Group Behaviour and Person Perception Unit 2

Physical Cues definition+example

First impressions are based on how people look and the way that they act.

Eg: An intimidating impression may be based on a broad chested appearence.

Physical appearance definition+example INCLUDE HALO EFFECT

Judgements in attractiveness inform our thoughts on whether we think someone is warm, intelligent or cold, lonely.

Halo effect: If we rate somebody as good looking, we are more likely to assume they have good personal qualities too.

Body language definition and example

Body language is a silent language, and a non-verbal form of communication

Includes facial expression, eye gaze, posture, gestures & other bodily movements.

Creates quick judgements; however, these judgements can sometimes be inaccurate

Eg: A broad, upright posture with a proud facial expression portrays someone as superior

Behaviour definition+example

Physical appearance and body language are not always reliable; knowing what someone does can help us create a more accurate representation of that person.

Eg: If someone cheats on a test, we may perceive them as dishonest.

Salience detection+ example

Salience refers to personal characteristics that are distinctive, prominent, or noticeable in their context and attract attention.

Eg: If someone enters a daycare centre in a suit and tie, they will be perceived as different in this context, where people wouldn't usually dress this way. This is detected as out of the ordinary.

Social categorisation+example

Social categorisation involves subconsciously sorting those around us into groups based on common characteristics those people share.

Eg: Gender, race, age (Gen Z, tradies, etc)

Ingroup

Group in which you belong to

Outgroup

group you do not belong to or identify with

Attribution definition+example

An attribution is an explanation for an action or behaviour

Eg: Attributing factors such as a death in the family as a cause of depression in your friend explains her sadness.

Internal attribution+example

Internal attribution is an explanation for an action someone makes due to the characteristic of the person involved: personality, ability, attitude, motivation, mood or effort.

Eg: A friend failed a test after consistent absence - typical, as you know they are irresponsible in not trying to catch-up with their studies. (You are attributing her poor work ethic (INTERNAL) with her bad test grade, explains her actions)

External attribution

External attribution is an explanation for an action someone makes due to factors with the situation the person is in: actions of another person, the task, luck, fate, positive or negative.

Eg: Your friend failed a test after consistent absence from a death in the family - typical, as you can assume it must be a challenging time for them. (You are attributing her EXTERNAL circumstances to her test grade, explains her actions)

Fundamental attribution error definition+example

The tendency to overestimate the influence of personal factors & underestimate the impact of situational factors. (Automatically turn to internal factors and ignore the situation)

Eg: Ms C was yelling at someone in the yard, she is so mean! INSTEAD OF Ms C was yelling at someone in the yard, a student was on their phone. (We automatically assume the teacher is being mean, rather than having an external reason to yell)

Types of cognitive bias: Actor-observer bias definition+example

Actor-observer bias refers to our tendency to attribute our own behaviour to external or situational factors, yet attribute others' behaviour to internal factors.

Eg: I forgot to get milk at Coles because there were too many people & not enough workers (external/situational) BUT Mum forgot to get milk at Coles cause she is always forgetful (Internal).

Types of cognitive bias: Self-serving bias+ definition

Eg: For example, I got a good result because of my ability & hard work! I got a bad result because there were too many distractions in the test conditions.

What is an attitude?

An attitude is an evaluation a person makes about an object, person, group, event, or issue

Eg: I hate science, maths is boring, i should leave the concert.

We can form attitudes about anything!

Affective component

Emotional reactions and feelings towards something. Feelings of…..

Eg: Feelings of annoyance and hate for physical activity.

Cognitive component

The firm belief we have towards something. Something we know…

Eg: I (know l) hate PE, it is a waste of time!

Behavioural component

The way in which an attitude is expressed through our actions.

Something we do…

Eg: Talking to the PE teacher, refusing to bring PE uniform.

What are steryotypes? Definition+examples of steryotypes

A generalisation (positive or negative) about the personal characteristics of the members of a social group. The characteristics are attributed to people based on their group membership.

This is the product of social categorisation, sorting everyone (subconsciously) into particular social groups.

Eg: Tradies, rich people, poor people, young people, old people, etc.

Social stigma

Result of negative stereotyping. Negative stereotyping can lead to negative labels and attitudes associated with disapproval or rejection by others.

Example: Stereotype that those of asian heritage are expected to be intelligent leads to stigma such as mental health disorders, anxiety, depression, and overwhelming expectations to live up to a certain standard that the steryotype upholds.

Cognitive dissonance definition+example

Cognitive dissonance is an unpleasant psychological state that occurs when people become aware that there is inconsistency among their various beliefs, attitudes or other cognitions, (Hear varying opinions and beliefs from others, our view may not always be right if we choose to believe these opinions) or that their behaviour conflicts with their cognitions (Our behaviour does not align with what we believe).

