Unit 4: Social Psychology and Personality

Person Perception

How we form impressions of people

Attributions

How we explain the causes of events

Attribution Theory

• Proposed by Frit Heider

• Explain behavior by crediting situation (Situational) or a person’s traits (Dispositional)

Fundamental Attribution Error

• When observers analyze a person’s behavior, they underestimate how the situation affects how that person acts

• ex. In class, I might see quiet but during a tennis match I’m perceived as loud

Actor-Observer Bias

• Tendency to attribute our behavior on external causes and other’s behavior on internal causes

• ex. when you trip, you blame the sidewalk. When someone else trips you blame their clumsiness

Prejudice

Unjustifiable and usually negative attitude towards a group

Stereotype

• Generalized belief about a group of people

• Often overgeneralized / overexaggerated

Discrimination

To act in negative and unjustifiable ways

Just-World Phenomenon

• The world is fair and people get what they deserve

• Good is rewarded and evil is punished

Ingroup

People who we share a common identity with

Outgroup

People who are perceived as different or apart from our ingroup

Ingroup Bias

Tendency to favor our own group

Scapegoat Theory

• When things go wrong, finding someone / a group of people to blame provides a target for our negative emotions

• ex. China during the pandemic

Other-Race Effect

Recall someone’s face from our own race more accurately

Attitudes

Feelings that are influences by our beliefs and predisposes us to respond a certain way

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

When people agree to do a small task, it’s easier to convince them to comply with a bigger task

Door-in-the-Face Phenomenon

Asking something unreasonable, then something reasonable so that person is more likely to agree

Role

Set of expectations (norms) about a social position

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

• Proposed by Leon Festinger

• We try to reduce the discomfort when our thoughts aren’t consistent (aka when out attitudes and actions clash - reduce by changing attitude)

Attitude Follows Behavior Principle

If you act a certain wat, you’ll start to change your attitude to match

Peripheral Route Persuasion

• When people are influenced by incidental cues

• ex. Speaker’s attractiveness or celebrity influence / popularity

Central Route Persuasion

Influence using evidence and scientific based arguments