Social Cognition/Prosocial Behavior Flashcards
attitude
a tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain person, object, idea, or situation; influence the way people view things before they’ve actually been exposed to them; attitudes are not something you’re born with, they are learned through experiences and contact with others
three components of an attitude
attitudes consist of three components: the affective component which is the way a person feels toward an object, person, or situation, the behavior component, which is the action that a person takes place in regard to the person, object or situation that they are presented with, and the cognitive component, which is the way a person thinks about the person, object, or situation, these thoughts, or cognitions, include beliefs and ideas about the focus of the attitude; each of the three components influences the other two
How is attitude formed?
attitude formation is the result of a number of different influences with only one thing in common: they are all forms of learning; these include: direct contact, direct instruction, interaction with others, and vicarious conditioning (observational learning)
direct contact [attitude formation]
one way in which attitudes are formed is by direct contact with the person, idea, situation, or object that is the focus of the attitude; for example, a child who tried Brussels sprouts for the first time and dislikes them will form a negative attitude about Brussels sprouts, later, that negative attitude may be generalized to other foods that are green or have a similar taste
direct instruction [attitude formation]
another way attitudes are formed is through direct instruction, either by parents or some other individual; parents may tell their children that smoking cigarettes is dangerous and unhealthy, for example, and some children will form a negative attitude about smoking as a result
interaction with others [attitude formation]
sometimes attitudes are formed because the person is around other people with that attitude; if a person’s friends, for example, all hold the attitude that smoking is cool, that person is more likely to think that smoking is cool as well, the attitudes and behavior of teachers, parents, and siblings matter as well, researchers found that a nonsmoking mother, teacher, or brother had a strong influence on both girls and boys (who are less likely to smoke), although the influence of all three on boys seemed to fade over a seven-year follow-up study
vicarious conditioning (observational learning) [attitude formation]
many attitudes are learned through the observation of other people’s actions and reactions to various objects, people, or situations; just as a child whose mother shows a fear of dogs may develop a similar fear, a child whose mother or father shows a positive attitude toward classical music may grow into an adult with a similarly positive attitude, the emotional components of an attitude can be learned by observing the emotional reactions of others and the behavioral components can be observed and imitated
persuasion
the process by which one person tries to change the belief, opinion, position, or course of action of another person through argument, pleading, or explanation
elaboration likelihood model
model of persuasion stating that people will either elaborate on the persuasive message or fail to elaborate on it and that the future actions of those who do elaborate are more predictable than those who do not
central-route processing
type of information processing that involves attending to the content of the message itself
peripheral-route processing
type of information processing that involves attending to factors not involved in the message, such as the appearance of the source of the message, the length of the message, and other noncontent factors
cognitive dissonance
sense of discomfort or distress that occurs when a person’s behavior does not correspond to that person’s attitudes
impression formation
the forming of the first knowledge that a person has concerning another person
social cognition
the mental processes that people use to make sense of the social world around them
social categorization
the assignment of a person one has just met to a category based on characteristics the new person has in common with other people with whom one has had experience in the past
stereotype
a set of characteristics that people believe is shared by all members of a particular social category
implicit personality theory
sets of assumptions about how different types of people, personality traits, and actions are related to each other
attribution
the process of explaining one’s own behavior and the behavior of others
Fundamental attribution error
The tendency for observers to overestimate the causal influence of personality factors on behavior and underestimate the casual role of situational influences (personality plays larger role than situation), error is in terms of a bias towards the tendency of the types of attributions we make
situational cause
cause of behavior attributed to external factors, such as delays, the action of others, or some other aspect of the situation
dispositional cause
cause of behavior attributed to internal factors such as personality or character
fundamental attribution error
the tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors in determining behavior while underestimating situational factors
prosocial behavior
socially desirable behavior that benefits others
altruism
prosocial behavior that is done with no expectation of reward and may involve the risk of harm to oneself
bystander effect
referring to the effect that the presence of other people has on the decision to help or not help, with help becoming less likely as te number of bystanders increases
diffusion of responsibility
occurring when a person fails to take responsibility for actions or for inaction because of the presence of other people who are seen to share the responsibility
