Midterm Exam Flashcards
social categories
social difference within a society deemed meaningful separate its members into social groups
social structure
social order with predictable patterns of social interaction and relations
social institutions
system of enduring behavioral and relationship patterns
social rules
expectations and obligations attached to a role with in a social institution
segregation
more frequent social interactions among those with similar social categories than dissimilar
four types of mental processing
attribution, role-taking, self-categorization, small groups
attribution
inferring the cause of someone else’s behavior
role-taking
view the self, others, or situation from another’s perspective
self-categorization
identifying with a social category
small groups
two or more individuals who recognize their group membership, interact on a regular basis, and are interdependent with shared goals
signs
can be seen as a natural, instinct, knowledge, action
symbols
distinct synage that carries knowledge behind it within a society
social location
akin to the idea of social categories, but specific about which category an individual falls into
self-concept (self-schema)
thoughts and geelings held about one’s self
actual self
who you are now
ssible self
who you want to become
situated self
who you are in a particular situation
three self-concept dimensions
identities, self-evaluations, personal qualities
identities(role and social)
social positions claimed by the self and the meanings attached to the positions by the self and others
role identity
within a social role, tied to/related to a social institution or other institutional roles (e.g. boss, parent, child)
social identity
as a member of a social category, culturally constructed meaningful category of difference (e.g. gender, sexuality, disability)
self-evaluations (role performance, self-esteem, self-efficacy)
positive or negative self-assessments
role performance
evaluation how well or poorly you are performing in a specific social role (e.g. good student, bad son)
self-esteem
an individual’s perception of their own worth as a person
self-efficacy
individual’s belief that one’s efforts will produce desired outcomes
personal qualities
adjectives used to describe yourself
self-concept formation
how we come to view ourselves is a social process shaped by numerous “others”
specific others
a person in your life
significant others
someone close to you (friend)
credible others
person capable of making assesment
generalized others
how you think certain groups or people in general view it
reference groups
group to which an individual or another group is compared (in-or-out groups)
four formation processes
identity adoption, reflected appraisals, social comparisons, self-perceptions
identity adoption
form self-conceptions based on the social and role identities we claim
three structural constraints on identity adoption
availability, visibility, value-inclination
availability
identity claims need to be accepted by others
visibility
adopt more distinguishing identities within a society (what sets you apart)
value-inclination
adopt most valued identities with in a culture
reflected appraisals
we form self conceptions based on what we perceive others think of us
social comparison (upward, downward)
form self-conceptions by comparing self to others (realistic or constructive)
downward social comparison
view self more favorably than the other
upward social comparison
view self less favorably than the other
self-perceptions
form self-conceptions by observing own behavior and monitoring own thoughts and feelings
identity verification
self-view is consistent with own identity standard (self perception) and feedback from others (reflected appraisal)
four components of human social behavior
affect, behavior, cognition, perception
social object
anything relevant to a social interaction that has shared meaning within a group or society
social cognition
how individuals organize and retrieve information
cognitive structures
well-organized set of cognitions(thoughts, beliefs, info.) about something
four types of schemas
person, group, role, event
schemas and categories develop via …
direct and indirect experience
direct experience
overgeneralize observations, selectively observe/ignore
indirect experience
social networks, exposure to news and media
belief perseverance
once developed, schemas are resistant to change even with new information
social stigma
negative societal image for a deeply discrediting identity
social status
rank order of social positions based on culturally defined standards of value in a society
social perception
using casual observation to construct an understanding of a specific person or situation
two forms of social perception
controlled and automatic process
controlled process
slow conscious/deliberate information processing effort
automatic process
fast unconscious process (reflex reaction) with little effort
schematic influence
once a category is identified, use schemas to “fill in” information gaps about people of situations
confirmation bias
seek out, pay more attention to and accept information that confirms pre-existing cognitions (ignore info. that doesn’t fit cognitions)
impression formation
the process of forming an overall impression of a person
fundamental attribution error
overestimating internal cues, underestimating external cues
two forms of the dual process model
top-down (automatic), bottom-up (controlled)
top-down (automatic)
identification of social position than apply schematic inferences to fill in gaps
bottom-up (controlled)
personalization by paying more attention to personal qualities rather than social positions
two reasons we are more likely to use bottom-up processing
self-involvement, accountability
tend to use which process model more
top-down processing (automatic)
self-involvement
paying attention is beneficial for you (object of perception has power over you)
accountability
fear your impression might be invalidated by others
primary effect
first impressions matter more than subsequent more recent observations
negativity effect
negative traits are more influential than positive traits
internal attribution
the cause lies within a characteristic of the individual
external attribution
the cause stems from the social environment
self-fulfilling prophecy
perceiver predicts a certain outcome of a person
perceiver behaves in a manner that makes person act the way you predicted
stereotype threat
fear of conforming to commonly held neg. stereotype
produces negative emotional state
lowers individual performance
impression management
out attempt to manipulate the person schema others’ form of use (appearance, demeanor)
code switching
altering your self-expression to optimize the comfort of others in a social context
stigmatization
process by which a person’s identity is spoiled or discredited
four stigma management forms
passing, covering, distancing, reclaiming
