L14: Social Perception

Exam 2

Actor-observer effect

• the tendency to make internal attributions for the actions of others, while making external attributions for our own actions

Attribution tendencies we have when describing the behavior of others

Fundamental attribution error

Attributions

the processes that we use in orderto assign causes to behavior

Discrimination

unfair treatment of a member of a group (usually negative), solely because they is a member of that group

Explaining behavior

attributions (internal and external)

External attributions

• explaining behaviors based on the situation and surrounding environment
  ex) time or teacher

Forming Perceptions of Groups

• stereotypes
• prejudice
• discrimination

Forming perceptions of ourselves

• actor-observer effect
• self-serving bias

Fundamental attribution error (correspondence bias)

• our tendency to put greater weight on internal attributions when explaining the behaviors of others

Internal attributions

explaining behaviors based on the internal characteristics of the person in question
ex) skills or exhaustion

Prejudice

• an unjustified attitude toward a member of a group (usually negative), solely because they is a member of that group

Self-fulfilling prophecies

when someone's expectations changes their behavior as to increase the probability of the predicted event
ex) phone conversation study

Self-serving bias

• the tendency to attribute personal failures to the situation, while attributing personal successes to the ourselves

Stereotypes

• an over-generalized belief or expectation about a category of people

The primacy effect

• suggests that the first information learned about someone is remembered most
• it influences us more than later learned information
  ex) first day of school