Social

Cognition

Social Psychology

• Examines the influence of social processes on the way people

– Think

– Feel

– Behave

Social Cognition

• Social cognition refers to the processes by which people make sense of

– Themselves

– Social interactions

– Relationships

Social Cognition

• Networks of association

– Suggests memories are stored in interconnected nodes. Activation of one node spreads activation to other nodes linked to it through experience

– Activate “Notre Dame” and immediately connect the term football

Social Cognition

• Schemas– Organized patterns of thought that direct

attention, memory and interpretation

– Activation of the schema “State Trooper” leads to immediately hitting the breaks on your car

– Schemas enable us to enter a new situation with some idea of how to behave

Social Cognition

• Concepts– Mental representations of categories (car)

– A novel stimuli involves comparing it to an abstract prototype

• Car

• Truck

• Is an SUV (novel stimuli) a car or a truck

First Impressions

• Our first impression of someone serves as a benchmark for all future evaluations of the person

• First impressions serve as a schema (how to respond)

• Halo effect– The tendency to assume that positive qualities cluster

together– The halo effect is also referred to as :what is beautiful

is good”

First Impressions

• Physically attractive people are assumed to be:– Warm

– Friendly

– Intelligent

• Those who perceive themselves as attractive tend to report being:– More extroverted

– Socially comfortable

– Mentally healthy

Stereotypes and Prejudice

• Stereotypes involve characteristics attributed to people based on their membership in specific groups

• Often precludes receptiveness to new information

• A rigid schema• Athletes= Not serious about academics

• Irish= Drink too much

Prejudice & Discrimination

• Prejudice– Involves judging people based on stereotypes– A way of thinking

• Discrimination– Behaviors that follow from prejudicial

evaluations or attitudes– Involves actually doing something

Prejudice & Discrimination

• We are all prejudice– We prefer those who are similar to ourselves

– We prefer the known to the unknown

• Our prejudices do not need to dictate our behavior

• The more we are aware of our prejudices the better able we are to control for discriminating behavior

Authoritarian Personality

• Characterized by a tendency to hate people who are different or downtrodden

• Those with an authoritarian personality tend to have a dominant, stern and sometimes sadistic father and a submissive mother

• Authoritarian individuals tend to displace or project their rage towards their father onto vulnerable groups

Subtle Racism

• Overt racism is often met with public disapproval

• Subtle racism involves desire by racist to express their hatreds in socially acceptable ways– Low expectations of performance – Express more subtle stereotypes

Explicit and Implicit Racism

• As explicit racism becomes more and more social unacceptable implicit racism becomes more evident

• Unconscious slips of the tongue

• Harsher criminal sentences for blacks than whites

• Whites less helpful to blacks than to whites

Prejudice & Social Conditions

• Prejudice is more a social condition than a personality dynamic

• Prejudice is transmitted from one generation to another within social groups

• Prejudicial social attitudes serve to preserve the benefits for the dominant classes– Haves and have-nots tend to differ in color, religion or

ethnicity

Ingroups & Outgroups

• Ingroup– Those who are members of a reference group

– Fraternity

• Outgroup– Those who are not member of a reference group

• Members of an ingroup tend to perceive those who are not as very homogenous

Social Identity Theory

• Social identity theory suggests we derive part of our identity from the groups to which we belong

• Suggests that we will strive to maintain positive feelings about the ingroup and negative feelings for the outgroup

• Hatred towards the outgroup can become an important part of our identity– I exist to hate them

Attributions

• Attribution– The process of inferring the causes of one’s

own and others’ mental states and behaviors

– Why did I do that

– Why did s/he say that

– We constantly think about the “whys” of our social interactions

External v. Internal Attributions

• External attributions– The situation caused (is responsible for) the behavior

• Internal attributions– The person is responsible for the behavior

• Attributional style– Habitual ways of making attributions

– Either external or internal

Attributions• Consensus

– The way most people respond– External attribution

• Consistency– Refers to the way a given individual responds in the same way the

same stimulus – Internal attribution– Consistency across time

• Distinctiveness– Refers to an individual’s likelihood to respond a given way to

many different stimuli – Consistency across situations

Attributions

• Discounting– Occurs when we discount one variable

(internal) because we know that others may be contribution to the behavior in question

– Discount partner’s rude behavior due to some circumstance at work

• Augmentation– Increase (augment) an internal attribution for

behavior despite powerful situational factors

Intuitive Science

• People base their attributions by observing the co-variation of situations, behaviors and specific people

• To what extent does the presence of one variable predict the presence of another variable

• Intuitive scientists– Our tendency to rely on intuitive theories, frame

hypotheses, collect data about ourselves and others, and draw conclusion as best we can

