Understanding & Responding to Others Flashcards
Define social attribution
*Process which we seek to identify the CAUSES of our own and others’ behaviour.
(dispositional and situational causes)
Define attribution bias
*Systematic errors are made when people evaluate or try to find reasons for their own and others’ behaviours
What is Fundamental Attribution Error and why does it occur?
*Overestimate the impact of dispositional causes and underestimate the impact of situational causes
*Occurs: use cognitive shortcuts that quickly judge others without considering all the information.
What is actor-observer effect and why does it occur?
*Attribute own behaviour to situational causes, others’ behaviour to dispositional causes
*Occurs: Actors can’t see themselves and asymmetry of information
What is self-serving bias and why does it occur?
*Attribute own positive outcomes internally and negative outcomes externally.
*Occurs: Motivated to achieve a positive sense of self
What is the ultimate attribution error and why does it occur?
*Attribute bad outgroup and good ingroup behaviour internally to people and visa versa. (e.g. good outgroup and bad ingroup behaviour externally to situation).
*Occurs: Motivated to achieve a positive social identity.
Describe primary and recency effects
*Primary: earlier presented information has a disproportionate influence on social cognition.
*Recency: later presented information has a disproportionate influence on social cognition.
Describe positivity and negativity biases
*Positivity: Absence of information we assume the best and form a positive impression of people
*Negativity: negative information attracts our attention and strongly influences our impressions in a way that is resistant to change.
Describe implicit personality theories
*Principles for how certain traits go together to form certain types of personality.
E.g. intelligent people are friendly
Describe personal constructs on impression formation
*personal ways of forming impressions of other people.
Explain what stereotypes are and how perspective taking affects them
*Stereotypes: widely shared and evaluative image of a social category and its members.
*CAVEAT-Perspective Taking: simple and highly salient stereotypes can limit the value of perspective-taking.
Define conformity
*The extent to which individuals modify their behaviour to be consistent with the behaviour of others in the group.
Describe factors that lead to conformity (e.g. social influence, diffusion of responsibility, pluralistic ignorance)
*Social Influence: take account of how others are acting in a situation.
*Diffusion of Responsibility: individual assumes that others either are responsible for takin action or have already done so.
*Pluralistic Ignorance: Majority of group members privately reject a norm but go along with it because they incorrectly assume that most others accept.
What is the potential of minority influence on changing norms
*People are motivated to avoid or resolve conflict. Creating it can have a minority influence impact over time.
*The amount of influence a minority has depends on behavioural style.
Describe the types of responses to disrespect
*Internal: Sense of injustice, lowered self-esteem and depression.
*Retaliation: helps restore victim’s self-image and presents victim as someone who will not tolerate disrespectful treatment.
