Social Cognition

Chapter 17

Social perception on the self

Social psychology

how your behavior influence and is influenced by others Self-concept beliefs we hold about ourselves Self-esteem value judgments we make about ourselves

Social comparisons

Temporal comparison how we are compared to who we used to be Social comparison who we are when compared to others
Downward social comparison Upward social comparison

Reference groups group of people we see ourselves as belonging to Relative deprivation no matter how much you get, it is always les than you deserve

Social identity theory

Social identity our beliefs about the group we belong to Us-versus-them mentality

Self-schemas what we think of ourselves

Eg. Women with appearance-oriented selfschemas have lower self-esteem, diet more, feel down after viewing pictures of attractive women Future self / possible self motivation to try to do better in the future

II. Social perception

Role of schemas

We pay more attention to characteristics about others who fit our schema compared to those who dont. we are faster at processing those information which are consistent with our beliefs Social schemas influence what we remember about others Social schemas help us to fill in the blanks about people

First impressions

We tend to believe that other people are more similar to ourselves than different from us in attitudes and values Negative behaviors have more impact than positive behaviors in shaping our first impressions First impressions are quick to form but hard to change

Self-fulfilling prophecies

our first impression of people will lead them to act in a way that fulfills that impression
If we think someone is dull, we will act as though she is dull, and she will indeed be dull.

Attribution

Attribution explain causes of behavior why did I/he/she do that??

External attribution its because of something that happened outside of an individual she has some family situations Internal attribution its because of something that happened inside an individual shes lazy

Kelley (1973)

How I (observer) make attribution towards others (actors). Eg. I want to invite Ralph to dinner, but dad says no.

Kelley (1973)

Consensus does everyone think the same as what the actor (dad) thinks? Do other people think that Ralph should not come to dinner as well?

High consensus - If other people thinks the same as dad, then I would attribute the reason to something thats outside/EXTERNAL to dad maybe Ralph is a bad person, so dad wont allow him to stay for dinner Low consensus - If dad is the only person who thinks so, then I would attribute the reason to something thats inside/INTERNAL to dad maybe dad doesnt like Ralph its not Ralphs problem

Kelley (1973)

Consistency is the behavior the same across time and situations? Does dad usually invite Ralph to dinner or hed never invited Ralph before?

Low consistency invited last time, but this time rejected dads behavior attributable to EXTERNAL causes High consistency always reject - could be external or internal

Kelley (1973)

Distinctiveness does the actor act like that toward other people?
High distinctiveness no, dad only acts like that towards Ralph dad is friendly to other friends EXTERNAL reasons maybe Ralph is a bad guy Low distinctiveness yes, dad is always rude to all my friends INTERNAL reasons dad is a rude guy

Biases in attribution

Fundamental attribution error We tend to

OVERATTTRIBUTE BEHAVIOR OF OTHERS TO INTERNAL FACTORS If someone in the class fails this course, we are likely to say well, hes lazy, not smart. Were less likely to say, maybe he has some family problems.

Biases in attribution

Actor-observer bias We tend to

ATTRIBUTE OUR OWN BEHAVIOR TO EXTERNAL FACTORS If Im late, its because of external reasons such as our mom didnt wake us up, etc. If others are late, theyre lazy

Biases in attribution

Self-serving bias we take credit for success, but when there is failure we blame external causes Unrealistic optimism positive things are more likely to happen to us, negative things are more likely to happen to others

III. Attitudes

Attitude tendency to think, feel, and act positively/negatively towards objects in our environment

Thoughts what we think towards the object Feelings what we felt towards the object Behavior how we act towards the object Not always in harmony

Figure 17.2: Three Components of an Attitude

Thoughts/feelings will be consistent with behavior if

When we see the object as something important When we are not pressured by important peoples in our lives When we believe our actions will have impact/ we can do it When we have direct experience with the attitude object

Forming attitudes

Classical and operant conditioning Mere exposure effect the more we are exposed to something, the more we will like it

Cognitive dissonance theory Festinger (1957)

People want their attitude to be

consistent with their behavior consistent with other peoples attitudes

If it is not the same, there is dissonance well be motivated to change our behavior/thinking so that we become consistent again.

Smoking is dangerous + I smoke!! Either change behavior (quit smoking) or change thinking (nah, smoking is not SO dangerous)

Figure 17.3: The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Attitude Change

(Cacioppo, Petty, & Crites, 1993).

Return

IV. Prejudice and stereotypes

Prejudice

False assumptions you have about all members of a group sharing same characteristics Prejudice positive or negative attitude based on their membership in a group Discrimination treat people who are from different groups differently

Theories of prejudice

Motivational theories enhance personal sense of security, meet certain personal needs Cognitive theories Because there are so many different types of people and behavior, we use our shortcuts to understand the world group people together to make it easier to understand them Learning theories through experience, we form opinions about certain groups local news coverage

Reducing prejudice

Contact hypothesis if you have more contact with members of a group, you have less prejudice.