psych u2 aos2

social cognition

involves how we interpret, analyse, remember & use info to make judgements about others in diff social situations.

person perception

the mental processes we use to form impressions and draw conclusions about personal characteristics of other people.

halo effect

a cognition bias in which the impressions we form about one quality of a person influences our beliefs & expectations about the person in other qualities

saliance

any personal characteristics that is prominent or conspicuous & thus attracts attention - can lead to social categorisation

attribution

the process by which people explain the causes of their own & other people’s behaviour - 2 categories:

* internal: an explanation due to the characteristics of the person involved (eg personality, skill)
* external: an explanation due to factors external to the person (eg luck, fate, actions)

3 general biases that affect attributions

* **fundamental attribution error:** tendency to overestimate the influence of personal factors & underestimate the impact of situational factors on other people’s behaviour
* **actor-observer bias:** tendency to attribute our own behaviour to external or situational factors, yet attribute others’ behaviour to internal factors
* **self-serving bias:** when judging self, tendency to take credit for our success (internal factors) and attribute failures to external/situational factors

attitude

an evaluation a person makes about an object, person, group, event or issue - learned through experiences

tri-component model of attitudes

* **affective (feeling):** the emotional reactions or feelings an individual has towards an object, person, group, event or issue
* **behavioural (action):** the action component or what you do/don’t do as an expression of attitude
* **cognitive (beliefs):** the mental component and refers to the beliefs/thoughts you have about people, objects, places, events or idea

stereotypes

a generalisation about the personal characteristics of the members of a social group - characteristics are attributed based on membership of the group

cognitive dissonance

a state of psychological discomfort that occurs when we are aware that there are inconsistencies within our attitudes and beliefs and what is real

ways of reducing cognitive dissonance

1. change the cognition
2. change the behaviour
3. add new cognitions

cognitive bias

a systematic error of judgement and faulty decision-making - usually leads to inaccurate conclusions

* flawed - bias
* occurs naturally

anchoring bias - type of cog bias

tendency to rely heavily on the very first piece of into received when making decision

attentional bias - type of cog bias

tendency to prioritise attention to certain info over other info

confirmation bias - type of cog bias

tendency to seek, recall or interpret info in a way that confirms existing beliefs/expectations while failing/dismissing to seek contradictory evidence

false-consensus bias - type of cog bias

tendency to overestimate the extent over which other people are like in terms of sharing beliefs, personal characterisations/behaviours

hindsight bias - type of cog bias

tendency, only after an event has occurred, to overestimate the extent to which the outcome could have been foreseen

misinformation effect - type of cog bias

tendency for info acquired after an event to influence the accuracy of the OG event

optimism bias - type of cog bias

tendency to overestimate the likelihood of experiencing positive events and underestimate negative events in the future

dunning-kruger effect - type of cog bias

when people overestimate their knowledge/ability in areas they have little to no knowledge/experience

actor-observer bias - type of cog bias

tendency to attribute own behaviour to external/situational factors, but attribute others’ behaviour to internal factors

self-serving bias - type of cog bias

when judging self, tendency to take credit for success (internal) and attribute failures to external situation factors

heuristics

strategy for solving a problem or making a decision based on experience with similar types of problems, but can’t guarantee a correct outcome

3 types of heuristics

* **availability:** making a judgement based on how easy or difficult it is to bring specific EGs to mind.
* **representativeness:** involves categorising something/someone by judging ow close it matches our idea of a typical member of the category.
* **affect:** making a judgement that is influenced by the emotion being experienced at the time.

prejudice (belief)

holding a negative attitude towards the members of a group, based solely on their membership of that group

2 categories of prejudice

* **old-fashion prejudice (explicit):** blatant and deliberate form of open rejection towards group/person, based solely on membership of that group
* **modern prejudice (implicit):** a more subtle form of prejudice, insinuates rejection whilst displaying acceptance

explicit and implicit

* **explicit:** consciously held, deliberately thought about, openly expressed
* **implicit:** unconsciously held, person is unaware of having them

discrimination (behaviour)

positive/negative behaviours that is directed towards a social group and its members - when prejudice is expressed through behaviour

direct discrimination

when someone treats another person unfavourably because of personal characteristics protected by the law

indirect discrimination

unreasonable requirement, condition or practice that disadvantages a person/group because of a personal characteristic

ways to reduce discrimination

* education programs
* legislation
* media campaigns
* **intergroup contact:** involves increasing contact between individuals/groups whoa re prejudiced against each other. - close, ongoing contact

social influence

the effects of the presence/actions of others (real or imagined) on the way people think, feel and behave

social group/collection

any collection of 2 or more people who interact with and influence one another - share common purpose

aggregation

collection of people in one location who have no obvious social structure or organisation - minimal shared purposes

status

the importance of an individual’s position within a group, as perceived by members of that group

power

an individual/group’s ability to control/influence the thoughts, feelings or behaviours of another. - when power is involved in social interaction ‘social power’

reward power - type of social power

ability to give positive consequences or remove negative ones in response to specific behaviour

coercive power - type of social power

ability to give negative consequences or remove positive ones in response to specific behaviour

legitimate power - type of social power

when an individual’s status/position in general gives them the authority to exercise power over those with lower status/authority

referent power - type of social power

individual’s identify with/want to be like or liked by this person

expert power - type of social power

having special knowledge & skills that are desireable/needed

informational power - type of social power

having resources/info that are useful and are not available elsewhere

groupthink

a way of thinking by individual members of a group that is characterised by a strong tendency to seek agreement when making decisions rather than considering better options

* occurs when:

\-high levels of cohesiveness

\-strong leader

\-lacks procedure/ability to debate

\-isolated from outside influences

\-under stress within strict timeline

symptoms of groupthink

* **illusion of invulnerability:** overestimation that group’s ability to make good decisions due to distorted belief that everything will work out
* **moral correctness:** belief that group will make morally right decision, so no need to consider relevant moral/ethical issues
* **collective rationalisation:** group spends more time justifying decisions rathe than seeking alternatives
* **out-group stereotypes:** looking down at ideas sourced outside the group and possibility that another group could have better ideas
* **self-censorship:** individuals withhold personal concerns/dissent opinions - disagreements aren’t expressed
* **direct pressure on dissenters:** pressure on doubters to conform/agree
* **illusion of unanimity:** distorted belief that everyone agrees
* **self-appointed mind guards:** when group members protect group from info that may challenge its decisions

obedience

a response involving following the commands of someone with authority or the rules and laws of society/behaviour.

factors that affect obedience

* **social proximity:** physical distance & closeness of relationship between people
* **legitimacy of authority figure**
* **group pressure**

conformity

tendency to adjust one’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours in ways that are in agreement with those of a particular individual/group or accepted standards

factors that affect conformity

* **group size**
* **unanimity**
* **informational influence**: when conformity results from a need for direction/info on how to respond in specific situation
* **normative influence:** occurs when response is guided by one or more social norms
* **culture**
* **social loafing:** tendency of an individual to make less effort when involved in a group activity than working alone