Social Cognition Flashcards
(18 cards)
Impression formation
process of combining information to form overall judgments
two main theories of impression formation?
- Algebraic models (Anderson, 1965)
- Configurational model (Asch, 1046)
Algebraic model types
- Summative model: Add all reactions to form the overall impression.
- Averaging model: Average the reactions to get the overall impression.
- Weighted averaging model: Assign weights to attributes based on importance and combine them with likability ratings to form an impression.
Configurational model types
- Based on Gestalt principles: the whole is more than the sum of parts.
- Central traits: More influential in forming impressions.
- Peripheral traits: Take on different meanings depending on central traits.
Overall impression is influenced more by how traits are perceived in context rather than just individual traits.
Types of traits
Central = warm/cold, polite/blunt
Schemas
Cognitive structures representing our knowledge about concepts or types of stimuli, formed based on past experiences.
Types of schemas:
THINK REPS:
- Event schemas: E.g. dining would happen at a restaurant).
- Role schemas (scripts): E.g. Chef in a restaurant would cook). Roles typically within events.
- Person schemas: Stereotypes based on ethnicity, gender
- Implicit personality theory: Ruby being loud → extrovert).
- Self-schemas: Represent our own characteristics and future aspirations, and are more complex than other schemas.
Heuristics are
Mental shortcuts, usually used to make quicker decisions
Availability heuristic
Judging the frequency of an event by how easily examples come to mind. E.g. Most likely cause of death based on how many news articles seen
Representativeness heuristic
- comparing them to the prototype of that group.
- E.g. jack is most likely an engineer because he likes solving math puzzles, not politics. sounds like PROTOTYPE of engineer.
Heuristics in expertise:
- help in memorizing chessboard configurations (Requires hours of practice)
- Experts usually overrate themselves, need to test their abilities through real evidence
Heider suggested that we attribute behaviors to
either internal causes (related to a person’s personality) or external causes (situational factors, like the environment).
Kelley’s covariation model: What helps us make an attribution:
- Consensus: Do others behave the same?
- Distinctiveness: Is the behavior specific to one target/person.
- Consistency: Does it happen regularly or not?
Types of attributions:
1. Person attribution: low consensus
2. Target attribution: high distinctiveness
3. Situational attribution: low consistency
Summary of Kelley’s covariation model:
Person attribution: Behavior due to a person’s traits.
Target attribution: Behavior due to something about the specific person being targeted. Situational attribution: Behavior influenced by the context or environment.
Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE):
tendency to attribute another person’s behavior to their personality (dispositional factors) rather than to the situation they are in (situational factors). JONES AND HARRIS.
Actor-Observer Bias:
- we attribute our own behavior to external factors (situations) but others’ behavior to their internal traits (dispositions).
- More info about ourselves so we know its situational
- 2006 study found that we tend to relate positive events to dispositions, and alt for negative. Self-serving bias??
Cultural influence
individualistic cultures are more likely to make dispositional attributions.
Self-serving bias
- attribute successes to internal, stable factors and failures to external, temporary factors
- Helps for:
1. Self-presentation: makes us look better for good outcomes, etc.
2. Enhance self-esteem.
