Social Thinking Flashcards
actor-observer bias
people will see their own failures as caused by external factors while other people’s failures are caused by internal factors
fundamental attribution error
putting too much emphasis on internal factors while ignoring environmental factors
ex: someone failed a test because they are stupid instead of knowing their parents are getting a divorce
belief perseverance
people hold onto their beliefs even when there is strong evidence in the contrary
ex: holding onto your belief in santa even after he didn’t bring presents
secure attachment
baby gets upset when parent leaves but can be reassured when parent returns
avoidant attachment
no distress when a parent leaves but not comfort when they return
ambivalent attachment
distressed upon separation, mixed response when parent returns
disorganized attachment
erratic behavior and social withdrawal
stereotype threat
when someone is notified about a stereotype which causes them to underperform/fulfill the stereotype
stereotype boost
positive stereotypes improve performance
ex: telling an asian they are good at math before a math exam
attribution theory
individuals tend to explain behavior as resulting from external or internal causes
dispositional attribution
behavior caused by internal factors
situational attribution
behavior caused by external factors
informational influence
accept information from others as reality; comes into play when people don’t know what is really happening or what to think
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
basic needs > psychological needs > self-fulfillment needs
basic needs: physiological (food, water, warmth, rest), safety (security, safety)
psychological needs: belongingness and love, esteem needs (feeling prestigious, accomplished, productive)
self-fulfillment needs: self-actualization (achieve one’s potential)
self-positivity bias
belief that you are immune to negative outcomes
social cognitive theory
people learn through observing others
vicarious learning
watching someone else engage in a behavior and the consequences associated with that behavior is a powerful method of learning
you can either replicate that behavior or avoid it
overconfidence bias
occurs when someone believes they are better at something than they actually are
ex: believing you are more prepared for the MCAT, but really aren’t
optimism bias
tendency of people to underestimate the probability that bad things will happen to them
difference between optimism bias and self-positivity bias
they are roughly the same thing. Both underestimate the likelihood of adverse events impacting them
self-positivity focuses on negative outcomes that can happen (getting sick)
optimism bias focuses on the bad things that can occur to them (car accident, cancer)
cognitive biases
irrational thought processes that commonly occur and result in illogical conclusions
confirmation bias
person pays attention to evidence that supports their point, while ignoring evidence against it
anchoring bias
an over-reliance on an initial piece of information when making decisions
hindsight bias
looking back on an event and thinking “I knew all along”
believing something was so predictable
ex: me looking back and just knowing that the baby’s name was going to be lily
heuristics
mental shortcut we use to make quick decisions
ex: used for problem solving; working backwards or breaking up a task into steps
representative heuristic
faulty way of thinking where you stereotype a person based on their demographic or occupation
ex: looking at a big burly dude with tattoos and thinking he must be a criminal when he is actually a librarian
available heuristics
way of thinking based on what first comes to mind
ex: you just read about shark attacks so now you think they are more common than they actually are
algorithm
way to problem solve
ex: instruction manual
mere exposure effect
the more you are around something, the more you like something
ex: you like the beach more when you live by the beach than when you live in Texas
imitation of reference group
you compare your beliefs and behaviors to a reference group and often modify your beliefs and behaviors to follow the reference group
ex: when someone dies by suicide and is well publicized, individuals who are thinking about dying by suicide might follow suite because they follow after the reference group
mass hysteria
phenomenon that transmits collective illusions of threats, whether real or imaginary, through a population and society as a result of rumors and fear
ex: those videos where someone drops everything and starts running in the opposite direction and everyone follows suite would be an example of mass hysteria because they are alluding to a threat
cognitive neoassociation model
more likely to act aggressive when experiencing negative emotion - aka tired, hungry, angry, or in pain
consistency cue
consistent behavior of a person over time
the more regular the behavior, the more we associate that behavior with a person
ex: I close my door and open my laptop because I am studying –> my housemates know that around 6pm is when I do this –> consistent behavior vs it is 6pm and I’m not studying, my housemates will see this as a difference
consensus cues
relate to the extent to which a person’s behavior differs from others
ex: everyone laughing at a comedian is high consensus vs only Ryan laughing at the comedian is a low consensus
- we aren’t all in agreement with the behavior
distinctiveness cues
extent to which a person engages in similar behavior across a series of scenarios
ex: I usually have a calm demeanor and then in one situation I become very angry –> people will form a situational attribution to explain it
correspondent inference theory
when an individual unexpectedly performs a behavior that helps or hurts us, we tend to explain the behavior by dispositional attribution –> will correlate these actions with a person’s behavior
attribute substitution
when people substitute simpler solutions and apply heuristics to explain complex situations –> however, often lead to incorrect answers
ex: will simplify a question about volumetric spheres in a cube to instead calculate a circle in a square which will give you a widely inaccurate answer
