Psychology Units 1 & 2 Chapter 6 & 7

Social Cognition & Individual + Group Behaviour

Social Cognition

Involves how we perceive, think about and use information to understand and make judgements about ourselves and others in different social situations

Personal Perception

Refers to the mental process we use to think about and evaluate other people

Physical Cues

The way people look and the way they act

Halo Effect

To allow our overall positive impression of a person or specific quality to influence our beliefs and expectations about the person in other qualities.

Salience

Any personal characteristic that is distinctive, prominent, or noticeable in its context and attracts attention

Social Categorisation

By classifying each other into different groups on the basis of common characteristics

In-groups

Any group that you belong to or identify with as an in-group

Out-groups

Any group that you do not belong to or identify with

Internal Attribution

When we judge behaviour being caused by something personal within an individual

External Attribution

When we determine the cause of a behaviour resulting from situational factors occurring outside the individual

Fundamental attribution error

Explaining other people’s behaviour from internal factors, while ignoring the external factors

Self-serving bias

Taking credit for our successes and denying responsibility for failure, which is blamed on external factors.

Actor-observer bias

Justifying our own behaviour to external factors, yet attribute other’s behaviour to internal factors

Tri-Component Model of Attitudes

Affective, Behavioural and Cognitive

Affective Component

Our emotional reactions or feelings towards something

Behavioural Component

How we express our attitude through actions

Cognitive Component

Our beliefs about something

Cognitive Dissonance

An unpleasant psychological state from people being aware of the inconsistency between their beliefs and actions towards an attitude

Cognitive bias

Is a systematic error of judgement and faulty decision-making

Anchoring bias

To heavily rely on the first piece of information recieved

Attentional bias

To prioritise attention to certain information over other information

Confirmation bias

To seek or recall information in a way that confirms existing beliefs or expectations

False-consensus bias

To overestimate the extent to which other people are like them in terms of sharing beliefs, personal characteristics or behaviours

Hind-sight bias

Only after an event has occurred to overestimate the extent to which the outcome could have been foreseen

Misinformation effect

Information acquired after an event to influence the accuracy of the memory of the original event

Optimism bias

To overestimate the likelihood of experiencing positive events and underestimate the likelihood of experiencing negative events

Dunning-Kruger effect

When people overestimate their knowledge or ability, particularly in areas with which they have little to no knowledge or experience

Heuristic

A strategy for solving a problem or making a decision based on experience with similar types of problems but cannot guarantee a correct outcome

Availability Heuristic

Involves making a decision based on how easy or difficult it is to bring specific examples to mind

Representativeness Heuristic

Involves categorising something by judging how closely it matches our idea of a typical member of category

Affect Heuristic

Involves making a judgement that is influenced by the emotion being experienced at the time

Stereotype

A collection of beliefs that we have about the people who belong to a certain group based on their group membership

Prejudice

A negative attitude towards another person or social group, formed in advance of any experience with that person or group

Discrimmination

When a person or a social group is treated differently than others

Old fashioned prejudice

Members of majority group openly reject minority group; views towards minority group is obvious and recognisable to others

Modern prejudice

More subtle; hidden and expressed in ways more likely to be accepted within majority group

Explicit prejudice

Prejudice that is consciously held and usually deliberately thought about

Implicit prejudice

Prejudice that is typically unconsciously held; unaware of holding such prejudice

Intergroup Contact (Factors Reducing Prejudice)

Increasing direct contact between members of different groups

Contact Hypothesis (Factors Reducing Prejudice)

Direct interaction between members of different social groups

Mutual Interdependence (Factors Reducing Prejudice)

When people who are prejudice against one another must depend on one another

Superordinate Goal (Factors Reducing Prejudice)

A goal that cannot be achieved by any one group alone

Equality in Status (Factors Reducing Prejudice)

When all individuals are seen as equal in power, ability or value during interaction

Group criteria

1. Must be 2 or more members

2. Members must interact with each other

3. Members need to influence each other; thoughts or behaviour

4. Must be a common goal shared by the group members

Culture

The way of life of a particular community that sets it apart from other societies

Individualist Culture

Prioritise the needs and goals of individuals and value independence

Collectivist Culture

Prioritise the needs and goals of groups

Status

The importance of an individual’s position in the group perceived by members of that group

Power

The influence or control that an individual has over the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of another person

Reward Power

Ability to give positive consequences or remove negative consequences in response to specific behaviour

Coercive Power

Ability to give negative consequences or remove positive consequences in response to specific behaviour

Informational Power

Having access to resources or information that are relevant to a situation and are not available elsewhere

Legitimate Power

An individual’s status or position in a group gives them the authority to exercise power over those with a lower status

Expert Power

Having special knowledge and skills that are desirable or needed

Referent Power

Individuals are attracted to or want to be like or liked by this person

Groupthink

Individual members in a group seeking and maintaining agreement when decision-making rather than focusing on making the best decision

Group Polarisation

Individual member in a group shifting their original views to a more extreme position in the same general direction

Deindividuation

Reducing feelings of personal responsibility and inner restraint that can occur when in a group or crowd.

Anonymity in a Group/Crowd

In groups or crowds when people feel anonymous or ‘invisible’ and less accountable for their actions

Shift in Attention

People in a crowd unlikely to reflect on the appropriateness of their actions and give less thought to the consequences of their behaviour

Obedience

Occurs when we follow the commands of someone with authority, or the rules or laws of our society

Constructive Obedience

When complying with the orders of an authority that results in a positive outcome

Destructive Odedience

When complying with the orders of an authority that results in a negative outcome

Social Proximity (Factors Affecting Obedience)

The closeness between two or more people, including physical distance and closeness of their relationship

Legitimacy of Authority Figure (Factors Affecting Obedience)

The authority figure is perceived as being legitimate and having power

Group Pressure (Factors Affecting Obedience)

When there is little or no group support for resisting the authority figure.

Conformity

Is the tendency to adjust one’s thoughts, feelings or behaviour to become more consistent with other people’s or accepted standards about how a person should behave in certain situations

Group Size (Factors Influencing Conformity)

Maximum with three or four other individuals

Unanimity (Factors Influencing Conformity)

The agreement of all people

Normative Influence (Factors Influencing Conformity)

When a response in a group situation is guided by one or more social norms

Informational Influence (Factors Influencing Conformity)

When you want to provide a correct response but are not certain of your ability to do so, believing that others are more capable of making accurate judgements

Cultural Background (Factors Influencing Conformity)

Asian countries (Collectivists) are more likely to conform compared to Eastern countries (Individualists)

Social Loafing (Factors Influencing Conformity)

An individual reducing their effort when working in a group, compared with when they are working alone to avoid the effort involved in making a personal judgement

Anti-conformity

Deliberate refusal to comply with social norms or standards for thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

Reactance Theory

Refers to a motivational state of distress and resistance, caused by a desire to regain personal freedom after it has been removed or threatened by external sources