Social Cognition – Cognitive Dissonance & Cognitive Biases

Vocabulary flashcards covering definitions of cognitive dissonance, its reduction strategies, and a range of cognitive biases and heuristics highlighted in the lecture notes.

Cognitive Dissonance

The mental discomfort experienced when a person’s thoughts, feelings or behaviours are inconsistent with one another.

ABC Components of Attitude

Affect (feelings), Behaviour (actions) and Cognition (thoughts) that usually align but can clash during cognitive dissonance.

Reducing Dissonance: Change Cognition

Altering one’s thoughts to make them fit behaviour (e.g., ‘The relationship wasn’t serious anyway’).

Reducing Dissonance: Change Behaviour

Adjusting actions to match beliefs (e.g., start exercising because fitness is valued).

Reducing Dissonance: Add New Cognitions

Introducing a new thought that justifies the inconsistency (e.g., ‘Everybody cheats on tests’).

Cognitive Bias

A systematic, predictable error in judgment or decision-making that occurs without conscious awareness.

Anchoring Bias

Over-reliance on the first piece of information offered (the “anchor”) when making decisions.

Attentional Bias

The tendency to focus on certain information while ignoring other relevant data.

Confirmation Bias

Seeking, recalling or interpreting information in ways that support pre-existing beliefs.

False-Consensus Bias

Overestimating how much others share one’s beliefs, traits or behaviours.

Hindsight Bias

After an event, the inclination to see the outcome as having been predictable (‘I knew it all along’).

Misinformation Effect

Post-event information distorts or overwrites memories of the original event.

Optimism Bias

Overestimating the likelihood of positive events and underestimating negative ones for oneself.

Dunning–Kruger Effect

People with low ability or knowledge overrate their competence in that area.

Availability Heuristic

Judging likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind (noted for next lesson).

Representativeness Heuristic

Estimating probability by how much something fits a prototype, often ignoring actual statistics.

Affect Heuristic

Making quick decisions chiefly guided by current emotions rather than objective data.