Chapter 6 - Social Cognition

social cognition

Social cognition involves how we perceive, think about and use information to understand and make judgments about ourselves and others in different social situations.

attribution

The process by which we explain the cause of our own or another person's behaviour.

internal attribution

The explanation of behaviour is due to the characteristics of the person involved; their personality, mood, attitude, ability, motivation or effort

external attributions

The explanation of the behaviour is due to factors associated with the situation the person is in; the task, luck, fate, the environment or the actions of another person

Fundamental attribution error

When explaining someone else's behaviour, the tendency to overestimate the influence of personal (internal) factors and underestimate the effect of situational (external) factors.

just world belief

the belief that the world is a place where people tend to get what they deserve and deserve what they get.

Actor-observer bias:

The tendency to attribute our own behaviour to external or situational factors, yet attribute others' behaviour to internal or personal factors.

Self-serving bias

when judging ourselves. The tendency to take the credit for our successes (internal factors) and attribute failures to situational (external) factors

attitude

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

attitudes are:

•Learned or acquired

•Evaluative (eg. Favourable or unfavourable)

•Directed towards something

tri-component model

Proposes that any attitude has three related components - the affective (feeling), behavioural (actions) and cognitive (thinking) components

sterotypes

a generalisation about the personal characteristics of the members of a social group

cognitive dissonance

an unpleasant psychological state that occurs when people become aware that there is inconsistency among their various beliefs or attitudes, or that their behaviour conflicts with their cognitions.

cognitive bias

A systematic error of judgement that leads to faulty decision-making.

example of actor observer bias

You miss a goal because the wind was high and the sun was in your eyes, your teammate misses a goal because they have not spent enough time practising

anchoring bias

The tendency to rely heavily on the very first piece of information received (called the anchor) when making decisions. Judgments are shaped by the anchor.

example of anchoring bias

You hear initially that a vaccine might have potentially serious side effects. You later learn that this initial piece of information was incorrect and that there is a small chance of minor side effects from the vaccine. The initial piece of information still weighs heavily in the decision.

confirmation bias

The tendency to seek, recall or interpret information in a way that supports their perspective, while failing to seek information that is contradictory to their belief

example of confirmation bias

If someone believes climate change to be a myth will seek out and favour information that supports this view and avoid, downplay and ignore other sources.

false-consensus bias

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others hold similar views.

example of false consensus bias

believing that most people in your community support your preferred political candidate, based only on the opinions of their immediate circle

optimism bias

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

example of optimism bias

A person underestimates the health risks of binge-drinking or vaping.

example of self-serving bias

You fail a test and attribute the result to the perceived difficulty level of the questions, the late night you had the night before or the noise outside the room that did not allow you to concentrate.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

The tendency for people to overestimate their knowledge or ability in particular areas, particularly in areas where they have little to no knowledge or experience.

example of Dunning-Kruger effect

A beginner in chess wins a few games and thinks they're highly skilled, unaware of the game's complexity.

prejudice

a negative attitude towards another person or social group, formed in advance of any experience with that person or group, due to their membership to a particular group.

discrimination

when a person or social group is treated differently than others due to their membership to a particular group'

ingroup

any group that a person belongs to or identifies with

outgroup

any group that a person does not belong to or identify with

old-fashioned prejudice

a form of prejudice where members of the majority openly reject minority group members and the views of the majority are obvious and recognisable to others.

modern prejudice

A form of prejudice which tends to be subtle, hidden and expressed in ways more likely to be accepted within the majority group

explicit prejudice

Prejudice that is consciously held and usually deliberately thought about

implicit prejudice

Prejudice that is unconsciously held so the person is unaware of it.

direct discrimination

when someone treats another person unfavourably because of a personal characteristic protected by the law.

indirect discrimination

an unreasonable requirement, condition or practice that disadvantages a person, or a group of people because of a personal characteristic.

example of direct discrimination

Being overlooked for a job due to age, gender or race.

example of indirect discrimination

A workplace that requires everyone to start at 6:00am - this would discriminate against parents of young children

racism

When prejudice and discrimination are directed at a particular racial/ethnic group

sexism

When prejudice and discrimination are directed at a particular gender

ageism

When prejudice and discrimination are directed at a particular age group (old or young)

homophobia

When prejudice and discrimination are directed at someone for their sexual orientation

intergroup contact

increasing the direct contact between two groups who are prejudiced against each other.

extended contact

sustained or ongoing contact either directly or indirectly over a period with a group or individual.

Mutual interdependence

two groups being dependent on each other

Superordinate goals

a goal that cannot be achieved by any one group alone and overrides other existing goals which each group might have

Equality of status

each group having the same power, or standing

cognitive interventions

changing the way someone thinks about prejudice

first step of cognitive intervention process

The individual must decide that their prejudiced attitude and behaviour are wrong

second step of cognitive intervention process

They hold fast their non-prejudiced beliefs and make these an important part of their self-concept

third step of cognitive intervention process

They hold fast their non-prejudiced beliefs and make these an important part of their self-concept