Final Flashcards
(156 cards)
First impressions
We form Schemas quickly & automatically with the information available to us
Key characteristics when forming impressions
Trustworthiness/Warmth (friend or foe?). Competence/dominance (social status?). Elderly person –> low competence, high warmth, so we feel protective of them. A Homeless person –> low competence, low trustworthiness, we feel disdain. Charming Successful CEO –> high competence, high trustworthiness, we admire them.
Primacy Effect
Cognitive bias that influences how people process and remember information. Information presented first often has a disproportionately significant impact on perceptions or memory compared to information presented later.
How accurate are our impressions?
Impressions from faces: generally, inferred emotional expression, not very accurate.
Impressions from other sources: still not very accurate, can be somewhat accurate at judgements of what people are generally like (i.e. Extroversion).
Early studies showing we are capable of making accurate impressions: Ambady & Rosenthal (1992):
Thin slicing: we can make quick and accurate judgments even with very little exposure. However, this requires more effort & deliberate processing. Susceptible to bias.
What improves the accurace of our impressions?
Updating impressions as we get to know a person. When we are motivated, and put effort into being accurate. (i.e., when there are consequences).
Some factors that limit our accuracy in impression formation
Heuristics, Impression management, confirmation bias.
Heuristics
A quick mental shortcut to get an impression of someone.
Transference (Heuristics)
Applying the schema of someone you already know to understand someone new. (You meet someone that reminds you of a friend you like –> shift the positive feelings of the friend to this new person)
False Consensus (Heuristics)
Assuming everyone is the same as us, especially people we know and like. (Your friend posted a political statement that you disagree with and you’re shocked.)
Impression Management.
Putting our best face forward. People can use a variety of strategies to manage the impression that others have of them. Examples: self-promotion (competent), ingratiation (likeable), exemplification (dedicated), intimidation (domination), supplication (needy).
Confirmation Bias
We are eager to verify our beliefs but less inclined to seek evidence that might disprove them. The tendency to seek out and prefer information that supports our preexisting beliefs.
Attributions
Explanations we assign to the causes of an event, action, or outcome.
Attribution Theory
Analyzes how we explain people’s behaviour. Dispositions/Internal factors: such as traits, values, attitudes, beliefs, skills, intentions. Situations/External factors: events, weather, aspects of a context, circumstances, other people’s actions, accidents, chance.
Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)
When explaining the cause of another person’s behaviour, we tend to: Overestimate - the impact of internal/dispositional influences. Understimate - the impact of external/situational influences. The default explanation tends to be an internal attribution, in Western Individualistic culture.
Cultural Variation: FAE (individualistic cultures)
USA, Canada, Netherlands, Australia. Tend to put an emphases on independence, uniqueness, sufficiency. Therefore, they tend to commit FAE by not considering external factors.
Cultural Variation: FAE (collectivistic cultures)
China, Japan, Latin America, Eastern Europe. Tend to value community, needs of the group over the individual. Tend to be more sensitive to situational constraints and how people might adjust to meet the environmental situation. Therefore, they tend to commit FAE much less on average.
Self-Serving Bias
Tendency to explain our success with internal factors and to explain our failures with external factors.
Stereotypes
Mental beliefs/schemas/associations we have about groups. Automatic associations. These are associations and not judgments. Not always negative, can be positive or neutral. Learned & Perpetuated from our own personal culture and environment we group up in. Causes of inaccuracy: bias in the media, applying group characteristics to an individual.
Prejudice
Attitudes or affective (emotional) responses toward or about a group and/or its individual members, these are negative. Bias against a person based on their perceived group.
Discrimination
Negative behaviours directed against people because of their group membership; differential treatment. Often steming from prejudice attitudes.
Social categorization
Humans naturally categorize the world into different social groups based on a shared characteristic(s) or common attributes. (Race, gender, age, height, sports teams, shared beliefs, personal preferences, hobbies). Saves time and mental energy. Simplifies our otherwise chaotic environment. Often is accurate, and useful if you have no other info about a person.
In/Out Groups
In-groups: the groups we belong to. Female, student, Gen Z. Out-group: other groups we don’t belong to. Men, non-students, any other generation.
Social Categorization Costs
With categories in place this can lead to: applying stereotypes to these groups, in/out-group division or “Us vs Them” mentality.