VCE Unit 2 Psychology - Social Cognition Study Notes

Introduction to Social Cognition and Person Perception

  • Definition of Social Cognition: This involves the processes of interpreting, analysing, remembering, and using information to make judgements about other people in various social situations and the broader social world.
  • Social Interactions: Individuals communicate and interact on multiple levels in everyday life. These relationship types range from:
    • Intimate
    • Impersonal
    • Formal
  • Determinants of Interaction: The way an individual interacts with another person is determined by their relationship with them, which includes their thoughts and feelings towards that person. This interactive process is facilitated through social cognition.
  • Person Perception: This refers to the various mental processes used to understand and form impressions of other people. People make numerous judgements about others upon their first encounter.
  • Sources of Information for Person Perception:
    • Direct: Information provided directly from the person being judged, such as through observation or direct interaction.
    • Indirect: Information obtained through hearing about the person from another source, such as a friend or reading about them online.

First Impressions and Non-Verbal Communication

  • First Impressions: These are snap judgements made in less than a second based on easily accessible, often superficial, perceptual information.
  • Impact of First Impressions: As a form of direct person perception, they can have a lasting impact on feelings and behaviours toward a person, specifically impacting:
    • Decision-making: Acts as a source of information when making choices, such as whether to see someone again.
    • Interpersonal interactions: People tend to trust these 'gut' feelings and treat others accordingly over time.
  • Physical Appearance: This is a major determinant of first impressions, particularly perceived attractiveness. Studies consistently show that individuals judged as physically attractive are perceived as more:
    • Interesting
    • Warm
    • Mentally healthy
    • Intelligent
    • Independent
    • Outgoing
    • Socially skilled
  • Non-Verbal Communication: This is as important as spoken or written communication when forming impressions. It includes:
    • Facial expressions
    • Eye gaze
    • Posture
    • Gestures
    • Other bodily movements (Body language)
  • Function of Body Language: It serves as an expression of behaviour that enables individuals to make quick and often accurate judgements.

Attributions and the Cognitive Process

  • Definition of Attribution: An evaluation made about the causes of behaviour and the process of making that evaluation. Different people may judge the same situation differently based on internal biases.
  • Steps in the Cognitive Process of Attribution:
    • Step 1: Observation: Observing an outward act of behaviour (e.g., seeing someone running down a busy street).
    • Step 2: Conscious determination: Actively acknowledging the behavior (e.g., deciding the observed behaviour was indeed someone running down the street).
    • Step 3: Attribute causes: Inferring the cause of the behaviour (e.g., inferring the person is running because they are disorganised and late).
  • Internal vs. External Attributions:
    • Internal Attribution (Personal): Judging behaviour as being caused by something personal within the individual. Factors include psychological state, age, gender, intellect, motivation, ability, desire, or past behaviour.
    • Example: Believing a poor test score is due to being "stupid."
    • External Attribution (Situational): Judging behaviour as being caused by environmental factors outside the individual's control.
    • Example: Assuming someone is late because their car broke down.
  • Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE): The tendency to explain other people's behaviour in terms of internal factors while ignoring potential external/situational factors. This occurs because the person is the most salient (noticeable) feature when perceiving behaviour, rather than the situation.
  • Impact of Attributions:
    • Decision-making: Someone with an external attributional style might not change behaviour (e.g., studying harder) if they perceive failures as beyond their control.
    • Interpersonal interactions: Frequent use of the fundamental attribution error can lead to interpersonal conflict.
    • Future Actions: Attributing failure to external factors (e.g., "the test was unfair") can lead to feelings of helplessness. Attributing failure to internal, controllable factors (e.g., "I didn't study enough") empowers individuals to change their behaviour.

Attitudes and the Tri-Component Model

  • Definition of Attitudes: An evaluation or judgement of something, such as a person, object, group, event, or issue. This is often remembered via the acronym GO-PIE:
    • G: Groups (e.g., friendship groups, Greenpeace)
    • O: Objects (e.g., iPads, Ferris wheels)
    • P: People (e.g., oneself, politicians)
    • I: Issues (e.g., climate change, compulsory vaccination)
    • E: Events (e.g., Easter, elections)
  • Criteria for Attitude Formation: For an attitude to be considered established, it must be:
    1. An evaluation: Placed on a continuum from negative to neutral to positive.
    2. Settled and stable: Relatively permanent; stronger attitudes are harder to change.
    3. Learnt through experience: Acquired through unique life experiences.
  • The Tri-Component Model: Proposes that attitudes consist of three related parts:
    • Affective Component: Emotions and intuitive feelings (e.g., "I love pineapple on pizza").
    • Behavioural Component: Outward, observable actions (e.g., eating pineapple on pizza).
    • Cognitive Component: Thoughts and beliefs, often emotion-free and matter-of-fact (e.g., "I think uniforms are practical because they save time").
  • Limitations of the Tri-Component Model:
    • Inconsistency: Behaviours do not always reflect feelings and beliefs (Cognitive Dissonance).
    • Missing Components: Some attitudes may only have affective and cognitive components but lack a behavioural one (e.g., feeling motivated to exercise and knowing the benefits, but never actually exercising).

