Social Cognition Flashcards
social psychology
the study of the impact of a person or group’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors on another person’s thoughts feelings, and behaviors
social cognition
study of how we interpret, analyze, remember, and use information about the social world
social perception
we think we see the world in an objective way
constructed in the mind
attribution
inference that people draw about the cause of an event, others’ behavior, and their own behavior
internal attribution
pinpoint causation of behavior to personal dispositions, traits, abilities, and feelings
aka dispositional attribution
external attribution
pinpoint causation of behavior to situational demands and environmental constraints
aka situational attribution
attribution biases
correspondence bias actor-observer bias self-serving bias belief perseverance optimism bias just world belief overconfidence phenomenon defensive attribution
correspondence bias
attributing others’ behaviors to internal dispositions or external situations
aka fundamental attribution error
actor-observer bias
tendency to make internal attributions for others’ behaviors and external attributions for one’s own behavior
self-serving bias
tendency to perceive ourselves favorably
belief perseverance
tendency to maintain beliefs even after they have been discredited
optimism bias
belief that bad things only happen to others
just world belief
belief that bad things happen to bad people, and good things happen to good people
overconfidence phenomenon
tendency to overestimate the accuracy of one’s beliefs
defensive attribution
tendency to blame victims for their misfortune, so that one feels less likely to be victimized similarly
cognitive dissonance
unpleasant state of psychological arousal resulting from an inconsistency within one’s important attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors.
counterattitudinal action
a behavior that is inconsistent with an existing attitude
postdecisional dissonance
the conflict one feels between the knowledge that one has made a decision and the possibility that the decision may be wrong
persuasion
process of guiding another to adopt an idea, belief, or action
routes of persuasion
central and peripheral
central route of persuasion
being persuaded by the arguments of the message
peripheral route of persuasion
being persuaded by the environmental characteristics of the message
elements of persuasion
source
message
channel
receiver
source
the communicator; who/what gives the message
message
what is said
channel
means of communication, how the message is said
receiver
to whom the message is said to; the audience
attitudes
positive or negative beliefs and feelings towards people, objects, events, etc.
based on personal experiences
explicit attitudes
attitudes that are held consciously and can be readily described
implicit attitudes
attitudes that are covert, expressed in subtle automatic responses, and have little conscious control
prejudice
negative affect about members of a group
discrimination
negative behavior toward members of a group
stereotype
negative cognition about members of a group
