Social Perception Flashcards
stereotype
widely accepted cognition that overgeneralizes the qualities of a group of people
allows for a quick assessment of people in a social setting but is often inaccurate
stereotype threat
exposure to a negative assumption or belief about a group that a person identifies as a part of
causes a decrease in a person’s performance
prejudice
negative attitude towards a group of people based on a stereotype
often leads to discriminatory action
authoritarian personality
consistent pattern of thought, behavior, and emotion that is characterized by a tendency to be controlling, rigid, harsh, and oppressive
often caused by a harsh or disciplinary upbringing, and is thought to contribute to prejudice
scapegoating
channeling of negative emotions and aggression for a powerful figure onto another group of people
frustration aggression hypothesis
theory that explains a possible cause of prejudice that focuses on the channeling of negative emotions felt towards a powerful person or group of people that is displaced onto another group of people
hypothesis of relative deprivation
theory that focuses on a possible cause of prejudice: people turn to prejudice when they feel they are being denied something that they are entitled to
discriminatoin
behavior that is driven by a prejudice that acts to differentiate or negatively impacts a certain group
race
group of people that is defined by certain physical characteristics that carry some amount of social significance
ethnicity
group of people that shares cultural practices and heritage
differences that define these groups are learned practices, including language, religion, and a shared history
self-fulfilling prophecy
belief of prediction that becomes more true over time because the belief influences behavior
acts like a positive feedback loop
belief influences behavior –> behavior is exhibited –> original belief becomes stronger
power
the amount of control that a person has over their own life, politics, or money
often disproportionally allocated to a dominant group at the expense of minorities
social class
divisions between groups based on income and prestige
just world phenomenon
belief that people have earned or deserved their outcomes or consequences, clearly placing blame on any individual in the negative situation
eg blaming the victim of the shocks in Milgram studies for answering questions wrong and therefore earning that treatment
prestige
respect that is often linked to occupation and success
stigma
disapproval of an individual by society that is associated with a certain quality of that individual
can be propagated by media and/or policies of society
social stigma
disapproval that individuals feel for exhibiting a certain quality in society
self stigma
internalization of prejudice and discrimination that causes an individual to feel damaged, oftentimes because of an illness
can lead to denial of the illness, a lack of motivation to seek treatment, or further mental illness
primacy bias
idea that the first impression is often more memorable and impactful than other encounters
first impression
preliminary encounter and judgment of a certain individual, which tends to have a lasting memory, is hard to overcome, and often leads the person to seek out only information that supports their primary judgment
recency bias
idea that the most recent impressions or actions are more memorable and impactful than other encounters
halo effect
idea that a strong overall impression of an individual will cause their specific qualities to be perceived as better than they truly are
devil effect
reverse halo effect
idea that a negative overall impression of an individual will cause their specific qualities to be perceived as worse than they truly are
attribution theory
idea that people tend to explain their behavior and the behavior of others in terms of perceived causes of the behavior
involves deciding if a behavior had external influences, internal influences, or both
ethnocentrism
judging another culture’s religion, politics, food, or traditions against the standards of one’s own culture
in group
a collection of people that an individual identifies as being a part of
in group favoritism
pattern of behavior that benefits a collection of people that an individual identifies as being a part of
out group
collection of individuals that an individual does not identify as being a part of
out group derogation
pattern of behavior that disadvantages or discriminates against a collection of people that an individual does not identify as being a part of
especially prevalent when this group is threatening to the individual’s group in some way
group polarization
phenomenon in which a decision made by a group tends to be more extreme than the opinion of any of the individuals
individual discrimination
one person acts in a way that disadvantages a certain group of people
institutional discrimination
actions made by a society or a particular established organization that disadvantages a certain group
can be either intentional or unintentional
unintentional discrimination
actions made by a society or a particular organization that disadvantages a certain group despite the fact that this was not the intent of these actions
side-effect discrimination
way in which the actions of one institution that disadvantage a certain group can influence the actions of another institution, causing the second institution to act in a way that disadvantages the same group unintentionally
past-in-present discrimination
the way in which the negative actions of the past continue to affect actions today
