Social Perception: how do we perceive others?

Question 1

What are non-verbal cues?

Answer 1

Convey thought or emotion without words, can be considered innate (nonverbal can communicate a lot of information)

Question 2

What are the 5 channels of nonverbal behaviour?

Answer 2

Facial expressions, eye contact, body movements, posture, touching (eye gaze is especially telling)

Question 3

What are the 6 uniforms facial expressions?

Answer 3

happiness, fear, sadness, anger, surprise, disgust

Question 4

Expression, what is the use?

Answer 4

We can use these to get others to do what we want

Question 5

Body gestures (2)

Answer 5

Speed of those gestures matter and the context affects how the gestures are perceived

Question 6

What are interchannel discrepancies?

Answer 6

Deception, concealed emotions

Question 7

What is the truth bias?

Answer 7

The belief that people are honest makes us poor lie detector

Question 8

What is the self verification?

Answer 8

We want others to see us as we see ourselves ==> less likely to be intentionally dishonest (tell white lies but not on purpose)

Question 9

What are microexpressions?

Answer 9

Brief unvoluntary facial expressions that express our underlying emotions (inconsistent facial expressions, fewer or inconsistent words or too much detail)

Question 10

What are dispositional attributions?

Answer 10

Assumption that the cause of an action is due to a person’s internal characteristics

Question 11

What are situational attributions?

Answer 11

Assumption that the cause of an action is due to external or environmental factors

Question 12

What is the correspondent inference theory?

Answer 12

We make attributions for others’ actions based on three factors (actions’ consequences, behaviour expected and behaviour freely chosen) yes or no answers for the questions

Question 13

What is the covariation theory?

Answer 13

Consensus, distinctiveness, consistency

Question 14

What is the correspondence bias?

Answer 14

The tendency to make dispositional attributions for other’s behaviours (reflection of who they are) ==> we don’t have enough info

Question 15

What is the cognitive capacity?

Answer 15

Three stage model attribution ==> behaviour is automatically characterized, dispositional inference is made, situational factors are weighed in if the observer is cognitively able to do so

Question 16

What is the need for cognition?

Answer 16

An innate drive to solve problems through thinking and analysis (can lead to reduction of correspondence bias)

Question 17

What is the “belief in a just world” bias?

Answer 17

Good thing happen to good people the opposite (others’ misfortune on them instead of circumstances), self protective function, affects our choice to help others

Question 18

What is the actor observer effect?

Answer 18

Making dispositional attributions for others’ behaviours but situational for our own

Question 19

What are first impressions? (3)

Answer 19

Not deliberate, formed by watching others’ actions (body language), instantaneous

Question 20

What is the primacy and recency effect?

Answer 20

The first piece of info is the most impactful and the last piece of info also has a large impact, but only right after the encounter not in the long term

Question 21

What is the halo effect?

Answer 21

If we make one positive attribute to someone, we’ll assume other positive qualities to them and the opposite (reverse halo)

Question 22

What is the confirmation bias?

Answer 22

Belief perseverance, we maintain our original beliefs even in the face of contradictory data

Question 23

What is the self fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 23

If we expect something to happen, we will act in ways that elicit exactly what we expected in the first place

Question 24

How can we be accurate?

Answer 24

Stay motivated, work on our empathy and “familiar and similar to ourselves”