Social cognition - SAC

Social cognition involves how we interpret, analyse, remember and use information to make judgements about others in different social situations.

Person perception

Mental processes we use to form impressions and draw conclusions about the personal characteristics of individuals

Halo effect

The tendency we form about one quality of a person influences our belief and expectations about the person in other qualities

Group size

The number of individuals in a group that can correspond to a rise in conformity

Normative influence

Conforming with others to be liked by peers

Unanimity

Every member of a group fully agrees on a idea or choice

Informational influence

Individuals conform to secure accuracy so they look to others whom they believe have more information

Sustained contact

Prolonged and cooperative interaction between two groups who are prejudiced against each other

Superordinate goals

Shared goals which groups cannot achieve alone without the other group/person

Obedience

Where a person changes their behaviour and follows direct commands from an authority figure

Conformity bias

The tendency to align one’s own attitudes, and beliefs with others

Social proximity

Refers to the closeness between two or more people.

Group pressure

A legitimate, authority figure is more likely to obey and have more power on an individual

Group pressure

An individual is more likely to change their opinion or values to match with the rest of the group

Cognitive bias

Errors in thinking that make us misinterpret the information we perceive