social psychology: personal perspectives (chapter 14) lecture outline: social cognition attributions...
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Social Psychology: Personal Perspectives (Chapter 14)
Lecture Outline:Social Cognition
Attributions and BiasesImpression management
You have just met someone at a party. What would lead to you
forming a positive impression of them?
List three characteristics on the small paper handed out in class.
Social Cognition:
– How we perceive and interpret information from ourselves and others
• Cognitive-Consistency Theory: – A match between thoughts and behaviors gives
peace of mind. • Conflict leads to cognitive dissonance:
– Watching bad movies you have rented vs. loaned– Justification of effort: working hard to get an A
Self-perception theory
• Attitudes are inferred from your behaviors• Roommate drags you to hockey games, and you
spend your whole time talking, yet you are now a “hockey fan”
• A dreary course you chose and suffered through is recommended to a friend: Once it is over, you see it more positively
• Impression management: Door-to-door sales. What works?
You are watching these job candidates in the waitingroom? Why are they behaving as they are?
Attributions: Explanations for behavior
• “I don’t want to dance”. Why?– Because I am a loser (personal attribution)– Because they are too wrapped up with their friends
(situational attribution)– I didn’t really want to (cognitive dissonance)
• Someone bumps you in line. Why?– Because they are an !@?&#!!.. This is a
fundamental attribution bias where we over-emphasize internal causes behavior
Self-serving bias
• Internalize success and externalize blame• Winning a hockey game because “we’re a
good team”, losing because they were “lucky” or you “did not get the bounces”
• Self-handicapping is the opposite, e.g., pass a test because “it was easy”, fail “because I am stupid”
How do you form impressions?
• You meet someone at a party. You form an initial impression of them. What is your initial impression based on?
Impression Formation
• Primacy effect: Initial impressions matter– Hard to get over bad start
• Confirmation bias: We notice things consistent with our beliefs – Teenagers “hang around and are up to no good”– Leads to self-fulfilling prophecies
• Person-positivity bias: Individuals can be regarded more highly than groups
Social Psychology
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