Key Concepts in Social Cognition and Interactionism

Schemas

Mental frameworks that help us organize knowledge about the social world based on past experiences and socialization.

Social categories

Ways we classify and label people and behaviors in society.

Accessibility and priming

Accessibility refers to how readily available schemas are in our mind; priming is when recent experiences increase a schema's accessibility.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

When expectations about someone lead to behavior that makes those expectations come true, like in the Rosenthal and Jacobson study where labeling students as 'bloomers' led to better performance.

Attribution process

How we infer causes of behavior, using factors like consistency, consensus, and distinctiveness.

Rational thought

The idea that humans try to be rational but often make systematic errors due to incomplete information.

Internal attribution

Explaining behavior based on individual characteristics (e.g., 'they're lazy').

External attribution

Explaining behavior based on situational or structural factors (e.g., economic downturn).

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to overestimate internal factors and underestimate situational/structural factors when explaining others' behavior.

Systematic bias

Patterns of errors in thinking that aren't random but reflect consistent deviations.

"I" and "me"

Components of the self where the "I" is the subject (spontaneous actor) and the "me" is the object (reflective interpreter).

Significant symbols

Gestures or words with shared meanings that allow for social coordination and self-awareness.

Generalized other

Society's expectations and norms that we internalize, influencing our behavior.

Expressions given vs. given-off

Intentional communications versus unintentional signals we send during interactions.

Frames

Principles of organization that help define the meaning of social events and guide behavior.

The color line

DuBois' concept about racial separation in society.

Social model of disability

Views disability as created by society rather than individual impairment.

Inequality

Systematic differences in access to resources and opportunities.

Prejudice

Preconceived opinions not based on reason or experience.

Motherhood penalty

The systematic disadvantages in pay and perceived competence that mothers face in the workplace.

Sociology as science

The systematic study of human society and behavior using empirical methods.

Sociological imagination

C. Wright Mills' concept connecting personal experiences to historical and social forces; understanding how macro social forces shape individual lives.

Basic research

Research conducted to expand knowledge without immediate practical application.

Applied research

Research designed to solve specific problems or answer practical questions.

Qualitative methods

Research approaches focusing on in-depth understanding through interviews, observations, etc.

Quantitative methods

Research approaches using statistical analysis and numerical data

Triangulation

Using multiple methods or data sources to increase validity of findings

Theory

Framework that describes, explains, or explores social phenomena at different levels of abstraction

Empiricism

Knowledge derived from observation and evidence rather than theory or belief

Levels of abstraction

Theories range from micro (individual interactions) to macro (entire social systems)

Symbolic interactionism

Perspective focusing on how people create meaning through social interactions and symbols

Self

Developed through social interactions rather than existing innately; formed through relationship between 'I' and 'me'

Definition of the situation

Shared understanding between participants about what's happening in an interaction

Impression Management

How people try to control others' perceptions of them

Front/back region or stage

Goffman's concept of public performance areas vs. private preparation areas

Looking-glass self

Cooley's concept that we develop our self-concept based on how we imagine others see us

Mead's stages of self

Preparatory stage, play stage, game stage, and generalized other stage in self development

Conversation of gestures

Non-symbolic communication without shared meaning

Conversation of significant gestures

Communication using symbols with shared meanings

Stereotypes

Oversimplified beliefs about characteristics of social groups

Stereotype threat

Anxiety about confirming negative stereotypes about one's social group

Stereotype activation

When stereotypes are triggered and become accessible in one's mind

Heuristic

Mental shortcuts used to make judgments quickly

False consensus effect

Tendency to overestimate how much others share our beliefs and behaviors

Bounded rationality

Limited rationality due to cognitive constraints and incomplete information

Implicit bias

Unconscious attitudes affecting understanding, actions, and decisions

Social construction

Process by which people create social phenomena through social practices

Role-taking

Process of mentally assuming the perspective of another person

Double-consciousness

DuBois' concept of Black Americans seeing themselves through both their own eyes and those of white society

Outsiders within

People who have access to a group but remain marginalized within it

The veil

DuBois' metaphor for the separation between Black and white Americans; Black Americans can see through it, but whites cannot

Labeling theory

How labels applied to individuals influence their behavior

Medicalization

Process by which human conditions become defined and treated as medical issues

Pathologization

Treating differences as disorders or diseases

Stigma

Attribute that discredits and reduces someone from a whole person to a tainted one

Discrimination

Unfair treatment based on categories like race, gender, etc.

Microaggressions

Subtle, often unintentional expressions of prejudice

Boundary maintenance (othering)

Process of defining who belongs and who doesn't in a group

Colorblind racism

Racial discrimination through policies that appear race-neutral

Socialization

Process of learning and internalizing norms, values, and behaviors

Agents of socialization

Institutions that teach social norms (family, school, media, peers, etc.)

Dramaturgy

Goffman's theatrical metaphor for social life as a series of performances