Social Psychology: Person Perception, Attribution, and Prejudice

38 vocabulary flashcards covering person perception, attribution processes, and the social, emotional, and cognitive foundations of prejudice.

Person Perception

How we form impressions of ourselves and others, including the attributions we make about behavior.

Attribution Theory

Idea that we explain behavior by crediting either the situation (situational) or the person’s stable traits (dispositional).

Fundamental Attribution Error

Tendency for observers to underestimate situational influences and overestimate dispositional influences on others’ behavior.

Actor-Observer Bias

We attribute our own actions to external causes but others’ actions to internal causes.

Dispositional Attribution

Explaining behavior through internal, stable traits such as personality.

Situational Attribution

Explaining behavior through external environmental factors rather than personal traits.

Cultural Influence on Attribution

Westerners favor dispositional explanations; Eastern cultures attend more to situational factors.

Biased Explanations

Assuming behavior stems from only one attribution type, often producing inaccurate beliefs (e.g., blaming poverty solely on laziness).

Social Comparison

Evaluating ourselves by comparing our successes or failures to those of others.

Social Media and Comparison

Online platforms enable frequent comparisons that can motivate or harm when viewing others’ highlight reels.

Self-Esteem Impact

Self-esteem rises with perceived success and falls with perceived failure during social comparisons.

Prejudice

Unjustifiable, usually negative attitude toward a group, involving emotions, stereotypes, and discrimination.

Stereotype

Generalized—often overgeneralized—belief about a group of people.

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members.

Components of Prejudice

Combination of negative emotions, stereotyped beliefs, and a predisposition to discriminate.

Implicit Bias

Unconscious associations or attitudes toward certain groups that can lead to unintended discrimination.

Explicit Bias

Conscious, openly expressed prejudices toward a group.

Colorism

Prejudice in which darker-skinned individuals within a racial group face greater discrimination.

Reducing Implicit Bias

Strategies such as testing for unconscious associations, avoiding unconscious patronization, and monitoring reflexive reactions.

Racial Prejudice

Subtle discriminatory attitudes and behaviors toward racial minorities despite reduced overt racism.

Gender Prejudice

Bias, often implicit, that disadvantages individuals based on gender in areas like pay and leadership.

Masculine Norms

Valued traits (e.g., independence, assertiveness) that can marginalize women by being viewed as the default for competence.

Male-Female Ratio Issues

Skewed sex ratios (e.g., in China, India) that lead to higher crime, violence, and trafficking.

LGBTQ Prejudice

Negative attitudes and legal sanctions directed at sexual and gender minorities.

Consequences of LGBTQ Prejudice

Higher mental illness, suicide rates, and substance use disorders among LGBTQ individuals due to stigma.

Legal Acceptance

Jurisdictions with pro-equality laws show reduced bias and prejudice against LGBTQ populations.

Just-World Phenomenon

Belief that the world is fair and people get what they deserve, fostering victim-blaming.

Social Identity

The “we” aspect of self-concept derived from group memberships.

Ingroup

The group with which an individual identifies (“us”).

Outgroup

Groups seen as different or apart from one’s ingroup (“them”).

Ingroup Bias

Tendency to favor one’s own group over others, fostering inequity.

Scapegoat Theory

Prejudice offers an outlet for anger by blaming an outgroup for problems.

Other-Race Effect

Greater accuracy at recognizing faces of one’s own race than those of other races.

Emotional Roots of Prejudice

Fear, frustration, and uncertainty heighten attachment to ingroups and increase bias.

Cognitive Roots of Prejudice

Mental shortcuts such as categorization simplify thinking but foster stereotyping.

Ethnocentrism

Belief that one’s own group is superior and that members of other groups are overly similar.

Availability Heuristic

Judging likelihood based on vivid examples, which can fuel prejudicial beliefs.

Hindsight Bias

After an event, believing it was predictable, reinforcing just-world thinking and victim-blaming.