Stereotypes and Stigma

  • Definition of Stereotypes: Widely held beliefs and generalisations about a group. They serve as the cognitive component of attitudes. They simplify the social world by applying characteristics to all members of a category.
  • Common Examples: "Men are not emotional," "Old people are frail," "Melburnians love coffee."
  • Stigma: A feeling of shame or disgrace experienced by an individual for a characteristic that differentiates them. It often leads to the person feeling rejected or ignored.
  • Impact of Stereotypes:
    • Decision-making: Sets personal parameters for goals (e.g., choosing a university course because one fits the stereotype of that field).
    • Interpersonal interactions: Influences who we choose to interact with and how.

Cognitive Dissonance and Avoidance Strategies

  • Cognitive Dissonance: Psychological tension occurring when thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviours do not align.
  • Conditions for Dissonance: It typically arises if the individual is aware of the consequences of the inconsistency or cannot justify why they performed the behaviour. It can also arise from inconsistency between effort and outcome.
  • Reduction Strategies:
    • Changing thoughts to align with behaviour.
    • Changing behaviour to align with thoughts.
  • Cognitive Biases: Unconscious, systematic tendencies to interpret information irrationally to avoid or reduce cognitive dissonance. Types include:
    • Confirmation Bias: Searching for and accepting info that supports prior beliefs while ignoring contradictions (e.g., seeking only negative news about vaccines).
    • Actor-Observer Bias: Attributing our own actions to external situational causes and others' actions to internal factors (e.g., a person in a fight claiming self-defence but calling the other person "crazy").
    • Self-Serving Bias: Attributing success to internal character and failures to external factors.
    • False-Consensus Bias: Overestimating the degree to which others share our ideas and attitudes.
    • Halo Effect: Allowing the impression of one quality (e.g., being funny) to influence overall beliefs about other qualities (e.g., being kind or adventurous).

Heuristics as Mental Shortcuts

  • Definition: Information-processing strategies or 'mental shortcuts' that enable quick and efficient judgements and decision-making. They are instinctive, rapid, and automatic.
  • Conditions for Use (Pratkanis, 1989):
    1. Facing too much information.
    2. Limited time to make a decision.
    3. The decision is unimportant.
    4. Access to very little information.
    5. An appropriate heuristic comes to mind immediately.
  • Influences on Decision-making:
    • Positive: Saves time, can be accurate, and can be adaptive for protection.
    • Negative: Prone to error. Can lead to the Base-rate Fallacy, where judgements are influenced more by vivid memories than statistical facts.
  • Types of Heuristics:
    • Anchoring Heuristic: Forming judgements based on the first information received (the "anchor").
    • Availability Heuristic: Making decisions based on information that is easily accessible in memory (e.g., fearing sharks after watching the movie Jaws).
    • Representative Heuristic: Making categorical judgements about something based on its similarity to a stored mental prototype (e.g., assuming a young, quirkily dressed candidate is inexperienced).
    • Affect Heuristic: Using emotions to make a judgement or solve problems (e.g., avoiding skydiving due to fear).

Prejudice, Discrimination, and Stigma in Society

  • Prejudice: A negative preconception against people in a certain group. It is a "pre-judgement" made before interaction, often stemming from emotion rather than reason.
  • Blumer’s Four Characteristics (1961) regarding majority groups holding prejudice:
    1. Belief in superiority to the minority.
    2. Belief that the minority is "different."
    3. Belief they are more powerful and important.
    4. Insecurity/fear that the minority may become more powerful.
  • Forms of Prejudice:
    • Old-fashioned: Overt, direct, and obvious views (e.g., open abuse).
    • Modern: Covert and indirect; silent thoughts expressed in hidden ways.
  • Discrimination: Unjust treatment of people due to their social category.
    • Direct: Unfair treatment because of group association (e.g., not hiring an immigrant based on language assumptions).
    • Indirect: Rules that apply to everyone but unfairly disadvantage a specific group (e.g., a school with only stair access).
  • Kinds of Stigma:
    • Social Stigma: Negative stereotypes that define people and lead to widespread discrimination.
    • Self-Stigma: Internalisation of negative stereotypes leading to low self-esteem and poor self-efficacy.
  • Impact on Wellbeing:
    • Personal: Damaged self-confidence, heightened stress, increased rumination, and susceptibility to anxiety and depression.
    • Group: Higher prevalence of mental health disorders, substance abuse, social isolation, and barriers to treatment.
    • Case Study: Intergenerational Trauma: Found in First Nations people of the Stolen Generation, leading to mistrust, social isolation, and cultural disconnection passed down to descendants.
  • Reduction Strategies:
    • Education: Correcting misinformation through workshops and articles.
    • Inter-group Contact: Open discussions, attending cultural/religious events, and personal interaction.
    • Social Media: Raising awareness and calling out discrimination (e.g., Mila Kunis and Mindy Kaling).
    • Laws: Legal protections such as the Age Discrimination Act 2004, Sex Discrimination Act 1984, and the abolition of the White Australia Policy.