Social Cognition and Influence Lecture Notes

Flashcards covering vocabulary related to social cognition, person perception, attributions, attitudes, cognitive dissonance, heuristics, prejudice, and social influence based on lecture material.

Social cognition

The study of how people perceive, think about, and use information to understand and make judgements about themselves and others in different social situations.

Person perception

The mental processes used to form impressions and draw conclusions about the personal characteristics of other people.

Halo effect

A type of person perception based on physical cues, where there is a tendency to perceive physically attractive people more positively.

Attribution

The process by which people explain the causes of their own and other people’s behaviour.

Personal attribution

An explanation of behaviour due to the characteristics of the person involved, such as their personality, ability, or attitude.

Situational attribution

An explanation of behaviour due to factors associated with the situation the person is in, which are external to the individual.

Self-serving bias

The tendency to blame failure on external factors (like a misaligned mirror or bad umpiring) rather than personal characteristics like inexperience or lack of skill.

Actor–observer effect

The tendency to attribute one's own behaviour to situational causes (like a slippery glass) while attributing others' behaviour to internal factors (like being clumsy).

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to overestimate personal factors and underestimate situational factors when explaining the behaviour of others.

Attitude

An evaluation a person makes about an object, person, group, event, or issue, involving likes, dislikes, and preferences.

Tri-component model of attitudes

A theory proposing that any attitude has three related components: affective, behavioural, and cognitive (ABC).

Affective component

The feelings towards an object, person, group, event, or issue, expressed through likes or dislikes.

Behavioural component

The way in which an attitude is expressed through our actions or how we might behave if the opportunity arises.

Cognitive component

The beliefs and thoughts we have about an object, person, group, event, or issue, which may be based on facts or be false.

Stereotype

A collection of beliefs held about a person or group based solely on their membership in a certain group, regardless of individual differences.

Social stigma

Negative labels associated with disapproval or rejection by others who are not labelled in that way.

Cognitive dissonance

An unpleasant psychological state occurring when people become aware of inconsistency among their beliefs, attitudes, or behaviours.

Cognitive bias

A systematic error of judgement and faulty decision-making that leads to a distorted or mistaken way of thinking.

Heuristics

A type of mental shortcut used to make judgements quickly and efficiently based on past experience.

Cognitive load

The amount of information that our working memory can hold at any given time.

Prejudice

Holding a negative attitude towards the member of a group based solely on their membership of that group.

Discrimination

The behavioural expression of prejudice, involving positive or negative behaviour directed towards a social group and its members.

Direct discrimination

Unfavourable treatment of a person due to a personal characteristic protected by law, such as age, sex, or sexual orientation.

Indirect discrimination

When the same treatment is applied to everyone but it disadvantages someone due to a protected personal characteristic.

Social Influence

The effects of the presence or actions of others (real or imagined) on the way people think, feel, and behave.

Group

Any collection of two or more people who interact with and influence one another and who share a common purpose.

Aggregate (collective)

A collection of people in the same location with a common activity but minimal direct interaction and no shared purpose or feeling of belonging.

In-group

The group that an individual belongs to or identifies with.

Out-group

A group with which an individual does not identify or belong.

Obedience

Occurs when people follow the commands of someone with authority or the rules and laws of society.

Social Proximity

The closeness between two or more people, including physical distance and the closeness of their relationship.

Conformity

The tendency to adjust thoughts, feelings, or behaviour in ways that are in agreement with an individual, group, or accepted standards.

Informational influence

A factor affecting conformity where individuals look to others for direction or influence when they need to make a decision.

Normative influence

A factor affecting conformity that occurs when social norms are strong and individuals seek to avoid disharmony or conflict.

Anti-conformity

The deliberate refusal to comply with accepted standards in society.

Independence

When an individual experiences freedom from the influence or control of other individuals or groups.