Correspondence Bias

• Tendency to assume other people’s behavior corresponds to their internal states rather than external situations

– Assume internal attributions rather than possible external causes

• Also known as the fundamental attribution error

Self-Serving Bias

• Our tendency to see ourselves in a more positive light than others see us

• Our need for self-enhancement tends to blur our objectivity

• More prevalent in Western individualist focused societies

Faulty Cognitions

• Cognitive Bias– Stereotyping– Similar to the availability heuristic

• Motivational Bias– We base our attributions to meet our needs, wishes and

goals

• Confirmation bias– Our tendency to seek out information that confirms

one’s hypotheses

Attitudes

• Attitude– An association between an act or object and an

evaluation of the act or object

• Attitude strength– Durability & impact of an attitude on behavior

• Attitude importance– Degree of importance of the act or object

• Attitude accessibility– The ease with which an attitude comes to mind

Attitudes

• Explicit attitudes– We are consciously aware of our attitude

• Implicit attitudes– Regulate thought and behavior at an

unconscious level. We respond automatically

Attitudes

• Attitude ambivalence– Degree to which an object generates conflicting

attitudes

• Attitude coherence– Degree to which an attitude is internally

consistent

Attitudes and Behavior

• Attitudes do not accurately predict behavior– A positive attitude towards exercise doesn’t

necessarily translate into one actually exercising

• Specific attitudes predict behavior much better than generalized attitudes– Brand specificity

Attitudes and Behavior

• Attitudes are only one factor among many that influence behavior– I have a favorable attitude towards mushrooms but

would never eat them around my friends

• Attitudes will better predict behavior if members of one’s reference group share the attitudes

• Implicit attitudes impact behavior in ways a person is unaware of

Attitudes and Behavior

• Strongly held attitudes predict behavior better than attitudes that generate less passion

• Attitudes acquired through personal experience are more likely to influence behavior than attitudes acquired on more abstract levels

Persuasion

• Persuasion – Involves a deliberate efforts to change an

attitude

• Components of persuasion– Credible source (expert knowledge)– Message

• Receptiveness of receiver to the message

• Fear appeals

Attitudes and Behavior

• Components of persuasion– Channel

• Words/images• Medium

– Context• Background setting for delivering message• Politicians use of the national flag at events

– Receiver• Strength of attitude by the receiver• Need for cognition

Elaboration Model

• The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion suggests that knowing how to appeal to people requires figuring out the likelihood that they will think about (evaluate) the arguments presented

• Central Route– Appeals to those who think carefully about the message

• Volvo adds that focus on safety

• Peripheral Route– Appeals to those less likely to think carefully about the

message• Ford Mustang adds that focus on sex appeal

Cognitive Dissonance

• Cognitive dissonance refers to a perceived difference between– An attitude and a behavior– An attitude and a new piece of information

• When cognitive dissonance occurs something has to give– Change attitude– Change behavior

Cognitive Dissonance

• Dissonance reduction– Involves our efforts to reduce cognitive

dissonance

• Self-perception theory– Suggests that individuals infer their attitudes,

emotions, and other internal states by observing their own behavior

Cognitive Dissonance

• Self-presentation theory– Suggests that what appear to be changes in

attitudes are really only changes in reported attitudes

• I’m saying what you want to hear

• Dissonance and culture– May be a distinctively Western culture way of

thinking

The Self & Self-Concept

• Self– The person including mental processes, body

and personality characteristics

• Self-concept– A person’s concept of herself, a schema that

guides the way we think about and remember information relevant to ourselves

Self-Esteem

• Self-esteem– A person’s evaluation of himself, how much he likes

and respects the self• General

• Specific

• Self-handicapping– The process by which we set ourselves up to fail when

success is uncertain

– A means to preserve our self-esteem

– Success would mean one is worthy, thus impacting one’s low self-esteem

Self-Consistency

• Refers to consistency of feedback of either a positive or negative nature

• Those with low self-esteem tend to avoid those who speak positive of them

• Positive remarks creates cognitive dissonance with their low self-esteem

Self-Presentation(Impression Management)

• Refers to how we present ourselves to others

• Involves dress, language, and other behaviors

• Self-presentation predicaments– Situations that threaten the image we would like to

project• Changing presentation for a job interview

Self-monitoring

• Refers to the individual differences in how well we manage our self-presentations

• High self-monitors– Carefully read and respond to social settings

• Low self-monitors– Do not read social settings very well

Self-concepts

• Actual self– Our views of how we actually are

• Ideal self– Hopes, aspirations, and wishes that define the way we

would like to be

• Ought self– Duties, obligations, and responsibilities that define the

way the person should be