Social Cognition

Question 1

Definition Of Attitude?

Answer 1

A learnt, stable and relatively enduring evaluation of a person, object, event or idea that can affect an individual’s behaviour.

Question 2

What are the elements of the tri-component model of attitudes?

Answer 2

• Affective
• Behaviour
• Cognitive

Question 3

What does Affective in the tri-component model mean?

Answer 3

How you feel. E.g. you hate smoking

Question 4

What does Behaviour in the tri-component model mean?

Answer 4

How you act. E.g. don’t smoke

Question 5

What does Cognitive in the tri-component model mean?

Answer 5

What you know. E.g. smoking can cause lung cancer

Question 6

What are explicit expressions of attitude?

Answer 6

Openly states their attitude and behave in a way that reflects this attitude
Example:
- exercise is good for my health (attitude)
- visit the gym daily (action)

Question 7

What are implicit expressions of attitude?

Answer 7

Uncontrollable, involuntary and sometimes unconscious act that follow an opposite attitude
Example
- moths are harmless (attitude)
- screams at the sight of a moth (action)

Question 8

Definition of Prejudice?

Answer 8

A negative attitude towards a group of people, based on insufficient or incorrect information about the group to whom it is directed.
Example
- gender (prejudice)
- sexism (prejudice type)

Question 9

What are different types of prejudice?

Answer 9

• sexism
• ageism
• racism
• homophobia
• disability

Question 10

Definition of Stereotype?

Answer 10

A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.
Example
- label such as “dumb blonds”

Question 11

Definition of Discrimination?

Answer 11

The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people.
Example
- when a company refuses to hire women because they are women

Question 12

What are ways that you can prevent and reduce prejudice?

Answer 12

• Education. E.g. learning in school
• Intergroup contact: sustained contact, mutual interdependence, equal status, social norms
• Cognitive interventions. E.g. making information available about certain groups
• Superordinate goals. E.g. working towards a common goal
• Direct experience. E.g. learning another language

Question 13

Definition of Person Perception?

Answer 13

The process of forming impressions of others

Question 14

Definition of Attributions?

Answer 14

Are interferences that we make about the causes of events, the behaviour of others, or our own behaviour.

Question 15

What are Internal Attributions?

Answer 15

people infer that an event or a person’s behaviour is due to personal factors such as traits, abilities, or feelings

Question 16

What are External Attributions?

Answer 16

explanations that stress environmental or situational factors, such as task difficulty, social influences, and the physical characteristics of a particular environment.