theory of mind
the ability to understand and take into account another individual’s mental state or of “mind-reading”
- helps us predict ones intentions and behaviors
what part of the brain is responsible for theory of mind
medial prefrontal cortex (mirror neurons)
what are mirror neurons
neurons activated both when one performs an action themselves or when observing another person perform that action
- helps one understand the others emotions better
what is Freuds ‘transference’
used in top down version of building an impression
- Transference in therapy is the act of the client unknowingly transferring feelings about someone from their past onto the therapist.
what is false consensus
tendency to assume others share our own attitudes, opinions, and preferences
what are predominant reasons for committing false consensus
- our own opinions are salient to us and therefore cognitively accessible
- it validates our worldviews when we meet someone similar to us
- we tend to like and associate with people similar to us
what are implicit personality theories
theories that we have about which traits go together and why they do.
- Can one assume, for example, that a person with a sense of humor is also intelligent?
what is the halo effect
the tendency of our assessments of an individual on a given trait to be biased or a more general impression of the person
- attractive people: successful, happier, competent
what is stereotyping
a heuristic (mental shortcut) to assume an idea on what a person may be like
what is the representative heuristic
the tendency to overestimate the likelihood that a person is part of a category if the person has features that seem to represent that category
what is the primacy effect
the idea that what we learn early on influences how we judge subsequent information
(first impressions are generally a basis for how we interpret subsequent actions of a person)
where is short term memory stored
prefrontal cortex (PFC)
where is long term memory stored
hippocampus
what is internal attribution
persons behavior caused by something internal like attitudes or personality or character
what is external attribution
a persons behavior is caused by something external like a situation with which most people would behave similarly in
what are observer attributions
attribute other peoples behavior due to internal reasons and assume behavior is caused by internal disposition
what are actor attributions
perception of ones own behavior generally relies on external reasons, situational
explain impression formation from bottom up
gathering individual observations of a person to form an overall impression
what is physiognomy
when ones body/face reflects personal characteristics
explain impression formation from top down
using preconceived ideas and schemas as part of basis for impression information
what is mind in the eyes theory
theory that eyes provide critical information about others such as their intentions, emotions, and identities
