week 7 social cognition Flashcards
situationism
the view that behavior and actions are determined by our immediate environment
dispositionism
behavior is determined by internal factors eg personality
just world hypothesis
people get the outcomes they deserve
fundamental attribution bias
tendency for observers to underestimate impact of situation and overestimate impact of personal disposition when analyzing someone
acter observer bias
misattribute others actions to internal factors and our own behaviors are attributed to situational factors
as the actor how do we perceive our behavior
as influenced by the situation (variable)
as the observer how do we perceive our behavior
as due to personal dispositions - stable
cognitive dissonance
-psychological discomfort arising from holding two or more inconsistent attitudes, behaviors, or cognitions
- we experience a conflict in our behaviors, attitudes or beliefs that runs counter to our positive self-perceptions, we experience psychological discomfort (dissonance)
how to decrease cognitive dissonance
- changing discrepant behavior eg stop smoking
- changing our cognitions through rationalization or denial eg telling ourselves that health risks can be reduced by filtered cigs
- adding a new cognition eg smoking stops my appetite so I don’t lose weight which is good for my health
hovlands features of persuasion
credibility of speaker, physical attractiveness of speaker, subtlety and attention
what are 2 main routes that play a role in persuasion
central and peripheral
what is central route of persuasion
- logic driven & uses data & facts
- argument must be strong to create attitude change
- works best if audience is analytical and willing to engage in processing of info
what is the peripheral route of persuasion
- indirect route using peripheral cues to associate positivity with the message
- relies on association with positive characteristics eg positive emotions & celebrity endorsement
- doesn’t require much effort in info processing
- less permanent attitude change
what is the foot in the door technique - freedom and Fraser 1966
persuader gets a person to agree to bestow to a small favor or to buy a small item, only to later request a larger favor or purchase a bigger item
what are internal forms of attitude change
- cognitive dissonance
- tension we experience when thoughts are in conflict
normative social influence
people conform to group norm to fit in
informational social influence
people conform because they believe the group is competent and has the correct information, particularly when the task or situation is ambiguous
group polarization
-strengthening of the original group attitude after discussing views within the group
- if a group initially favors a viewpoint after discussion the group consensus is likely a stronger endorsement of the viewpoint
social facilitation
when an individual performs better when an audience is watching them
social loafing
exertion of less effort by a person working together with a group, so group performance declines on easy tasks
prejudice
a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on ones membership in a particular social group
discrimination
negative action toward an individual as a result of ones membership in a particular group
impression formation
assigning characteristics to other people
what is aschs configured model
people tend to not simply add up impressions but make holistic judgments based on specific info
what’s good about aschs configurational model
allows for summarizing and organizing of large and diverse info about a person
3 biases in impression formation
primacy effect, negativity bias and halo effect
primacy effect
earlier info has stronger influence than later info
negativity bias
negative info has stronger influence esp in social and moral situations
halo effect
assumption that someone with down positive/negative qualities also possesses additional undisclosed positive/negative qualities
schema
a set of expectations about the way the world works that affects the information we attend to and remember. It is a mental framework that organises and synthesises information.
what is emotional component of schema
prejudice
what is cognitive component of schema
stereotype
what is behavioral component of schema
discrimination
rebound effect
in case of stereotypes - when people suppress negative stereotypical thoughts, when not trying to suppress anymore their expressions become stronger
self-fulfilling prophecies
others expectations can cause us to “know ourselves” and behave in a way that’s confirming those expectations
Harris and Rosenthal 1985
children at beginning of school year were randomly told they were particularly bright by teachers - these kids performed better at the end of the term
self perception theory - bem 1972
we learn about ourselves by observing how we behave
social comparison theory - festinger 1954
people are driven to gain accurate self-evaluations . self evaluation often achieved by comparing ourselves to others
3 ways to gain self knowledge
self-fulfilling prophecies, self-perception theory and social comparison theory
attribution theory
an explanation of how people develop a casual understanding of human behavior
who suggested the different causes of behavior
heider 1958
situation factors
- external causes
- stimuli in the environment
dispositional factors
- internal causes
- individual personality characteristics
what does Kelleys covariation theory say
attributions are made by 3 different principles
3 principles of covariation
consensus, consistency and distinctiveness
from Kelleys covariation theory what are the 4 types of attributions
- the person - internal or dispositional
- the stimulus - external or situational
- the circumstance
- combination
give an example of consensus
how do other people behave?
give an example of consistency
does x usually behave like this?
give an example of distinctiveness
is x’s behavior in this situation different from x’s behavior in other situations?
give 4 attributional biases
- actor-observer effect
- fundamental attribution error
- false consensus
- self-serving bias
what was the method for Jones and Harris 1967 study
- Participants read essays that either supported or opposed Fidel Castro (a controversial figure at the time).
- They were informed that the essay writers had either:
1. Freely chosen their stance (pro-Castro or anti-Castro).
2. Been assigned their stance by the experimenters. - Participants were then asked to judge the essay writers’ true attitudes toward Castro.
findings of jones and Harris 1967 study
- Even when participants knew the stance was assigned and the writer had no choice, they still tended to attribute the essay’s position to the writer’s personal beliefs.
- For example, if a writer presented a pro-Castro argument, participants often assumed the writer personally supported Castro, even if they knew the stance was assigned.
conclusion of jones and Harris 1967 study
- The study highlighted a cognitive bias where people tend to overestimate dispositional factors (e.g., personality, beliefs) and underestimate situational factors when explaining others’ behavior.
- This bias became known as the Fundamental Attribution Error or Correspondence Bias.
false consensus effect
the tendency for people to believe their own behavior is widely shared and their own views are consensual eg smoking (more people don’t mind smoking).
what are some reasons for the false consensus effect
- we surround ourselves with similar others
- self as anchor - not adjusting from own view
self-serving bias
tendency to attribute ones success to dispositional characteristics and ones failures to situational factors
heuristics
mental shortcuts used to make judgements, past experiences is used for quick decision
advantage of cognitive shortcut
speed
disadvantage of cognitive shortcut
not always accurate
3 types of heuristic
- representativeness heuristic
- availability heuristic
- anchoring and adjusting heuristic
representativeness heuristic
classifying something as belonging to a certain category to the extent that it is similar to the typical case
eg a girl with glasses is a librarian
problems with representativeness heuristic
ignoring additional info eg base rate
Availability heuristic
estimate likelihood of event by ease with which instances of that event come to mind
conjunction fallacy
people incorrectly assume that the probability of two events occurring together (their conjunction) is more likely than the probability of either event occurring alone.
anchoring and adjusting heuristic
Estimates are made by starting with an initial value (anchor) that is adjusted to reach an answer
social physiology
the study of how thoughts, feelings, behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of definitional others
impression formation.
the way in which we attribute specific traits to peoeple
central traits
when people form impressions of other people, some traits have more influence than others in the final impression
mma went to see a play last night with her friends; although she thought that the play was quite good, Emma is hesitant to express her thoughts on the play until her friends all say that they enjoyed it. Emma then says that she enjoyed it as well. Emma’s behaviour may best be explained in terms of which of the following?
social comparison theory
who had an empiricist view
locke
Which judgment heuristic is most likely a cause of the actor-observer difference?
availability
