social cognition Flashcards
social cognition
cognitive processes involved in how we perceive, understand and interpret others behaviour on our social world
attribution theory
trying to understand the causes behind someones behaviour, whether its due to internal facts or external factors
first impressions
forming initial judgements about someone based on limited information like appearance or initial interaction
social referencing
looking to others emotional cues to guide our own behaviour in uncertain situations
theory of mind
the ability to understand that other have different thought, beliefs, and perspectives than our own
automatic thinking
non-conscious
unintentional
involuntary
effortless
controlled thinking
effortful and deliberate
thinking about self and environment
carefully selecting the right course action
schemas
mental structures that organise our knowledge about the social world
they fill in the blanks
stereotypes
when schemas are applied to members of a social group such as gender, or ethnicity, schemes become stereotypes that can be applied rapidly and automatically
person schema
focused on specific individuals
social schema
include general knowledge about how to behave in certain situations
self schema
your knowledge about yourself
event schema
patterns of behaviour that should be followed in a certain event - acts like a script
advantages to using heuristics
help us decide quickly
help us decide with minimal data
help us make effective decisions
confirmatory hypothesis testing
selectively seeking information that supports ones beliefs
self fulfilling prophecy
a belief or expectation about oneself or others, when help strongly, influences behaviour in a certain way that confirms the initial beliefs
Pygmalion effect
expectations act as a prophecy because they become motivators for hard work
