Lecture 2 Flashcards
Define social perception
The process of trying to understand what other people are like.
What is impression formation?
- Most of our interactions are guided by the impressions that we form about other people
- Often, our impressions are formed on the basis of little, or no direct experience with the other person.
Where does our information about other people usually come from?
a) The impressions provided by other people
b) observing the other person’s appearance and other non-verbal communication.
What are the two things Asch noticed about impression formation? What did Asch conclude?
1) although only a list of discrete traits were given, the students gave a unified impression. ==> combined seperate features into a unified whole/narrative
2) the impression goes well beyond the info provided.
Concluded that we quickly form an integrated, unified impression based on whatever information we’re given. If you change the info, you change the impression. The first impression is quick!
What are the principles of impression formation?
Order effects Trait centrality Implicit personality theory Expectations Nonverbal communication
Explain the experiment on order effects.
Same list of adjectives to different participants in different orders
Condition 1: intelligent, industrious, impulsive, stubborn, envious.
Condition 2: same list, but reverse order.
Results: the person in condition 1 was described as competent and ambitious, in condition 2, described as overly emotional and socially maladjusted.
What are the results in the order effect experiment referred to as?
The primacy effect. i.e. earlier info or events have a greater influence than later info (events).
Primacy effects are common in impression formation experiments.
In a nutshell, describe the primacy effect in laymans terms
A person described by a list that begins with positive traits and ends with negative traits is judged more likeable than a person described by the same traits in opposite order.
Affects not only personality impressions, but ability as well.
Describe the experiment of order effects using a person’s test scores.
Participants were shown someone’s test results
- 15 solutions were scored as correct, 15 were scored as incorrect.
Condition 1: 10 correct solutions within the first 15 problems.
Condition 2: 10 correct solutions with in the last 15 problems.
Condition 3: correct solutions were evenly distributed between the 30 problems.
Participants asked to judge the person’s competence.
Results: person in condition 1 was judged as being more competent than the person’s in 3 and 2.
Is there always a primacy effect?
No, under some conditions there is a recency effect. i.e. later or more recent info (events) has a greater influence than earlier info (events)
When do we see a recency effect?
a) if someone is trying to help someone increase their performance, then, IF the student starts off poor and improves you will see a recency effect and get higher ability ratings.
b) If there is a time delay between the initial and the subsequent info. Enough time for initial info is forgotten sounds like a primacy effect, but technically a recency effect.
c) person is aware of the primacy effect
Despite these, primacy effect is most common.
Why is primacy effect most common? Asch vs. Anderson
Asch believed/hypothesized that as we form an impression, we tend to make the new information fit our initial impression.
Alternatively, Anderson believed that the primacy effect could be due to a loss of attention as more info is received.
Researchers continue to puzzle over the causes of the primacy and recency effects.
What is trait centrality?
Asch believed that some traits have more impact on impression formation than others. Called “trait centrality”. For example, hostility may be more important than tidy.
Describe an experiment for trait centrality.
List of traits: intelligent, skillful, industrious, [warm - condition 1; cold - condition 2], determined, practical, cautious.
Results: person in condition 1 described as generous, wise, happy, imagined, humourous, popular, good natured, humane, sociable.
Condition 2: described as complete opposite characteristics.
Describe the second experiment for trait centrality.
Same as the first except warm and cold was replaced with polite and blunt
Results: no difference in impression between the two conditions.
Conclude: the warm-cold distinction is more central in impression formation than, say, politeness.
