PSY 301 1st Edition Lecture 2 Outline of Last Lecture I Introduction II Types of Scientific Studies Outline of Current Lecture I First Impressions a Attributions b Internal and External Attributions Current Lecture Definition of Social Psychology Social Psychology examines the influence of social processes on the ways in which people think feel and behave It is the scientific study of how we think about influence and relate to one another Social cognition is the processes by which people make sense of themselves others social interactions and friendships First Impressions The initial perceptions of someone which affect future beliefs about that person This develops initial schemas which then effect all subsequent perception and memory 1 Stereotypes characteristics attributed to people based on their membership in specific groups Developed from rigid and or automatic schemas Often overgeneralized and inaccurate Saves cognitive energy 2 Prejudice judging people based on stereotypes Involves a distinction between in groups and out groups Particularly powerful in naturally occurring groups Attributions The processes of inferring the causes of one s own and others mental states and behaviors The process of making an attribution is o Is the behavior due to an internal or external cause Internal attributions are attributes of a person caused the behavior like his or her character their motives etc also known as dispositional Internal attributions are more common in individualistic cultures External attributions are situational factors that caused the behavior also known as situational External attributions are more common in collectivist cultures o To decide between whether or not an attribution is internal or external three factors are involved Consistency Does this person perform this action regularly Distinctiveness Does this person perform similar actions Consensus Do most people perform this action After determining whether or not the behavior is internal or external we categorize the personality o If the attribution is external the process stops right here After categorizing the personality we adjust for the situation o Confirmation bias Giving more weight to ideas that support your view o Discounting Ignoring behaviors that have several possible causes o Augmentation Internal factors are weighted more heavily when the situation makes the behavior unlikely o Unexpected behaviors are given more weight
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