WEEK 10 Flashcards
Two different theoretical perspectives on the self are…
psychodynamic perspective: focusing on mental models or representations of the self
cognitive perspective: focusing on the way the self-concept shapes thought and memory.
Reference groups…
categories of people with whom individuals compare themselves
Relative deprivation…
the belief that, in comparison to a reference group, one is getting less than is deserved
e.g. an actor who receives $5 million to star in a film feels slighted if a co-star is receiving $10 million.
Deindividualization…
a psychological state in which a person becomes ‘submerged in the group’, which results in loss of individuality and a tendency
to do things not normally done when alone
Social loafing…
exerting less effort when performing a group task than when performing the same task alone
‘Social perception’….
he processes through which people interpret information about others, draw inferences about them, and develop mental representations of them
self-fulfilling prophecy
a process through which our expectations about another person cause us to act in ways that lead the person to behave as we expected
e.g. a teacher has low expectations for a student named Sarah because of her previous academic performance. The teacher believes that Sarah will struggle in the upcoming math exam and may even fail. Consequently, the teacher interacts less with Sarah, provides less support, and does not offer extra help.
According to Kelly, what are the three key variables to help understsnd behaviour?
- consensus – the degree to which other people’s behaviour is similar to that of the actor
- consistency – the degree to which the behaviour is the same across time or situations (difficult to ascertain without information about distinctiveness)
- distinctiveness – the extent to which the actor’s response to one situation stands out from responses to similar situations
‘Fundamental attribution error’…
a bias towards overattributing the behaviour of others to internal causes
Another form of the fundamental attribution error is known as ‘essentialism’, which is the tendency to attribute the actions of members of certain groups to essential, internal, biological factors, most commonly their genetic makeup, leading to the (incorrect) idea that these people’s behaviour will never change.
e.g. attributing someone arriving late to work to poor time management, when in actual fact there may have been an inordinate amount of traffic that morning
Out-group
those whom we perceive as being different from ourselves
In-group
those who we perceive as being similar to ourselves
Name an example of cognitive bias, in relation to in-groups and out-groups
When members of a social or ethnic out-group (people we see as ‘different’) do something positive, we attribute their behaviour to luck or some other external cause. However, we attribute their negative behaviour to an internal cause, such as dishonesty. At the same time, when members of an in-group (people we see as being like ourselves) do good deeds, we attribute the behaviour to integrity or other internal factors. If they do something bad, we attribute it to some external cause.
actor-observer effect…
the tendency to attribute other people’s behaviour to internal causes while attributing our own behaviour (especially errors and failures) to external causes.
less likely to occur in collectivist cultures such as Japan or India
self-serving bias…
the tendency to attribute our successes to internal characteristics while blaming our failures on external causes
The self-serving bias occurs, in part, because people are motivated to maintain their self-esteem,
and ignoring negative information about themselves is one way to do so.
Schemas…
our prior knowledge has an impact on our perceptions of individuals
The success of a persuasive message depends primarily on which factors?
-the person communicating the message * *
-the content of the message
-the audience who receives it
Elaboration likelihood model…
a model suggesting that attitude change can be driven by evaluation of the content of a persuasive message (central route) or by irrelevant persuasion cues (peripheral route
The elaboration likelihood model of attitude change…
The model is based on the notion that persuasive messages can change peoples attitudes through one of two main routes.
The first is called the peripheral route because when it is activated, we devote little attention to the
central content of the persuasive message. Instead, we tend to be affected by the persuasion cues that surround it, such as the confidence, attractiveness or other characteristics of the person delivering the message. Persuasion cues influence attitude change even though they say nothing about the logic or validity of the message content. Commercials in which movie stars or other attractive non-experts praise pain relievers, hearing aids or political candidates are designed to operate via the peripheral route to attitude change.
By contrast, when the central route to attitude change is activated, the content of the message becomes more important than the characteristics of the communicator in determining attitude change. A person following the central route uses logical steps, such as those outlined in the ‘Thinking critically’ sections of this book, to rationally analyse the content of the persuasive message. This analysis considers the validity of the message’s claims, determines whether the message leaves out important information, assesses alternative interpretations of evidence, and so on.
What determines the chosen route in the elaboration likelihood model?
-One factor is a person’s need for cognition –
the desire to think things through. People with a strong need for cognition are more likely than others to follow a central route to attitude change. Personal involvement with a message’s content is another important factor.
-People are more likely to activate the central route when thinking about topics that are personally relevant.
for example, that you hear someone arguing for the cancellation of all student loans in Chile. This message might persuade you through the peripheral route if it comes from someone who looks attractive and sounds intelligent. However, if the message proposes eliminating student loans at your own school, you are more likely to follow the central route. You might still be persuaded, but only if the logic of the message is clear and convincing.
This is why celebrity endorsements tend to be more effective when the products being advertised are relatively unimportant to the audience
Cognitive dissonance theory…
a theory asserting that attitude change is driven by efforts to reduce tension caused by inconsistencies between attitudes and behaviours (Leon Festinger).
Changing attitudes to beliefs to make them congruent with behaviour, and vice versa
For example, someone who believes that texting while driving is dangerous, but who must also admit that they often text when they drive, would be motivated to reduce the resulting dissonance. Because it is often difficult to change a well-established behaviour, people usually reduce cognitive dissonance by changing the attitudes that are inconsistent with the behaviour. Therefore, rather than quit texting, the person might decide that texting at the wheel is not so dangerous after all.
How does cognitive dissonance differ in individualistic cultures, compared with collectivist cultures?
In individualist cultures, dissonance typically arises from behaving in a manner inconsistent with one’s own beliefs because this behaviour causes self-doubt.
in collectivist cultures, dissonance typically arises when such behaviour causes people to worry about what others think of them
Cultural values also help shape dissonance-reducing strategies. For example, people from individualistic cultures can reduce the unpleasant feelings that accompany dissonance by affirming their value as unique individuals, whereas people from collectivist cultures can reduce the same kind of feelings by affirming the value of the groups to which they belong
Self-perception theory…
a theory suggesting that attitudes can change as people consider their behaviour in certain situations and then infer what their attitude must be
For example, if someone observes themselves volunteering frequently, they may infer that they have a strong commitment to a cause. This theory highlights the role of behaviour in shaping one’s self-concept and beliefs.
Stereotype…
a false assumption that all members of some group share the same characteristics- they are schemas about entire groups of people
Prejudice…
a positive or negative attitude towards an entire group of people
