DOC PREVIEW
USC PSYC 359 - Social Cognition and Perceptions

This preview shows page 1-2 out of 5 pages.

Save
View full document
View full document
Premium Document
Do you want full access? Go Premium and unlock all 5 pages.
Access to all documents
Download any document
Ad free experience
View full document
Premium Document
Do you want full access? Go Premium and unlock all 5 pages.
Access to all documents
Download any document
Ad free experience
Premium Document
Do you want full access? Go Premium and unlock all 5 pages.
Access to all documents
Download any document
Ad free experience

Unformatted text preview:

PSYC 359 1st Edition Lecture 10 Outline of Last Lecture I. Attraction II. Basics of AttractionIII. Physical attractionOutline of Current Lecture I. Social CognitionII. Attributional Processes III. Perceptions of others—first impressionsIV. Self perceptions Current LectureSocial cognition- Our perceptions and interpretations of our partnerships are enormously important: what we think helps to determine what we feel, and then how we act- We make judgments everyday- What we think determines how we feel, and thus, how we act- How we relate to another person impacts all three…feelings, cognition, and behavior Early research of thinking in this field- Early research put self and other on continuum and ignored dynamics of relationship in between - Research began to focus more on closeness…in close relationships we see a greater similarity of behavior we have - Closeness is vicariously sharing another person’s characteristics—only recently in cognitive science- Studies on perception and self - Cognitions impact relationships First Impressions- First impressions have enormous staying power. They influence our judgments of others for a long time- Why?- Sometimes our first impressions are correct but often times they are not- These first impressions can come from stereotypes. All the information we get afterwards, we make fit into that first impression- These first impressions can be made within 1/10 of a second- Ascho Two groups…one read this description: intelligent, industrious, impulsive, critical,stubborno The other read this description: envious, stubborn, critical, impulsive, industrious, intelligento Same words, but different ordero More positive impression reading first list FIRST IMPRESSION MATTERs- Comes from desire to reduce ambiguity - People with a lower need for closure make less first impressions - First, we don’t start from scratcho People fall into category we’ve already created- Then, primacy effects occuro First impression takes special weight- A confirmation bias is typicalo Affect choices we make about new informationo Tendency to interpret or create or misperceive information to verify whatever preexisting belief we have- Belief Perseveranceo Tend to continue on belief even if you’ve been presented with disconcerting evidence- We do not believe that our first impressions are wrongo Thus we tend to be overconfident - Used everyday: astrological forecasting (confirmation bias), mind reader or fortune teller(confirmation bias), gamblers (bad recall etc.)The Power of Perceptions- Personal positive illusions can be protective of mental and physical health and our relationships- Idealizing our partnerso Put more effort into it…shows how its protectiveo Put them on a pedestal o Positive illusions…but this is healthy But can also be bad when you are in denial (abuse, for example)o Emphasize positive qualities and ignore bad onesAttributional Processes- Attributions are our explanations of events- They identify the causes of events, emphasizing the role of some influences and minimizing the role of others- We can emphasize influences that are:o Internal to a person, such as personality or mood, or external, describing the situation the person facedo Stable and lasting or unstable and temporaryo Global, affecting many situation, or specific, affecting only a few-- the actor/observer effect: people generate different explanations for their own actions than they do for the similar actions they observe in others- self-serving biases lead people to see themselves as responsible for the good things that happen o them, but as relatively blameless when things to wrong- reconstructive memory is a term used to describe the fact that our memories are continually revised and rewritten as new events occurThe Power of Perceptions- We create schemas (look up term from earlier chapter) about relationships- Relationship beliefs:o Romanticism is the view that love should be the most important basis for choosing a mate It’s good but it tends to decline over timeo Other beliefs are dysfunctional and disadvantageous- Other relationship beliefso Destiny beliefs assume that two people are either well suited for each other and destined to live happily ever after, or they’re not Dysfunctional We can’t do anything about it  People don’t put as much time in relationship because they believe conflict and disagreements are conflict- But this is wrong because you can grow from that- Couples who argue a little bit last longer Mind-reading is essential - He/she should know what I want and I shouldn’t have to tell them- But this is ridiculous - It’s better to just say what we want  Sex will be perfect every time…leads to disappointment  Men and women are different  Great relationships just happen and you don’t have to work on themo Growth beliefs assume that good relationships are a result of hard work Different from destiny beliefs  When conflict emerges they respond more constructively Expectations- Self-fulfilling prophesies are false predictions that come true because they lead people to behave in ways that make the erroneous predictions come true- If you are nice to someone they are nice back to you- Pygmalion design in US, with giving teachers false information about the learning potential of certain students o Teachers who believed kids were going to grow cognitively (even though they were actually randomly designed) did much bettero Because the teacher gave them more attention and expected them to do bettero Expectations caused students to experience excellent intellectual growth- If you think someone will cheat on you, they probably will BECAUSE YOU TREAT THEM DIFFERENTLY- Expectations elicit behaviors we expect- When they expected to be liked by a stranger, people were…she didn’t go over this- And when they expected to be disliked, they were…she didn’t go over thisSelf Perceptions- Our self concepts encompasses all the beliefs and feelings we have about ourselves- The self-enhancement motive leads us to seek feedback that makes us look goodo We do this all the time…date, job interviewo We tend to see ourselves in a good light, which is healthyo Distraction helps people improve self concept…don’t self-reflect too mucho We are very high self-raters We rate ourselves higher than others do o These self-serving


View Full Document

USC PSYC 359 - Social Cognition and Perceptions

Download Social Cognition and Perceptions
Our administrator received your request to download this document. We will send you the file to your email shortly.
Loading Unlocking...
Login

Join to view Social Cognition and Perceptions and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or
We will never post anything without your permission.
Don't have an account?
Sign Up

Join to view Social Cognition and Perceptions 2 2 and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or

By creating an account you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use

Already a member?