Exam 2 Study Guide: Social Perception and the Self

Social perception

The study of how we form impressions of and make inferences about other people.

First impressions

They can persist even when contradictory information is presented.

Fundamental attribution error (FAE)

Makes us blame the person rather than the situation.

Halo Effect

The tendency to assume that an individual who is physically attractive also possesses other (even unrelated) positive characteristics and in turn we treat them better.

Example of Halo Effect

Hot people being cast to play bad people because we are more willing to overlook their not so nice qualities.

Non-verbal communication

Communication intentionally or unintentionally without words (facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, touch, gaze, body posture, etc).

Usefulness of nonverbal communication

We can use it to express emotion, convey attitudes/preferences, communicate personality traits, facilitate/modify verbal communication.

Universal facial expressions

They mean that almost anyone can figure out what the facial expression is supposed to mean. They are happiness, anger, sadness, fear, surprise, disgust, contempt.

Problems with polygraph machines

Some emotions like anxiety or nervousness can cause inaccuracies.

Cultural effects on nonverbal communication

Not all cultures use the same nonverbal cues and can interpret them differently, leading to miscommunication.

Attribution theory

Theories that try to investigate the ways that people explain the causes of one's own and others' behavior.

Correspondent Inference Theory

Suggests that there are certain conditions that make it more likely that we make internal attributions about others' behavior.

Conditions for internal attributions

We are more likely to make internal attributions about a person when their behavior is freely chosen or their behavior is surprising (seems to go against their own interest or social role).

Two-step attribution model

People analyze others' behaviors first by automatically making an internal attribution and only then considering possible external attributions that may affect the initial inference.

Actor/Observer effects

When we make attributions, we tend to be 'self-serving.'

Self-serving attributions

We make situational (external) attributions for ourselves because we see ourselves as less stable and predictable.

Dispositional attributions

We make dispositional (internal) attributions for others because we see others as more predictable and one-dimensional.

Attributions for bad events (self vs. others)

For ourselves, we make external (situational) attributions for the event; for others, we make internal (dispositional).

Attributions for good events (self vs. others)

For ourselves, we make internal (dispositional) attributions; for others we make external.

Illusory superiority effect

Also known as the 'better than average' effect.

Self-serving biases

The tendency for individuals to believe they are better than average in various aspects.

Who is less likely to have self-serving biases?

Depressed individuals and those with low self-esteem.

Just world beliefs

The belief that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people, creating psychological tension when this is not the case.

Self-handicapping

Doing something in advance of a performance situation that could explain away any potential failure.

Example of self-handicapping

Drinking the night before an exam.

Upside of self-handicapping

If someone does poorly, circumstances can be blamed; if they do well, they earn bonus points in self-esteem.

Downside of self-handicapping

Observers dislike self-handicappers and infer that they have low ability, which can increase the probability of failure.

Sense of self

Determined by the mark test, where individuals recognize their reflection as themselves.

Animals with a bodily sense of self

Chimps, orangutans, gorillas, magpies, elephants, and maybe dolphins.

Self-concept

The overall set of beliefs that people have about their personal attributes.

Self-schema

Synonymous with self-concept; it describes how individuals perceive themselves.

Low complexity self-schema

Characterized by having not a lot of traits.

High complexity self-schema

Characterized by having a lot of traits.

Benefits of high complexity self-schema

People with highly complex self-concepts cope better with negative events and are less prone to depression.

Unitary self

How you view yourself.

Multiple selves

The concept that individuals have different selves based on the situation they are in.

Working self-concept

The set of self-conceptions we are aware of at any given point in time, made salient through priming, motivation, and goals.

Possible selves

Self-conceptions that describe what you could be or what you want to be.

Ideal self

Who we want to be, determined by hopes, wishes, and dreams.

Ought self

Who we should be, determined by a sense of duty, responsibility, or obligation.

Self-Discrepancy Theory

The theory that emotions result from misalignment between actual selves and possible selves.

Actual ideal discrepancies

Lead to emotions such as disappointment and dissatisfaction.

Actual-ought discrepancies

Lead to emotions such as guilt and self-contempt.

Influence of social roles on self-concept

New roles may feel inauthentic and uncomfortable, but role playing can eventually become reality.

Influence of social identities on self-concept

Social identities shape who we are and who we aspire to be, taking into account who we are not.

Influence of others' judgments on self-concept

Others' perceptions can significantly impact how we view ourselves.

Looking Glass Self

We view ourselves through the eyes of others and incorporate their perception of us into our self concept.

Success and Failure

Failure leads to low self-esteem and low self-esteem also leads to failure.

Independent Self-Views

Defining self in terms of one's own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions and not in terms of thoughts, feelings and actions of other people.

