Social Cognition

Question 1

Social Cognition

Answer 1

-How we perceive, remember, and interpret information about ourselves and others

Question 2

2 differences between perceiving people vs. inanimate objects

Answer 2

1. People, unlike objects, perceive
2. Critical features of objects CAN be observed

Question 3

Schema

Answer 3

A mental filing system for different categories or life

Question 4

3 types of schema

Answer 4

1. Event Schema- schema of what can be expected in a situation
2. Social Role Schema- schema about socials roles
3. Stereotypes- Schema about a group of people

Question 5

Example of each type of schema

Answer 5

1. The order of operations of dining in a restaurant
2. Lawyers, Doctors, Servers

Question 6

2 benefits of relying on schemas

Answer 6

1. They guide memory recall
2. Directs our attention by increasing the speed of understanding people & events

Question 7

2 cons of relying on schemas

Answer 7

1. Easy to over-rely on them ie thinking you heard a word when related to a specific category
2. They can persist after being discredited

Question 8

Self fulfilling prophecy

Answer 8

-When one acts based on a schema in a way that the object of said schema becomes reality
-Avoids disconfirmation by making behavior conform to the expectation

Question 9

Steps and example of a self-fulfiling prophecy

Answer 9

1. Establishing a schema
2. Adjusting ones behavior to fit object of the schema\
3. Outcome of conforming to schema arrives
4. Faith and belief in the schema is therefore bolstered

Question 10

Priming

Answer 10

-The tendency for recently used words/thoughts to come to mind easily & influence subsequent cognitions, judgements, or behaviors

Question 11

Describe accessibility priming and it’s impact

Answer 11

-It is the process by how easily a thought can come to mind
ie reading an article on being adventurous or reckless; meeting someone and going in one direction more due to what was read
-Can change how we interpret traits of certain people

Question 12

How does Priming have it’s effect in the case of spreading activation?

Answer 12

-When activation of one thought leads to another though
ie thinking of A leads to thinking about B

Question 13

What is a heuristic?

Answer 13

-Mental shorcuts
-Used when not able to to process information super carefully

Question 14

Availability Heuristic

Answer 14

• Basing judgements on how easy relevant examples can be recalled

Question 15

Representativeness Heuristic

Answer 15

-Classification of things according to the similarity to a typical case
ie long blonde hair must be from California, even though its more likely that person is from AR

Question 16

Automatic Processing

Answer 16

-Used when we are not motivated or able to think carefully

Question 17

Characteristics of Automatic Processing

Answer 17

1) Unconscious
2) Unintetional
3) Involuntary
4) Effortless

Question 18

Control Processing

Answer 18

-Relied on when we are motivated and able to think carefully

Question 19

Characteristics of Control Processing

Answer 19

1) Conscious
2) Intentional
3) Voluntary
4) Requires Effort