AP Psych CH. 17: Social Cognition

Social psychology

study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behavior influence and are influenced by the behavior of others

Social cognition

mental processes associated with people's perceptions of and reactions to other people

Self-concept

the way one thinks of oneself

Self-esteem

the evaluations one makes about how WORTHY one is as a human being

Temporal comparison

we consider the way we are now in relation to how we were in the PAST

Social comparison

using other people as a basis of comparison for evaluating oneself.

Reference groups

Categories of people to which people compare themselves

Upward social comparison

comparing yourself with people who do much better

Downward social comparison

comparing yourself with those who are not as good as you are

Relative deprivation

the belief that, in comparison to a reference group, one is getting less than is deserved.

Social identity

the beliefs we hold about the groups to which we belong

Social perception

the processes through which people interpret information about others, draw inferences about them, and develop mental representations of them

Attribution

the PROCESS of EXPLAINING behavior (yours, other people's, etc.)

Internal attribution

attributing someone's behavior to it being "just who they are"

External attribution

attributing someone's behavior to environmental factors based on the situation

What are the 3 sources of attribution?

consensus, consistency, distinctiveness

consensus

agreement, the person is behaving like everyone else.
low = internal
high = external

consistency

do they act the same all the time?
high = internal
low = external

distinctiveness

how does the behavior change/vary from different places, have to know them in at least two settings.
low = internal
high = external

Fundamental attribution error

overestimate internal (attribution), underestimate external (attribution)
ex. teaching assuming a student that is always late is lazy, but they do not know what is going on in their life

Ultimate attribution error

the tendency to make dispositional attributions about an entire GROUP of people

Ingroup

people you identify with
positive = internal, negative = external

Outgroup

people you do not identify with
positive = external, negative = internal

Actor-observer bias

internal attribution for others, external attribution for us

Self-serving bias

this is only about you + making yourself feel better, says that success is internal, but failure is external

Unrealistic optimism

idea that bad things only happen to other people, and only good things will happen to you

Self-fulfilling prophecy

your behavior makes the prophecy/prediction come true
ex. going into something with a negative attitude

Just-world hypothesis

similar to karma, good things happen to good ppl, bad things happen to bad ppl, extreme of this can lead to victim blaming

First impressions

difficult to change, based on anchoring heuristic

What are the 3 components of an attitude (list them)? (Affective, cognitive, behavioral)

affective, cognitive, behavioral

Affective component of attitude

emotional + feeling component

Cognitive component of attitude

thought component

Behavioral component of attitude

your ultimate ACTION, what you do

Mere exposure effect

the more you are exposed to something, the more likely you are to LIKE it or at least ACCEPT/TOLERATE IT

Elaboration likelihood model (Peripheral route & Central route)

attitude FORMATION, peripheral has no substance and is based on celebrities, commercials, etc. whereas central has substance and is based on factual information

Cognitive dissonance theory

attitude CHANGE; d for discomfort, you act against attitude when it causes you discomfort, "it's not that bad after all" - essentially, you change attitude instead of your behavior

Self-perception theory

attitude FORMATION, when you have no attitude about something/someone so you think "what have I done in the past" and that creates the attitude

Social neuroscience

field of psychology that blends social psych + biology

Stereotype

Thoughts or beliefs about a group or a person; can be positive or negative

Prejudice

Feeling/emotion towards a group or a person due to a stereotype

Discrimination/Social Discrimination

Behavioral component; treating someone differently because of a prejudicial attitude

Ethnocentrism

The idea that we can only see and understand the world from our own ethnic/religious/cultural background

Motivational theory explaining stereotypes + prejudice

Theory that states that stereotypes help us feel better about ourselves

Learning theory

Theory that states that we pick up stereotypes from friends, family, and/media. It also says that we can be
reward for having certain stereotypes, which further solidifies them.

Cognitive theory

Theory that stereotypes comes from quick beliefs (schemas) and the availability heuristic

Jane Elliot's Brown Eyed vs. Blue Eyed Experiment

showed discrimination can be applied to more than skin color and discriminatory behavior can be displayed in 3rd graders! Also showed that when people believe themselves to be the superior group, they do better on academic tests.

Keys to attraction

environment, similarity, physical attractiveness (but it all comes down to physical attractiveness)

Contact hypothesis

The belief that racism can be reduced the more that we are around people of different cultural/ethnic
backgrounds

Jigsaw technique

Specific strategy to reduce racism; people from various backgrounds are put together to achieve a common
goal

Aversive racism

When we do not realize that we show racist tendencies/favoritism, hidden racism

Matching hypothesis

we are attracted to people who match ourselves (in looks, intelligence, etc.)

Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love (3 components)

Intimacy (knowing the person), passion (can't stop thinking about them), commitment (marriage)

Liking

intimacy alone (friends + family)

Romantic Love

passion and intimacy

Infatuation

passion only (having a crush)

Fatuous Love

passion and commitment (a quick marriage)

Empty Love

commitment only (arranged marriage)

Companionate

intimacy and commitment (when married for a long time + the passion goes away)

Consummate Love

intimacy + passion + commitment