Interdependent Self-Views

Defining self in terms of one's relationship to others, recognizing that one's behavior is often determined by the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others.

Growth Mindset

Traits are malleable, changed through effort and flexibly adopting useful strategies.

Fixed Mindset

Traits are rigid and unchanging, you either have it or you don't.

Self-Esteem

A person's overall self evaluation or sense of self worth.

Trait Self-Esteem

A person's enduring level of self worth over time. This is relatively stable even across years.

State Self-Esteem

Dynamic, changing evaluations a person momentarily feels about the self.

High Self-Esteem Predictions

High self-esteem predicts initiative, resilience, improved mood.

Low Self-Esteem Predictions

Low self-esteem predicts depression, drug abuse, delinquency.

Self-Regulation

The self helps guide our choices about what to do in the present and future.

Limited Willpower Beliefs

Belief that willpower is something you have a fixed amount of.

Nonlimited Willpower Beliefs

Belief that willpower is unlimited.

Proactive Self-Control

Individuals structure their environments to remove temptations, therefore leading to less in the moment self regulation.

Introspection

The process by which people look inward and examine their own thoughts, feelings and motives.

Problems with Introspection

People don't rely on introspection as much as we think we might; even when people do introspect, the reasons for their feelings and behavior can be hidden from conscious awareness.

Self-Concept

Traits about yourself.

Mindsets

People's cognitive tendencies to view traits as changeable or unchangeable.

Bullying and Self-Esteem

High self-esteem with social rejection leads to aggression.

Self-Knowledge

Obtained through introspection, observing ourselves and using others.

Tell More Than We Can Know

Refers to the phenomenon where people express reasons for their feelings that may not be fully understood.

Pro/Con Lists

Good when needing to weigh multiple factors, especially when the choice involves both significant positive and negative aspects; harmful when the decision is very simple with obvious outcomes.

Self-Awareness Theory

When people focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behavior to internal standards.

Self-Perception Theory

When our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our own behavior.

Example of Self-Perception

I ate the whole bag of chips? I must have been hungry.

Engagement in Self-Perception

When our behaviors are uncertain.

Differences between Self-Awareness and Self-Perception Theories

Self-awareness theory involves evaluating behavior against internal standards, while self-perception theory involves inferring attitudes from behavior.

Social Comparison

The process of comparing ourselves to others to evaluate our own opinions, abilities, and emotions.

Upward Social Comparisons

Comparing ourselves to someone who is better off, which can motivate improvement.

Downward Social Comparisons

Comparing ourselves to someone who is worse off, which can boost self-esteem.

Intrinsic Motivations

Wanting to perform an activity for its own sake.

Extrinsic Motivations

Performing an activity because of something that results from it.

Overjustification Effect

A large reward decreases a person's intrinsic motivation to perform a behavior or participate in an activity.

Task-Contingent Rewards

Rewarded for simply completing tasks, regardless of how well they do it.

Performance-Contingent Rewards

Rewarded depending on how well they perform (if they don't perform well then no reward).

Sustaining Motivation Rewards

Performance-contingent rewards tend to sustain motivation.

Undermining Motivation Rewards

Task-contingent rewards undermine motivation.

Two-Factor Theory of Emotion

Emotional experience results from physiological arousal and seeking to explain arousal.

Misattributing Arousal Example

Participants crossing a scary suspension bridge approached by attractive experimenter.

Impression Management

Attempting to get others to see us how we want to be seen.

Ingratiation

Using flattery or praise to make ourselves likeable to another person.

Cognitive Dissonance

The discomfort we feel when two cognitions conflict or our behavior conflicts with our cognitions, especially when one of the conflicting cognitions/behaviors challenges our self-esteem.

Dissonance Generation Example

Knowing smoking and cancer can be correlated but smoking anyways.

Dissonance Reduction Strategies

Change the behavior, change your cognition about the behavior, add consonant cognitions (rationalizations).

Controlled vs Automatic Dissonance Reduction

Automatic: usually happens quickly and is the initial response.

Automatic

usually happens quickly and is the initial response

Hypocrisy Induction Experiment

Have people make hypocritical statements, remind them of inconsistency to arouse, to reduce dissonance, change behavior

Ben Franklin Effect

People feel more positive towards someone they have helped

Dehumanization

seeing other people as less than human

Impact Bias

The tendency to overestimate the intensity and duration of one's emotional reactions to future negative events

Justification of Effort

The tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they've worked hard to attain

Insufficient Justification

When people are insufficiently rewarded or punished, they have to internally justify something

Mild Threat

More likely to stop people from engaging in 'forbidden' behaviors because they have to internally justify and rationalize that they are avoiding something because they truly want to avoid it