Perceiving Others

Question 1

What is the English folk theory of personality described in “Monday’s Child”?

Answer 1

A poem associating personality traits with days of the week:

Monday: Fair of face
Tuesday: Full of grace
Wednesday: Full of woe
Thursday: Has far to go
Friday: Loving and giving
Saturday: Works hard for a living
Sunday: Bonny, lithe, good, and gay.

Question 2

What does the Ashanti folk theory say about personality?

Answer 2

It links personality traits to the day of birth, with different types of “kra” (soul) entering the body on different days, producing dispositions but not destiny.

Question 3

What traits are associated with boys born on Monday and Wednesday in the Ashanti theory?

Answer 3

Monday’s boy (kwadwo): Quiet, retiring, peaceful.
Wednesday’s boy (kwaku): Quick-tempered, aggressive, troublemaker

Question 4

What was Gustav Jahoda’s (1954) study on the Ashanti theory?

Answer 4

He examined the relationship between day of birth (kradin), delinquency, and type of offense using records of schoolboys and delinquents, finding statistical associations.

Question 5

What is person perception?

Answer 5

The process of forming impressions of others through social perception, judgment, and cognition, influenced by physical appearance, behavior, and situational factors.

Question 6

What did Gustav Ichheiser emphasize about social perception?

Answer 6

He highlighted common misinterpretations in person perception, such as overestimating personality unity and underestimating situational factors.

Question 7

What are primacy effects in impression formation?

Answer 7

Early information about a person has a stronger impact on impressions than later information, as demonstrated by Asch’s (1946) experiments.

Question 8

What are central traits according to Solomon Asch (1946)?

Answer 8

Traits like “warm” or “cold” that strongly influence overall impressions of a person.

Question 9

What are the fundamental dimensions of social judgment identified by Fiske, Cuddy, & Glick (2007)?

Answer 9

Warmth and competence.

Question 10

What is attribution theory?

Answer 10

A theory about how people make causal explanations for behavior, distinguishing between dispositional (personality-based) and situational (context-based) attributions.

Question 11

What is the Fundamental Attribution Error?

Answer 11

The tendency to underestimate situational factors and overestimate dispositional factors when explaining others’ behavior (Ross, 1977).

Question 12

How does cognitive load affect attribution?

Answer 12

Under cognitive load, people are more likely to make dispositional inferences because situational corrections require effort and attention.

Question 13

What is the Thomas Theorem?

Answer 13

“If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences” (Thomas & Thomas, 1928).

Question 14

What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 14

When an initially false belief about a person leads to behavior that makes the belief come true.

Question 15

What was the Pygmalion in the Classroom study?

Answer 15

Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968) found that labeling some students as “growth spurters” led to significant IQ gains due to teacher expectations.

Question 16

What is behavioral confirmation?

Answer 16

When people’s behavior aligns with others’ expectations, reinforcing the initial perception, e.g., perceived traits like extraversion affecting social interaction.

Question 17

What are common types of misinterpretation in social perception, according to Ichheiser?

Answer 17

1. Overestimating personality unity.
2. Misinterpreting success and failure.
3. Relying on stereotypes.
4. Underestimating situational factors.

Question 18

What is correspondent inference theory?

Answer 18

A theory on when people make dispositional attributions, focusing on factors like choice, social desirability, and roles (Jones & Davis, 1965).

Question 19

What is correspondence bias?

Answer 19

The tendency to attribute others’ behavior to their dispositions even when situational explanations are sufficient (Gilbert & Malone, 1995).

Question 20

How do attributions differ across cultures?

Answer 20

Western cultures: More dispositional attributions.
Eastern cultures: More situational attributions, due to holistic thinking and group-agency beliefs.

Question 21

How does culture shape person perception and behavior?

Answer 21

Culture influences automatic inferences, correction for biases, and beliefs about agency, affecting how people perceive and interact socially.

Question 22

What was the “Pygmalion in the Classroom” study by Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968)?

Answer 22

It involved telling teachers that some students were “growth spurters” based on a fake test, leading to significant IQ gains in these randomly assigned students due to teacher expectations.

Question 23

In the Pygmalion study, which group of students showed the strongest effects?

Answer 23

The youngest age groups.

Question 24

How were attributions manipulated in the behavioral confirmation noise weapon study?

Answer 24

Disposition attribution: Behavior was attributed to personal characteristics.
Situation attribution: Behavior was attributed to the way the opponent treated them.

Question 25

What was the second reaction time task in the behavioral confirmation study?

Answer 25

Naive perceivers interacted with targets, and the target’s use of the noise weapon and the perceivers’ impressions were recorded.

Question 26

What are examples of behavioral confirmation in other dimensions?

Answer 26

Perceived extraversion: Influenced social interaction.
Perceived gender: Affected task choices.
Perceived age: Determined choice of games.
Perceived basketball ability: Affected the number of shots taken

Question 27

Under what conditions do behavioral confirmation effects persist?

Answer 27

When behavior is attributed to dispositions.
When targets adjust their self-concept based on the perception.

Question 28

What are some key findings about person perception?

Answer 28

1. Person perception is often inaccurate or biased.
2. Impressions are influenced by the order of information.
3. Impressions are strongly affected by “central traits.”

Question 29

According to Ichheiser, why are attributions often inaccurate?

Answer 29

Attributions are oversimplified, focusing on dispositional inferences and neglecting situational complexity unless additional cognitive resources are available.

Question 30

How can false perceptions lead to self-fulfilling prophecies?

Answer 30

Initially incorrect beliefs about others can influence their behavior, causing them to act in ways that confirm the original belief.