social cognition
involves how we interpret, analyse, remember & use info to make judgements about others in diff social situations.
person perception
the mental processes we use to form impressions and draw conclusions about personal characteristics of other people.
halo effect
a cognition bias in which the impressions we form about one quality of a person influences our beliefs & expectations about the person in other qualities
saliance
any personal characteristics that is prominent or conspicuous & thus attracts attention - can lead to social categorisation
attribution
the process by which people explain the causes of their own & other people’s behaviour - 2 categories:
internal: an explanation due to the characteristics of the person involved (eg personality, skill)
external: an explanation due to factors external to the person (eg luck, fate, actions)
3 general biases that affect attributions
fundamental attribution error: tendency to overestimate the influence of personal factors & underestimate the impact of situational factors on other people’s behaviour
actor-observer bias: tendency to attribute our own behaviour to external or situational factors, yet attribute others’ behaviour to internal factors
self-serving bias: when judging self, tendency to take credit for our success (internal factors) and attribute failures to external/situational factors
attitude
an evaluation a person makes about an object, person, group, event or issue - learned through experiences
tri-component model of attitudes
affective (feeling): the emotional reactions or feelings an individual has towards an object, person, group, event or issue
behavioural (action): the action component or what you do/don’t do as an expression of attitude
cognitive (beliefs): the mental component and refers to the beliefs/thoughts you have about people, objects, places, events or idea
stereotypes
a generalisation about the personal characteristics of the members of a social group - characteristics are attributed based on membership of the group
cognitive dissonance
a state of psychological discomfort that occurs when we are aware that there are inconsistencies within our attitudes and beliefs and what is real
ways of reducing cognitive dissonance
change the cognition
change the behaviour
add new cognitions
cognitive bias
a systematic error of judgement and faulty decision-making - usually leads to inaccurate conclusions
flawed - bias
occurs naturally
anchoring bias - type of cog bias
tendency to rely heavily on the very first piece of into received when making decision
attentional bias - type of cog bias
tendency to prioritise attention to certain info over other info
confirmation bias - type of cog bias
tendency to seek, recall or interpret info in a way that confirms existing beliefs/expectations while failing/dismissing to seek contradictory evidence
false-consensus bias - type of cog bias
tendency to overestimate the extent over which other people are like in terms of sharing beliefs, personal characterisations/behaviours
hindsight bias - type of cog bias
tendency, only after an event has occurred, to overestimate the extent to which the outcome could have been foreseen
misinformation effect - type of cog bias
tendency for info acquired after an event to influence the accuracy of the OG event
optimism bias - type of cog bias
tendency to overestimate the likelihood of experiencing positive events and underestimate negative events in the future
dunning-kruger effect - type of cog bias
when people overestimate their knowledge/ability in areas they have little to no knowledge/experience
actor-observer bias - type of cog bias
tendency to attribute own behaviour to external/situational factors, but attribute others’ behaviour to internal factors
self-serving bias - type of cog bias
when judging self, tendency to take credit for success (internal) and attribute failures to external situation factors
heuristics
strategy for solving a problem or making a decision based on experience with similar types of problems, but can’t guarantee a correct outcome
3 types of heuristics
availability: making a judgement based on how easy or difficult it is to bring specific EGs to mind.
representativeness: involves categorising something/someone by judging ow close it matches our idea of a typical member of the category.
affect: making a judgement that is influenced by the emotion being experienced at the time.
prejudice (belief)
holding a negative attitude towards the members of a group, based solely on their membership of that group
2 categories of prejudice
old-fashion prejudice (explicit): blatant and deliberate form of open rejection towards group/person, based solely on membership of that group
modern prejudice (implicit): a more subtle form of prejudice, insinuates rejection whilst displaying acceptance
explicit and implicit
explicit: consciously held, deliberately thought about, openly expressed
implicit: unconsciously held, person is unaware of having them
discrimination (behaviour)
positive/negative behaviours that is directed towards a social group and its members - when prejudice is expressed through behaviour
direct discrimination
when someone treats another person unfavourably because of personal characteristics protected by the law
indirect discrimination
unreasonable requirement, condition or practice that disadvantages a person/group because of a personal characteristic
ways to reduce discrimination
education programs
legislation
media campaigns
intergroup contact: involves increasing contact between individuals/groups whoa re prejudiced against each other. - close, ongoing contact
social influence
the effects of the presence/actions of others (real or imagined) on the way people think, feel and behave
social group/collection
any collection of 2 or more people who interact with and influence one another - share common purpose
aggregation
collection of people in one location who have no obvious social structure or organisation - minimal shared purposes
status
the importance of an individual’s position within a group, as perceived by members of that group
power
an individual/group’s ability to control/influence the thoughts, feelings or behaviours of another. - when power is involved in social interaction ‘social power’
reward power - type of social power
ability to give positive consequences or remove negative ones in response to specific behaviour
coercive power - type of social power
ability to give negative consequences or remove positive ones in response to specific behaviour
legitimate power - type of social power
when an individual’s status/position in general gives them the authority to exercise power over those with lower status/authority
referent power - type of social power
individual’s identify with/want to be like or liked by this person
expert power - type of social power
having special knowledge & skills that are desireable/needed
informational power - type of social power
having resources/info that are useful and are not available elsewhere
groupthink
a way of thinking by individual members of a group that is characterised by a strong tendency to seek agreement when making decisions rather than considering better options
occurs when:
-high levels of cohesiveness
-strong leader
-lacks procedure/ability to debate
-isolated from outside influences
-under stress within strict timeline
symptoms of groupthink
illusion of invulnerability: overestimation that group’s ability to make good decisions due to distorted belief that everything will work out
moral correctness: belief that group will make morally right decision, so no need to consider relevant moral/ethical issues
collective rationalisation: group spends more time justifying decisions rathe than seeking alternatives
out-group stereotypes: looking down at ideas sourced outside the group and possibility that another group could have better ideas
self-censorship: individuals withhold personal concerns/dissent opinions - disagreements aren’t expressed
direct pressure on dissenters: pressure on doubters to conform/agree
illusion of unanimity: distorted belief that everyone agrees
self-appointed mind guards: when group members protect group from info that may challenge its decisions
obedience
a response involving following the commands of someone with authority or the rules and laws of society/behaviour.
factors that affect obedience
social proximity: physical distance & closeness of relationship between people
legitimacy of authority figure
group pressure
conformity
tendency to adjust one’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours in ways that are in agreement with those of a particular individual/group or accepted standards
factors that affect conformity
group size
unanimity
informational influence: when conformity results from a need for direction/info on how to respond in specific situation
normative influence: occurs when response is guided by one or more social norms
culture
social loafing: tendency of an individual to make less effort when involved in a group activity than working alone