Social Perception

Question 1

Social Perception, definition?

Answer 1

Using the behavior of others to form opinions or make inferences about those individuals, particularly their motives, attitudes, or values

Question 2

First impression? + configural/additive

Answer 2

Initial perception of another person, typically involving a positive or negative evaluation as well as a sense of physical and psychological characteristics

Based on the earliest information received about a person, often through a direct encounter.

This process can be both top-down (configural - they seem warm, look at their other qualities from this lens) or bottom-up (more additive)

Question 3

Thin Slice Judgements, definition?

Answer 3

Extremely small samples of behavior upon which people
are able to base relatively accurate judgments about
others.

Question 4

Evidence of accuracy for thin slice judgments?

Answer 4

Teaching evaluations
Career Success
Racial Bias

Question 5

Are thin slice judgments accurate or self-fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 5

The Pygmalion Effect / Halo effect

Our beliefs (about others) -> Our actions -> Other’s beilives > Other actions -> Our beilives

Perceive a person favorably ->
Act warmly towards them ->
More favorable interaction

Question 6

Consequences of a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? (Pygmalion in the Classroom)

Answer 6

Teachers told that some students are “growth spurters”

Measured change in students’ IQ scores

Those that were told that they were “growth spurters” had increased scores in their IQ

Question 7

Using nonverbal behavior in person perception?

Answer 7

Any type of communication that does not
involve speaking, including facial

Expressions, body language, touching, voice
patterns, and interpersonal distance

Question 8

Gesture?

Answer 8

A movement that communicates a particular meaning or indicates the individual’s
emotional state or attitude.

Gestures can enhance, clarify, or moderate the meaning of verbal communication.

Question 9

Types of Gestures? (Ekman, 2022)

Answer 9

Illustrators, occur during speech

Manipulators, occur when one part of the body interacts with another (hair-flip, fidgeting)

Emblems, Translates to one or two words or phrase; can vary across culture (thumbs up)

Question 10

Critiques of research on the universality of emotional expressions

Answer 10

• Reduced ecological validity: expressions static, exaggerated, and out of context
• Use of posed rather than spontaneous expressions (spontaneous = less agreement)
• Limited response options (e.g., choosing one emotion word from a small set of words and photographs)

Question 11

How might mask-wearing affect the ability to read emotions?

Answer 11

The eyes are really important in emotional recognition, can read emotions with really good accuracy.

Question 12

Attribution?

Answer 12

an inference regarding the cause of a person’s behavior

Question 13

Attribution - Internal or Dispositional?

Answer 13

Internal or psychological causes specific to the person concerned
e.g., traits, moods, attitudes, decisions and judgments, abilities, or effort.

Question 14

Attribution - External or Situational?

Answer 14

Causes outside the person concerned
e.g., luck, pressure from other people, or external circumstances

Question 15

Fundamental Attribution Error? + correspondence bias

Answer 15

Overestimating how much an individual’s behavior is due to personal characteristics, attitudes, or beliefs

Minimize the influence of the surrounding situation on that behavior (e.g., financial or social pressures)

Closely related is correspondence bias = outward behaviors reflect inner attitudes

Question 16

The Attribution of Attitudes study? (Pro-Castro & Anti-Castro)

Answer 16

Asked participants to write an essay either pro or against Castro (a political public figure).

People believed the person writing the essay, internally believed the arguments in their essay, even when they were told that they were given an external reason.

Question 17

Actor-Observer Effect?

Answer 17

The tendency for individuals acting in a situation to attribute the causes of their behavior to external or situational factors but for observers to attribute the same behavior to internal or dispositional factors, such as personality

Question 18

Fundamental Attribution Error… not so fundamental? (American and Chinese Attributions for Social and Physical Events

Answer 18

Chinese and American participants read article about a murder carried out by either a Chinese or American person

Asked to weight the importance of dispositional and situational factors

American Graduate Students demonstrated the attribution error, even more for outgroup members

Chinese Graduate Students, saw situational factors as more important than the personal factors.

Question 19

Kelley’s (1967) Covariation Matrix?

Answer 19

Consistency: Does this person usually act this way in this context? High/Low

Distinctiveness: Is this person’s behavior in this situation different from their behavior in other situations? High/Low

Consensus: Do other people act similarly? High/Low

Question 20

Interactional attribution?

Answer 20

Consistency: Does this person usually act this way in this context? High

Distinctiveness: Is this person’s behavior in this situation different from their behavior in other situations? High

Consensus: Do other people act similarly? Low

-> The external factor is very specific to the person, like getting angry bc you were cut off by an ex instead of getting cut off in general. Only YOU would be extra angry about that specific situation.

Someone else your favourite necklace you got from your mom