unit 2 area of study 1 Flashcards
social cognition
relates to the way we behave in social settings and how we interpret the behaviours of others
what does social cognition involve?
- detection of facial expressions and emotional responses (social perception)
- understanding other people’s cognitive and emotional states (social understanding)
- carrying out behaviours that consider goals and needs of ourselves and others (social decision-making)
person perception
process by which people think about, appraise and evaluate other people
components that contribute to person perception
- physical cues … person’s physical appearance, facial expressions and overall demeanour acts as signals that allow us to draw conclusions
- saliency detection … noticing features that are unique
- social categorisation … grouping individuals based of perceived social category they belong to (sex, race age)
what is attribution?
process of attaching meaning to behaviour by looking for a cause.
internal attributions - factors within a person that shape behaviour
external attributions - factors around a person that shape behaviour (location, ppl around them)
what are attitudes?
are learned ideas we hold about ourselves, others, objects and experiences.
what are the tricomponents of attitudes?
Affective component - feelings, emotions towards…
Behaviour component - actions towards …
Cognitive components - belief about …
what are the limitations of the model?
cognitive dissonance
individuals act in a way that is inconsistent with their attitudes or perception of themselves eg- thinking animal cruelty is bad but eating meat
5 types of cognitive dissonance
actor-observer- own behaviours=external/others behaviours= internal
anchoring bias - relying on first piece of info to make decisions
attentional bias - focus on particular stimuli whilst ignoring others
confirmation bias - looking for info that supports own views
halo effect - positive evaluation influences beliefs and expectations
elements of classical conditioning
neutral stimulus - does not naturally cause reflex (bell)
unconditioned stimulus - naturally causes reflex (food)
unconditioned response - reflex that occurs to stimulus (salvitation)
conditioned stimulus - causes reflex through association to unst (bell)
conditioned response - stimulus in absence of unst (salvitation)
what is the role of learner in classical conditioning
passive with an automatic response
what are the three phases of operant conditioning
antecedent - any stimulus that precedes a behaviour
behaviour - the response that is displayed after antecedent
consequences - stimulus that occurs after behaviour and affects likelihood of recurrence
types of consequences
reinforcement - increases likelihood
punishment - decreases likelihood
types of reinforcement
positive- strengthens response by adding desirable consequence
negative- strengths response by removing of undesired stimulus
types of punishment
positive - weakens response by adding unpleasant consequence
negative- removal of pleasant stimulus
what is the role of learner in operant conditioning
active and behaviours are complex
what are heuristics
mental shortcuts used for quicker, more efficient decisions
why are heuristics beneficial?
- they reduce cognitive load required for decision-making
-make snap judgement that save time and mental effort
-simplify complex info
-direct attention towards questions, probable outcomes and answers
what is availability heuristics?
info we first think of to make judgement. readily available or easy to imagine. recent, vivid, frequent or emotional significance.
representative heuristics?
estimate likelihood of something occurring or being true based on it’s similarity. biased or inaccurate
affect heuristics?
influenced by current emotional state or mood. occurs quickly and efficiently. judgements about words, images, objects because of emotional response they prompt
what is observational learning
someone uses observations of another person’s actions and their consequence to guide their future actions
5 stages of observational learning
attention- actively watching model’s behaviour/consequences
retention- retain mental representation of behaviour for future use
reproduction- learner must have physical/mental capacity to reproduce behaviour
motivation- must have desire to perform behaviour
reinforcement- consequence influences learner’s likelihood of reproducing
def of prejudice
negative preconceived notion, leads to discrimination
def of discrimination
action of prejudice or treating other’s in an unfair matter
direct vs indirect discrimination
direct- treating person/group less favourably
indirect- rule/policy has unfair effect on particular group
social groups def
formed when two or more people interact, influence each other and share a common objective
status meaning
position in hierarchy
5 types of social power
reward- rewarding someone who complies
coercive- punish someone who doesn’t comply
legitimate- acceptance of person as being part of social order
referent- looking up to this person
expert- recognise person has knowledge
obedience def
change in behaviour in response to direct commands from others
types of culture
collectivist cultures- value group needs over interest of individual needs, priorities loyalty to the group
individualist cultures- values individual interest over group interest, independent and encourages development of personal identity
factors affecting obedience
social proximity- distance between people (physical/relationship)
legitimacy of authority- visible signs of authority (uniform)
group pressure- group support authority figure
conformity def
individuals change behaviour as result of real or implied pressure
factors affecting conformity
normative influence- likelihood to conform is established by behaviour of group
informative influence- looking at other’s behaviour to guide us in whether we should behave in a similar way
unanimity- more likely to conform when others do
group size- conformity increases as group expands
deindividuation- in large group can lead us to act in a way we wouldn’t alone
what is group think?
members of a group prioritise the strong bonds over clear decision making
ways to reduce group think
-leader doesn’t share opinions about topic before group starts work
-consider consequences of decisions
-at least one member plays ‘devil’s advocate’ at meetings that allow group to evaluate progress
group shift
group polarisation, tendency for group members to adopt a more extreme position than their individual position. can move towards risky behaviour (risky shift) or away from risky behaviour (cautious shift)
causes of group shift
-tendency to evaluate or compare ourselves to other’s influences our self image and our wellbeing
social connection
belief that we belong to a group, generally feel close to other people. strong social connections are beneficial on our mental health
types of social comparison
upward social comparison- compare ourselves to people we see as superior
downward social comparison- compare ourselves to people we see as inferior
lateral social comparison- we compare to our equals
8 symptoms of group think
invulnerability- feeling unable to be harmed
rationale- reasoning for a course of action
morality- distinguishing between right or wrong
stereotypes- over-simplified views about a particular group
pressure- coercion
self-censorship- remaining quiet to avoid criticism
unanimity- expecting agreement by all
mind guards- filtering out negative info
independence meaning
individual is aware of how the group expects them to behave or respond but their decision making is not swayed in anyway by expectations of the group
anti-conformity
deliberate refusal to comply with social norms. desire to be stubborn or rebellious
