test 3 Flashcards
Self-Perception Theory
When situational factors appear:
Weak: attribute behavior to internal causes
Strong: attribute behavior to external causes
Overjustification
Rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation
However, rewards undermine basic intrinsic motivation only when the contingency between the rewards and behavior is clear (when rewards are: expected, salient, controlling, large )
Self-schemas
generalization about the self, derived from past experience, that organize and guide the processing of self-related information
A person will develop a self-schema for each domain of behavior that they view as important
Effects of self-schemas
Facilitate processing of info that is congruent with other schemas
Provide readily accessible memories of behavior that is congruent with schemas
Foster expectations that future behavior will be congruent with the schemas
Predispose individuals to reject info that is incongruent with the schemas
Social comparison theory
We all have a need to evaluate our abilities and opinions
When direct evidence is lacking or inadequate, we will compare ourselves to similar others
We are motivated to come out favorably in the comparison
Motivations underlying various kinds of social comparisons/ contacts
Self-evaluation- with similar others
Self-enhancement- downward with others who are less able or less fortunate
Self-improvement- upward with others who are more able and more fortunate
Social cognition
processing information about others
Impression formation
Primacy effects - Assimilation of meaning Central traits Trait negativity bias Cognitive priming Information integration
Primacy effects
the first info we learn about someone has the greatest impact on our overall impression of that person
Assimilation of meaning
first info provides a context for interpreting subsequent info
Central traits
imply more about a person than do other traits
Trait negativity bias
negative info weighed most heavily
Cognitive priming
recent thoughts readily come to mind and carry great weight when forming impressions of others
Information integration
when combining the info that we learn about others more likely to average than add
Social schemas
generalized networks of info that influence perception, inferences, and memories
Based on:
Experience
Context
Types of social schemas
- Person: about a specific person or personality type
Self: about oneself - Role: about a social category of people- can become stereotypes
- Events (scripts): about the typical sequence of events in familiar social occasions
Attribution
an explanation for a behavior
We all engage in “naive psychology”- readily explain the causes of behavior without conducting careful studies into the matter
Personal attribution
attribute an action to the characteristics of the actor (AKA dispositional, internal)
Situational attribution
attribute an action to the situation in which it occurred (AKA contextual, external)
Correspondent inferences
& when are they likely
infer that a behavior corresponds with a personality trait (personal attribution)
Likely when the behavior:
- Appears to be freely chosen- as opposed to compelled by the situation
- Is unexpected (has socially undesirable effects)
- Departs from the norm
- Has a noncommon (distinctive) effect
Kelley’s covariation theory
the type of attribution made depends on covariation of 3 kinds of info:
- Distinctiveness
- Consistency
- Consensus
Predictions in Kelley’s Covariation Theory
Make situational attributions when: - Distinctiveness is high - Consistency is high - Consensus is high Make personal attributions when: - Distinctiveness is low - Consistency is high - Consensus is low Make transient attributions when consistency low
Kelley’s Discounting Principle
The role of a given cause in producing a given effect is discounted if other plausible causes are also present