Eg: Dissonance may be experienced if you choose to go to the movies with friends on the weekend, even though exams start on Monday and you know you should be spending your time studying. Your experience at the movies may be negatively impacted as a result.

Eg: Dissonance may be experienced if you trust a friend, but then hear negative things about that same friend. (Loyalty is conflicted with mistrust)

Ways to resolve cognitive dissonance+Example of Zoe stealing money to pay for her lunch since she didnt have enough time to make it.

1. Change the behaviour to fit the mindset.

2. Change the mindset to fit the behaviour.

Example:

1. Zoe could change her behaviour to fit her mindset by choosing not to steal money anymore.

2. Zoe could choose to change her mindset to fit her behaviour by choosing to believe that it is okay if she steals money since she is doing it for a fair cause.

Types of cognitive bias: Optimism bias+example

Tendency to overestimate the likelihood of experiencing positive events and underestimate the likelihood of negative events.

Eg: Smokers think they can't get sick since they think they have good genetics.

Types of cognitive bias: Dunning-Kruger effect+example

Tendency to overestimate your abilities and knowledge and make an error in your judgement.

Eg: You just got your license, and you believe you can already drive a Formula One car.

Types of cognitive bias: Anchoring bias+example

The tendency to rely heavily on the first piece of information received when making decisions.

Eg: Shopping for a hoodie, we see a hoodie for $400, so we think anything below that price is cheap, and use the first item as an anchor.

Types of cognitive bias: Attentional bias+example

Cognitive bias influencing the tendency to prioritize attention to certain information over other information.

Eg: When buying a hoodie, do you focus on colour and look, or do you focus on practicallity?

Types of cognitive bias: Confirmation bias+example

The unconscious tendency to seek information that supports existing beliefs whilst ignoring contradictory information.

Eg: if you believe a colleauge is incompetent, you will hold onto this thought, and every mistake they make in the future you will remember, since it is confirming your beliefs.

Types of cognitive bias: false-consensus bias

Overestimate agreeance of your beliefs and values.

Eg: a student who found an exam hard assumes everyone else struggled, and it was not just them.

Types of cognitive bias: Halo effect+example

Using a single positive trait (like physical attractiveness or a friendly smile) to unconsciously judge someone as entirely good, intelligent, or trustworthy, without factual evidence.

Eg: See someone who wears glasses, causing us to automatically assume they are intelligent.

Types of cognitive bias: hindsight bias+example

The tendency to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were before the events took place. (as though they knew it all along)

Eg: Someone saying after a football team lost that they knew that would happen

Types of Cognitive Bias - Misinformation Bias

Tendency for information aqquired after an event to influence the accuracy of the memory of the original event.

Eg: Going on a good holiday, but getting sick on the last day. The only thing you can recall is being sick.

3 types of heuristics

Availability, representative, affect

What is a heuristic?

Heuristics are mental shortcuts that we make to allow for quick decisions based on limited information (which may or may not be correct)

Eg: You are heading to a bus stop and notice a stranger at the stop who appears to be frowning at you so you stop and decide to take the train.

It turns out the frowning person was on the phone having an argument.

Avalibility heuristic

This involves making a decision based on what comes immediately to mind; we prefer to use information that we can quickly recall

Representative heuristic

This involves categorising a person/object/event by comparing it to what we think is most relevant or typical for that category.

E.g: traditionally, tattooed people were almost always aligned as being involved in criminal activities.

Therefore, if you met someone with tattoos and applied the representativeness heuristic, you might think they are more likely to have spent time in jail compared to a non-tattooed person you met.

Positives and negatives of availability heuristic

Positives

Can save time and/or effort for recalling and analysing similar situations.

Negatives

Can overestimate the likelihood of recent events recurring (occurring again).

positives and negatives of representative heuristic

Positives

Can help us understand a new person/object/event by comparing it to others that we already have.

Negatives

Similarities between persons/objects/events can be overestimated and lead to errors in judgements or decisions.

Affect heuristic

This involves making a judgement that is influenced by your current emotional state.

Positives and negatives of affect heuristic

Positives

Might encourage us to try new things or take calculated risks if we are in a good mood.

Negatives

If in a bad mood, we are less likely to try new things that could improve ourselves or challenge us to be better.

What is prejudice?

Prejudice is a negative attitude about another person or group of people based on insufficient or incorrect information formed in advance of any experience with that person or group.

4 basic characteristics of prejudice:

1. The tendency to believe that we (the majority group) are superior to the minority group, whome prejudice is being directed to.

2. The majority group tends to believe the minority group is different from them and that they 'do not belong'

3. Majority group tends to believe that they are more powerful and important than the minority group.

4. The majority group that displays prejudiced attitudes is insecure, fearing the minority group may become more powerful and more important than the majority group.

What are the 4 types of prejudice? (name)

Old-fashioned, modern, explicit, implicit

Old-fashioned prejudice definition

Members of the majority group reject minority group members.