Social Perception Flashcards
Social Perception, definition?
Using the behavior of others to form opinions or make inferences about those individuals, particularly their motives, attitudes, or values
First impression? + configural/additive
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)
Thin Slice Judgements, definition?
Extremely small samples of behavior upon which people
are able to base relatively accurate judgments about
others.
Evidence of accuracy for thin slice judgments?
Teaching evaluations
Career Success
Racial Bias
Are thin slice judgments accurate or self-fulfilling prophecy?
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
Consequences of a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? (Pygmalion in the Classroom)
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
Using nonverbal behavior in person perception?
Any type of communication that does not
involve speaking, including facial
Expressions, body language, touching, voice
patterns, and interpersonal distance
Gesture?
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.
Types of Gestures? (Ekman, 2022)
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)
Critiques of research on the universality of emotional expressions
- 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)
How might mask-wearing affect the ability to read emotions?
The eyes are really important in emotional recognition, can read emotions with really good accuracy.
Attribution?
an inference regarding the cause of a person’s behavior
Attribution - Internal or Dispositional?
Internal or psychological causes specific to the person concerned
e.g., traits, moods, attitudes, decisions and judgments, abilities, or effort.
Attribution - External or Situational?
Causes outside the person concerned
e.g., luck, pressure from other people, or external circumstances
Fundamental Attribution Error? + correspondence bias
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
The Attribution of Attitudes study? (Pro-Castro & Anti-Castro)
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.
Actor-Observer Effect?
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
Fundamental Attribution Error… not so fundamental? (American and Chinese Attributions for Social and Physical Events
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.
Kelley’s (1967) Covariation Matrix?
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
Interactional attribution?
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
