Perception

Question 1

What are the elements of Social Perception?

Answer 1

Physical appearance (visual stereotypes)
Context (situation)
Nonverbal behaviour

Question 2

What is physical appearance Social Perception?

Answer 2

We exact information quickly and make similar judgements of faces.
Usually, there’s consensus in judgements across perceivers.

Question 3

What is context Social Perception?

Answer 3

the situation provides a context that helps us interpret ambiguous expressions

Question 4

What is nonverbal behaviour Social Perception?

Answer 4

recognising basic emotions and facial expressions

More accurate for members of own cultures

Question 5

What is attribution?

Answer 5

how people explain the causes of behaviour and construct theories to explain others behaviours based on personal and situational explanations

Question 6

Explain the types of attribution

Answer 6

Personal attribution = an internal characteristic of the person caused the behaviour
Situational attribution = an external factor caused the behaviour

Question 7

What are attributing outcomes?

Answer 7

stable factors give people a sense of prediction and control

Question 8

Describe the Correspondent Inference Theory

Answer 8

attribute behaviour to a corresponding personality trait or disposition

Question 9

How are inferences made in the Correspondent Inference Theory?

Answer 9

behaviour is more informative of an enduring disposition when:

1. freely chosen
2. unexpected - departs from what norms and roles dictate
3. produces fewer desirable effects

Question 10

What is the Covariation Model?

Answer 10

people are naïve scientists
covariation principle means the cause of behaviour should be present when the behaviour occurs and absent when it does not

Question 11

What are the three types of information used in the Covariation Model?

Answer 11

Consensus - do people react similarly to this stimulus?
Distinctiveness - does this person react differently to other stimuli?
Consistency - does this person react similarly to this stimulus on other occasions?

Question 12

Limitations of the Covariation Model

Answer 12

can be poor at determining covariation, may simply attribute causality to most salient feature, requires multiple observations

Question 13

Identify the Biasing factors

Answer 13

fundamental attribution error

Belief in a just world

Question 14

What are fundamental attribution error factors?

Answer 14

tendency to overlook situational factors and instead make internal attributions for others behaviour

Question 15

What is the underlying process of fundamental attribution error factors?

Answer 15

two step process:

1. identify the behaviour and make personal attribution - fast and automatic
2. amend attribution to account for situational factors - requires thought and effort

Question 16

Why are disposition inferences primary?

Answer 16

we attribute events to factors that are perceptually salient; those that stand out to us
person is salient = internal attribution
situation is salient = external attribution

Question 17

What are the cultural factors of fundamental attribution error factors?

Answer 17

largely demonstrated in western cultures
Western cultures = traits to describe person - independent view of self
Easten countries = context is important - interdependent view

Question 18

What is the belief in a just world factor?

Answer 18

when bad things happen to good people it threatens our belief in a just world and internal attributions are more likely as threat increases

Question 19

What is Confirmation biases?

Answer 19

when initial biases can persist even when more information is presented

Question 20

Identify the 3 types of confirmation biases

Answer 20

perseverance of belief
confirmatory hypothesis testing
self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 21

What is the perseverance of beliefs?

Answer 21

when people think about their theories or opinions it consolidates the viewpoint

Question 22

What is confirmatory hypothesis testing?

Answer 22

We actively search for information to confirm our hypothesis

Question 23

What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 23

perceivers expectations influences the perceiver’s behaviour towards the target, which influences the behaviour of the target toward the perceiver