PSYC 1315 1st Edition Lecture 29Outline of Last LectureHealth Psychology Current Lecture Social Psychology What do social psychologists study? How people think about, influence, and relate to other people. Social Cognition How people select, interpret, remember, and use social information Based on expectations, memories, attitudes, etc Person Perceptions How often do we ‘judge a book by its cover’? Research ◦ U.S. House and Senate elections: ratings predicted the outcome for about 70% ◦ Baby-faced individuals: rated to be na/ve, weak, less competent...but also warm, honest and caring Person Perceptions Where do our perceptions come from? First impressions: (primacy effect) ◦ Physical appearance◦ Social schemas◦ Stereotypes Self-fulfilling prophecy Expectations play a role again... Our expectations cause us to act in ways that serve to make the expectations come true Research example: ◦ “late bloomers” Attribution Theory People are motivated to discover the underlying causes ofbehavior as part of their effort to make sense of the behavior◦ Internal vs. External Ex. Talking fast ◦ Stable vs. Unstable Ex. Yelling at a student ◦ Controllable vs. Uncontrollable Ex. Gaining weight Fundamental Attribution Error For behaviors of others, we overestimate internal factors, and underestimate external factors Research example: ◦ Castro essay Actor-Observer effect What about evaluating our own behavior? Attribute own behavior to external sources,but behaviors of others to internal sources Exception:◦ Self-serving bias: depends on the situation The false consensus effect Overestimation of the degree to which everybody else thinks or acts the way we do We use our own outlook to make predictions ◦ “How many Intro to Psych students want to be Psych majors?” Probably depends on your answer The Self as a Social Object Self-schemas Positive illusions: ◦ Positive views of ourselves that are not necessarily deeply rooted in reality Self-serving bias:◦ Tendency to take credit for success and deny responsibility for failure Self-objectification: ◦ Tendency to see oneself primarily as an object in the eyes of others The Self as a Social Object Stereotype threat:◦ Fast-acting, self-fulfilling fear of being judged on the basis of a negative stereotype about our group◦ Research: making ethnicity or athletic ability salient Social comparison:◦ Process by which individuals evaluate their thoughts,feelings, behaviors and abilities in relation to other people ◦ Downwardvs. Upward comparison Attitudes Opinions and beliefs about people, objects, and ideas Components:◦ Affective-feelings◦ Behavioral-predisposition to act ◦
View Full Document