Chapter 1-8 Notes: Biases, Egocentrism, and Belief Perseverance (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture notes: egocentrism, decentering, Piaget’s Mountain Task, egotism, self-serving bias, assimilation, conservatism, causative conservatism, and belief perseverance.

Egocentrism

A perceptual bias: the tendency to perceive the world from one’s own perspective and assume others see things the same way; centered on the self.

Decentering

The developmental shift from egocentrism, where a person begins to recognize that others may have different perspectives; typically begins around ages 5–7.

Piaget's Mountain Task

A classic experiment used to illustrate egocentrism in children: before decentering, children describe what the doll on the opposite side sees, often not realizing the doll has a different view.

Egocentrism (example in adults)

The tendency to assume one’s own viewpoint is universal, leading to self-centered interpretations in adulthood as well.

Egocytism (Egotism)

A motivated bias—the tendency to interpret events in ways that make the self look good; a bias to present oneself positively.

Self-Serving Bias

A form of egotism: the tendency to claim successes for oneself while blaming failures on external factors.

Assimilation

A cognitive bias in which new information is interpreted to fit preexisting beliefs; often passive and unconscious; phrase: 'I wouldn’t have seen it if I didn’t believe it.'

Conservatism (cognitive bias)

A desire to avoid change; a bias toward keeping beliefs fixed and resisting new information.

Causative Conservatism

A form of belief perseverance where people resist changing deep beliefs and construct causal explanations to support them, helping explain stubborn adherence to beliefs.

Belief Perseverance

The tendency to maintain initial beliefs even after they have been discredited or shown to be incorrect.