PSY 274 1st Edition Lecture 2- Cognitive representations: A body of knowledge an individual has stored in his or her memoryo Types of representations: Person (e.g., nerd, jock, librarian causes u to think of what they might be like) Social groups (e.g., professor, student, physician) Situation (e.g., restaurant, exam, first date; this is what’s supposed to happenin this context)o Why we have them: Social world is overwhelming and we need these social constructs to know what to do Cognitive representations give us short-cuts to use- They provide serviceable, but inexact solutionsIn class Test: Remember these words: Awake, dream, wake, eat, slumber, snoreYou automatically think of the word sleepo Affects individuals’… Attention Memory- Information that fits representations is easier to encode and to retrieve Construal- Useful because we think appearance and behavior reflect personality characteristics, preferences, and lifestyles.o But, highly influenced by: What information is available: Our judgments are only as effective as the quality of the information on which they are based, yet the information available to us in everyday life is not always accurate or complete.Ex. Joel serial killer These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- Physical appearance (1st thing we look at for judgement)- Ex. Child face large forehead and eyes, rounded small chin look more innocent and friendly and get shorter sentencing but have lower salaries and tend to never be higher positions at their job- Nonverbal communication- thinslice research – ten second clip of a person and show it to someone else and tell me what u think of themHow we seek informationConfirmation Bias: The tendency to test a proposition by searching for evidence that would support it.How extraverted u are?You just look for things that prove they are extraverted like how often doyou go out? Instead ofAsking introverted questions like do u like to be alone?o The danger: if we look for mainly one type of evidence, we are likely to find it.o Often leads people to ask questions thatshape the answers they get, thereby providing illusory support for what they’re trying to find out.How information is presented- The way information is presented, including the order, can “frame” the way it is processed and understood.Strubborn-when following intelligent seems steadfast and determinedwhen following envious seems close minded or rigid Behavior- Shooter BiasWhen black they are more likely to be shot no matter who the participants in the experiment wereHappened in the university of Colorado after a black man was shot 56 times by the policeo Most likely to guide us when information is ambiguous. We have short amount of time to think We compensate for the inadequacies of the information obtained by filling in from the top-down- Causal Attribution: Linking an event to a cause, such as inferring that a personality trait was responsible for a behavior.o Important because: we do it many times a day it tells us what emotional reaction to have it has profound consequenceso Major distinction we’re making: Internal/External- Covariation Principle:o The idea that behavior should be attributed to potential causes that co-occur with the behavior.o Three types of covariation information are needed: 1. Consensus: What most people would do in a given situation- Would most people behave the same way, or would few or no other people behave that way?o If most people would do the same thing, consensus is _________.o If most people would do something different, consensus is __________. 2. Distinctiveness: What an individual does in different situations- Is the behavior unique to a particular situation, or does it occur in all situations?o If the individual does the same thing in every situation, distinctiveness is _______.o If the individual does something different in every situation, distinctiveness is _______. 3. Consistency: What an individual does in a given situation on different occasions- Next time, under the same circumstances, does the person behave the same or differently?o If an individual does the same thing every time he or she is in the situation, consistency is _______.o If an individual does something different every time he or she is in the situation, consistency is _______.- Most important attribution: internal/externalo Internal Attribution: The inference that a person is behaving in a certain way becauseof something about the person, such as their attitude, character, or personalityo External Attribution: The inference that a person is behaving a certain way because of something about the situation he or she is in.- Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency to attribute other people’s behavior to elements of their character or personality, even when powerful situational forces are acting to produce the behavior.Consensus Distinctiveness Consistency AttributionHigh:Everybody flirts with MaryHigh:John does not flirt with many women.High: John always flirts with MaryLow:Hardly anyone flirts with MaryLow:John flirts with everyoneHigh:John always flirts with MaryLow:Hardly anyone flirts with MaryHigh:John does not flirt with many women.Low:John never flirts with Maryo Causes Belief in a Just World: the belief that people get what they deserve in life and deserve what they get Perceptual Salience: People are more salient than situations People are confounded with situations We have incomplete information and must fill in the best we can.- Imagining alternatives: Sometimes, attributions arise from what we would imagine would happen under different conditions, rather than by observing behavior.- Discounting & Augmentingo Discounting: People reassign reduced weight to a particular cause of behavior if other plausible causes might have produced it.o Augmenting: People reassign greater weight to a particular cause of behavior if other causes are present that normally would produce the opposite outcomeo Discounting vs. Augmenting Discounting is most likely to occur when someone acts in line with expectations. Augmentation is most likely to occur when someone acts outside of what expectations dictate.- Counterfactual thoughts: Attributions are influenced by our knowledge of what could have or should have happened, “if only”