psych aos1 unit 2

Social cognition

How we judge others in social situations by interpreting and analysing info

Person perception

The mental processes we use to form our impressions and opinions of other people

Direct social cognition

Provided from the person we are judging (e.g- through observing/interacting with them)

Indirect social cognition

Through hearing about the person we are judging from another person/source (e.g- reading about someone online)

Physical cues

The physical characteristics and behaviours of people that influence our impressions of them

Attributions

Evaluations made about the causes of behaviour and the process of making these evaluations

Internal attribution

When we judge behaviour as being caused by something personal within an individual (e.g- ability, energy)

External attribution

When we determine the cause of a behaviour as a result of situational factors occurring outside the individual (e.g- luck)

Fundamental attribution error

Our tendency to explain other people’s behaviour in terms of internal factors, while ignoring possible external factors

Attitude

A person’s evaluation of other people, objects, issues or any other thing. Must be an evaluation of something, settled/stable and learnt through experience.

ABC model

A- affective (emotions and how you feel toward something)

B- behavioural (outward reaction that reflects your POV)

C- cognitive (thoughts and beliefs toward something)

Cognitive dissonance

Psychological tensions that occur when our thoughts, feelings and/or behaviours do not align with each other (often occurs when we act in a way that contradicts our beliefs)

Confirmation bias

Tendency to accept info that aligns with prior beliefs and ignore contradictory info

Actor-observer bias

Tendency to attribute our own actions to external factors and situational causes while attributing other people’s actions to internal factors

Self-serving bias

Tendency to attribute positive success to our internal character and actions and attribute our failures to external factors or situational causes

False-consensus bias

Tendency to overestimate the degree to which other people share the same ideas and attitudes as we do

Halo effect

Tendency for the impression we form about one quality of a person to influence our overall beliefs about the person in other respects

Heuristics

Information processing strategies or ‘mental shortcuts’ that enable individuals to form judgements, make decisions and solve problems quickly and efficiently

Anchoring heuristic

An information processing strategy that includes forming judgements based on the first information about an idea or concept

Availability heuristic

An information processing strategy that enables individuals to form a judgement, solve a problem, or make a decision based off info that is easily accessible

Representative heuristic

An information processing strategy that involves making a categorical judgement about an idea, event, or person, based on their similarity to other items in that category

Affect heuristics

An information processing strategy that involves using emotions to make a judgement or decision

Prejudice

Often a negative attitude held against people within a certain group or social category

Old fashioned prejudice

Refers to deliberate and overt prejudice and comes from a time in history when the belief in superior and inferior races or nations was widespread and a part of government policy

Modern prejudice

A more subtle form of prejudice that insinuates rejection while displaying acceptance

Direct discrimination

Someone is treated unfairly due to their association with a group

Indirect discrimination

When a practice or rule applies to all people and unfairly disadvantages a group

Stigma

The feeling of shame experienced by an individual for a characteristic that differentiates from others

Positive and negative influences of heuristics

Positive influences include quick decision-making and efficiency. Negative influences include leading to biases and potential errors in judgement.

What is the impact of social groups and culture on individual behaviour?

Social groups and culture shape individual behaviour through norms, values, and roles, influencing conformity, beliefs and identity.

Conformity

Adjusting one’s behaviour or thinking to coincide with a group standard

Obedience

Compliance with order, request or law given by an authority figure

Normative influence

Conform with others because you want to be liked by them

Informational influence

Conforming because they want to be right and look up to others that might have more knowledge/info than them

Deindivation

Hiding in safety of numbers

Group think

When a group values agreement over critical thinking, leading to poor decisions.

Group shift

When people just go along with the group to avoid conflict.

Individualistic culture

A culture that prioritises the needs and goals of individuals and value independence (uniqueness is valued)

Collectivist culture

A culture that prioritises the needs and goals of groups (social harmony is valued)

Social identity theory

The tendency for people to favour their in-group over an out-group to enhance their self esteem