Social Cognitions

Question 1

Social cognitions

Answer 1

processes of perception, interpretation, beliefs, memories we use to evaluate and understand ourselves and others

Question 2

Primacy effect:

Answer 2

tendency for the first information we receive about others to carry special weight

Question 3

Conformation Bias

Answer 3

seeking information to confirm our current beliefs

Question 4

Overconfidence

Answer 4

thinking that we’re more accurate than we really are and making more mistakes than we realize

Question 5

Idealization:

Answer 5

emphaising positive and minimizing negatives

Question 6

positive illusions:

Answer 6

portray their partners in the best possible light

Question 7

How can positive illusions be beneficial

Answer 7

Judge partners in positive ways and commit to the relationship

Question 8

attributions:

Answer 8

explanations we create for something, influencing some impacts and minimizing others

Question 9

Name the different kinds of attributions

Answer 9

• Internal (personality or ability) or external (enviornment or context)
• Stable (abilities) or unstable (mood)
• Controllable (manage them) or uncontrollable (nothing we can do)

Question 10

Actor/observer effects:

Answer 10

generate different explanations for their own behavior than they do for the similar things they see their partners do; Acknowledging external impact for ourselves but not for others; partners make a conscious effort to try to understand the other’s point of view, the actor/observer discrepancy gets smaller

Question 11

Self-serving biases:

Answer 11

take credit for our successes (internal), failures are external ; give ourselves credit for—our own good intentions, even when we fail to follow through on them, but we judge other people only by what they do, not what they may have intended to do

Question 12

Relationship enhancing attributions:

Answer 12

satisfied partners magnify their partner’s kindnesses and minimize their missteps - keeps partners happy

Question 13

Distress-maintaining attributions:

Answer 13

regard a partner’s negative actions as deliberate and routine and positive behavior as unintended and accidental

Question 14

Impact of memories and reconstructive memory:

Answer 14

current perceptions influenced by the past; reconstructive memory: memories are altered as we receive new information

Question 15

what are the dysfunctional relationship beliefs (6)

Answer 15

disagreements are destructive, mindreading is essential, partners cannot change, sex should be perfect, individual differences, great relationships just happen

Question 16

Destiny beliefs:

Answer 16

Very unrealistic and inflexible: people are either destined to live happily ever after or not

Question 17

Growth beliefs:

Answer 17

good relationships are developed gradually, if there is enough effort then relationships can succeed

Question 18

Marital paradigm:

Answer 18

broad assumptions about whether, when, and under what circumstances we should marry that are accompanied by beliefs about what it’s like to be married

Question 19

Self fulfilling prophecies:

Answer 19

fasle predictions that become true because they lead people to behave in a way that makes these false predictions become a reality

Question 20

How does rejection sensitivity impact relationships

Answer 20

anxiously perceive snubs from others when none are intended - often overreact

Question 21

Self-concept and self-esteem

Answer 21

Self-concept: beliefs about ourself
Self-esteem: evaluation of yourself

Question 22

Self-enhancement

Answer 22

feedback that enhances our self concepts

Question 23

Self verification:

Answer 23

When others verify our own self-concepts; more happy if others evaluations match out own self concept

Question 24

What relationships value self enhancement

Answer 24

Short term partners seek self-enhancement from others

Question 25

Marriage shift:

Answer 25

self verification becomes more important, they want feedback that supports their self concepts

Question 26

implicit attitudes:

Answer 26

unintentional and automatic judgements that are evident when our partners come to mind. Tells us about how we feel about our partners that is not conscious

Question 27

Transference:

Answer 27

unconsciously bring past experience into our reactions with current partners

Question 28

four ways we try to manage the impressions other people have of us

Answer 28

1. Self promotion 2. ingratiation 3. intimidation 4. supplication

Question 29

Self-monitoring

Answer 29

adjusting behaviour to match the situation

Question 30

Low self monitoring:

Answer 30

likely to be the same through situations, less attentive to social norms; has less friends but they are better quality

Question 31

High self-monitoring:

Answer 31

more likely to adjust behaviour; has more friends but less deep connections

Question 32

Accuracy of perceptions: Knowledge

Answer 32

more information the more accurate our judgements of them become

Question 33

Things that impact our knowledge of our partners:

Answer 33

1. Motivation to get to know someone
2. Readability - some things are easier to figure out
3. Ability to judge/asses someone else - can we pick up social cues
4. People continually shape each others behaviour - perceptions may become more accurate as people change
5. Partner legibility: some people are harder to judge
6. Perceiver ability

Question 34

What is perceiver ability:

Answer 34

good social skills are better at judging others; emotional intelligence a set of abilities that describes a person’s talents in perceiving, using, understanding, and managing emotions

Question 35

Threatening/purposefully inaccurate perceptions:

Answer 35

partners typically understand each other much better than they understand mere acquaintances, but they may not want to on those occasions when a partner’s feelings or behavior is distressing or ominous