Perception, Prejudice, and Bias Flashcards
Attribution Theory
The tendency for individuals to infer the causes of other people
Fundamental Attribution Error
The bias towards making dispositional rather than situational attributions in regard to the actions of others
Optimism Bias
The belief that bad things happen to others, but not us
Covariation Model
Three things to look for to see if something is due to internal factors – consistency, consensus, and distinctiveness
Self Serving Bias
The tendency for individuals to view their own successes as being based on internal factors and their own failures as due to external factors
Actor-Observer Bias
We tend to blame our actions on external factors and other people’s factors on internal factors
Individualist Cultures
Western; attributes success to internal factors and failure to external factors
Collectivist Cultures
Eastern; attributes success to external factors and failure to internal factors
Stereotype
A thought, cognition, or belief that is attributed to a certain group of individuals
Stereotype Threat
Self-Fulfilling Fear that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype
Self Fulfilling Prophecy
Thoughts and beliefs can lead to actions or conditions that confirm those thoughts and beliefs
Prejudice
An attitude or emotion toward a group of people prior to an actual experience
Discrimination
The resulting behavior of stereotyping and prejudice that treats a group of people differently
Scapegoats
A group of people towards whom aggression is directed
Authoritarian Personality
A personality in which a person is obedient to superiors but is oppressive and unsympathetic to those deemed inferior
Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis
Frustration leads to prejudice, which leads to aggression. This aggression is taken out on scapegoats
Hypothesis of Relative Deprivation
An upsurge in prejudice or discrimination is caused by a deprivation in what someone believes they are entitled to
Social Stigma
Social disapproval of a person based on perceived social characteristics
Self Stigma
A person individualizes the social stigma, prejudice, stereotype, etc.
Social Circles
Media => Society => Family => Self
There is a bidirectional relationship between all of these
Primacy Bias
First impressions are strong, long, and easily built on; they are more important than later data
Recency Bias
Your most recent activities are most important in people’s perception of you
Halo Effect
Judgments of an individual’s character can be affected by the overall impression of the individual
Usually, halo effect is a positive impression. Reverse halo effect is usually a negative impression
Physical Attractiveness Stereotype
A form of the halo effect where we perceive good-looking people as having more positive personality traits
Ethnocentricism
Judging another culture from the standpoint of your own
Cultural Relativity
Judging another culture from the standpoint of that culture
In group
A group that we identify with
Out group
A group that we do not identify with
Group Favortism
We tend to favor people from our own group, but we are neutral to members of outgroups
Out Group Derogation
We are super friendly to members of our in groups but not friendly to those of our out groups
Group Polarization
Groups make more extreme choices than any individual member of that group
Xenocentricism
Judging another culture as superior to your own culture
