psychological evidence Flashcards
what information does the human human perceptual system rely on
(1) environmental energy stimulating the receptors and
(2) knowledge and expectations that the observer brings to the situation.
Likelihood principle (perception)
A
We perceive the object that is most likely to have caused the pattern of stimuli we have received. This judgment of what is most likely occurs, according to Helmholtz, by a process called unconscious inference, in which our perceptions are the result of unconscious assumptions, or inferences, that we make about the environment.
Encoding specificity
we encode information along with its context.
Reminiscence bump
The enhanced memory for adolescence and young adulthood found in people over 40
cognitive hypothesis (cues: retrieval, reminiscence bump)
proposes that periods of rapid change that are followed by stability cause stronger encoding of memories.
constructive nature of memory
what people report as memories are constructed based on what actually happened plus additional factors, such as the person’s knowledge, experiences, and expectations
cryptomnesia
unconscious plagiarism of the work of others
the illusory truth effect (this is so good for anything media related)
The enhanced probability of evaluating a statement as being true upon repeated presentation
Music-enhanced autobiographical memories (MEAMS)
Memories elicited by hearing music. Often thought of as involuntary memories.
the human tendency towards categorization refers to
States that we can decide whether some-thing is a member of a category by determining whether a particular object meets the definition or the prototype of that category.
prototypically
High typicality means that a category member closely resembles the category prototype
fixation
the psychological tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that keeps them from arriving at a solution.
Attitude
A positive, negative or mixed reaction to a person, object or idea. E.g., like, love, dislike, hate, admire and detest, self-esteem, prejudice.
Implicit attitude
An attitude, such as prejudice, that the person is not aware of having.
3 general reasons for stronger attitudes:
Directly affected their own self-interest
Related to deeply held philosophical, political and religious values
were of concern to their close friends, family and social ingroups.
Psychological reactance
The theory that people react against threats to their freedom by asserting themselves and perceiving the threatened freedom as more attractive
Evaluative conditioning
A
The process by which we form an attitude towards a neutral stimulus because of its association with a positive or negative person, place or thing.
self-generated persuasion
when people behave in ways that contradict their attitudes, they sometimes go on to change those attitudes without any exposure to a persuasive communication”
The process of persuading yourself through developing arguments (etc.). More effective when the audience you select is someone you anticipate will agree the least. If you believe in an idea, target someone else that disagrees or that you don’t know where they will stand. If you disagree, target yourself and you’ll try harder to investigate and therefore persuade yourself more.
Cognitive dissonance theory
The theory holding that inconsistent cognitions arouse psychological tension that people become motivated to reduce.
Ethical dissonance
The internal state of turmoil that arises from behaving in ways that violate our own moral code.
Moral licensing
A tendency to justify an anticipated misdeed by citing good things that we have done
how people reduce dissonance (6 ways)
Change your attitude
Change your perception of your behaviour
Add consonant cognitions (e.g. dieting person saying ‘chocolate icecream is actually very nutritious)
Minimise the importance of the conflict (‘I don’t care if i’m overweight, life is too short’)
Reduce percieved choice (‘I had no choice…’)
Intuit ingroup hypocrisy
Vicarious self-perception
The act reaching conclusions about yourself via perceptions of a comparable counterpart
Social comparison theory
The theory that people evaluate their own abilities and opinions by comparing themselves to others.
Sociometer theory
A
The theory that people are inherently social animals and their desire for self-esteem is driven by a more primitive need to connect with others and gain their approval. This leads to some having a ‘sociometer’ – that detects acceptance and rejection, and translates these into high and low self-esteem.
Terror management theory (self-esteem related)
The theory that humans cope with the fear of their own death by constructing worldviews that help to preserve their self-esteem.
Self-discrepancy theory
our self-esteem is defined by the match or mismatch between how we see ourselves and how we want to see ourselves.
Mechanisms of self-enhancement (8)
The better-than-average effect
Implicit egotism
Self Serving beliefs
Self-handicapping
Basking in reflected glory (BIRG)
Cut off reflected failure (CORF)
Downward social comparisons
Downward temporal comparison
Downward social comparison
The defensive tendency to compare ourselves with others who are worse off than we are
Normative conformity
Influence that produces conformity when a person fears the negative social consequences of appearing deviant.
