Unit 2 AOS 1 SAC Flashcards
Social cognition
how we interpret, analyse, remember and use information to make judgements about others in different social situations.
Person perception
mental processes used to form impressions and draw conclusions, which guide how we form relationships with people
Cognitive biases definition
a systematic error in thinking, generally due to oversimplifying information available
cognitive bias example
confirmation bias, actor observer bias, self serving bias, false consensus bias, halo effect, fundamental attribution error
confirmation bias
searching for and accepting information that supports beliefs and ignore contradictory information.
actor observer bias
attribute your behaviour to situational factors but others to personal factors
self serving bias
taking credit for success and attribute failures to situational factors
false consensus bias
overestimating how much others agree and share the same ideas as you.
halo effect
focussing on one positive trait and looking past more negative traits
attribution
the process that people use to explain their own and other’s behaviour. Personal and situational factors
personal attribution
INTERNAL factors. a person’s personality, ability, attitude and motivation, mood or effort
situational factors
EXTERNAL factors. actions, environment, task, luck, fate.
fundamental attribution error
overestimating the affect of personal factors and underestimating the affect of situational factors
attitudes
the judgement a person makes about other people, objects or experiences. can be positive, negative or neutral
tri component model
has affective, behavioural and cognitive components. All have to be present to form an attitude.
affective component
the emotions a person has towards something
behavioural component
the way our attitude is expressed through our actions
cognitive component
the belief a person has about something. linked to what the person already knows and is a result of experience
cognitive dissonance
when one of the 3 components of the model dont align with the other 2 (typically behavioural) and we experience an unpleasant feeling.
heuristics
mental shortcuts that help us to make quick decisions on limited information to reduce cognitive load
heuristic types
availability, representativeness, affect, anchoring
availability heuristic
based on information that is easily accessible
anchoring heuristic
based on the first information recieved
representative heuristic
the probablility of an event occuring by comparing it to typical examples
affect heuristic
based on a person’s emotional state
positives of heuristics
positive: saves time, adaptive and protective, reduces cognitive load
negatives of heuristics
negative: prone to error and bias, leads to base rate fallacy, when decisions are more influenced by memories and experience rather than facts
stereotype
a collection of beliefs about people who belong to a certain group, regardless of their individual differences - COGNITIVE
predjudice
holding a negative attitude toward a member of a group because they belong to that group - AFFECTIVE
discrimination
unjust treatment of people because what group they belong in - BEHAVIOURAL
factors contributing to predjudice
in groups and out groups, inter group conflict,
ingroups and outgroups
viewing people in our ingroup as like us so see the outgroup different so more likely more negatively
intergroup conflict
when 2 groups are competing for the same resources
methods to reduce prejudice
sustained contact, mutual interdependence, equality of status, superordinate goals
sustained contact
prolonged and cooperative interaction
mutual interdependence
when 2 groups must depend of each other to reach a goal
equality of status
being on the same level as each other
superordinate goals
goals shared between groups that cannot be achieved alone
group
any collection of 2 or more people who interact with and influence one another and share a common purpose
status
the level of importance that group members percieve regarding another group member’s position
power
an individual/group’s ability to strongly influence or control the throughts, feelings and behaviour of another person
types of power
reward, coercive, legitimate, referent, expert, informational
reward power
the ability to reward someone for doing the right behaviour
coercive power
the ability to punish someone for doing the wrong behaviour
legitimate power
appointed or elected leadership role or formal power
referent power
role model, want to be like them
expert power
knowledge or expertise in a specific field
informational power
information others want that isn’t available elsewhere
obedience
the act of people changing their behaviour in response to direct commands from an authority figure
factors that effect obedience
proximity, status of authority figure, group pressure
proximity
how physically close one or more people are to each other
status of authority figure
an authority figure who has a higher position or status in a social hierarchy
group pressure
acting in a certain way or feeling like they should act to align with the group
conformity
when people modify their ideas, attitudes, behaviours or percepions to more closely reflect those held by groups where they belong or want to belong
Factors affecting conformity (SNUGCID)
Social loafing
Normative influence
Unanimity
Group size
Culture
Informational influence
Deindividuation
Social loafing
making less effort when it is a group task as opposed to an individual task
Normative influence
believing that others expect you to act in a certain way
unanimity
complete agreement in terms of knowing the answer
group size
the number of people in a group. if there is a larger group, it is harder to go against people
culture
social norms, expectations, rituals, practices and beliefs of certain societies or group. The effect of social and cultural factors on the tendency to conform
informational influence
when we believe the information is true. more likely to conform with others when they want to give a correct answer
deindividuation
the loss of individuality or the sense of anonymity that occurs in a group
groupthink
when a group member’s desire to maintain group loyalty becomes more important than making the best desicion
groupshift
when dicussion leads a group to adopt attitudes or actions that are more extreme than initial actions or attitudes of the individual group members
