Introduction to Psychology

Introduction to Psychology of 97 Social Cognition- Refers to how we process information about other people. This process involves three key aspects of social thinking: attributions, impressions, and attitudes. Attributions are judgments about the causes of our own and other people’s behavior and outcomes. Attribution Theory- Deals with the types of explanations people generate for other’s behavior and how those explanations come about. There are two types of attributions (explanations of behavior) that a person could come up with. Dispositional (or internal) attributions explain behavior in terms of factors inside the person (personality, intelligence, maturity, and so forth). Situational (or external) attributions explain behavior in terms of factors outside the person (such as luck, interference from other people, social etiquette). Consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus information jointly influences whether we make personal or situational attributions for behavior. We often underestimate the role of situational factors when making attributions for other people’s behavior, and we display a self-serving bias when making attributions for our own successes and failures. Fundamental Attribution Error- Social psychology teaches us that the immediate social environment profoundly influences behavior, yet at times we ignore this when making attributions. Instead, we commit a bias called the fundamental attribution error: we underestimate the impact of the situation and overestimate the role of personal factors when explaining other people’s behavior. When people have time to reflect on their judgments or are highly motivated to be careful, the fundamental attribution error is reduced. The fundamental attribution error applies to how we perceive other people’s behavior, not our own. Self-serving Bias- When it comes to explaining our own behavior, we often make attributions that protect or enhance our self-esteem by displaying a self-serving bias, the tendency to make personal attributions for successes and situational attributions for failures. Just-world Hypothesis- Or just-world fallacy, is the cognitive bias (or assumption) that a person's actions always bring morally fair and fitting consequences to that person; so that all noble actions are eventually rewarded and all evil actions are eventually punished. In other words, the just-world hypothesis is the tendency to attribute consequences to or expect consequences as the result of a universal force that restores moral balance. The fallacy is that this implies (often unintentionally) the existence of cosmic justice, destiny, divine providence, deserts, stability, or order, and may also serve to rationalize people's misfortune on the grounds that they deserve it. 11.2 Attitude Attitudes and Attitude Change- Beyond attributions and impressions, much of our social thinking involves attitudes that we hold. An attitude is a positive or negative evaluative reaction toward a stimulus, such as a person, action, object, or concept. Our attitudes help define our identity, guide our actions, and influence how we judge people. First impressions generally carry extra weight. Stereotypes and schemas create perceptual sets that shape our impressions. Through self-fulfilling © 2015 Achieve Page 84