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