Social Psychology (EPPP)
Primacy Effect - Answer-- our impressions are usually swayed the most by information received early in
an interaction
False Consensus Bias - Answer-- overestimation of the degree to which the beliefs and opinions of
others are similar to our own
Factors that Affect Impression Formation: Central Traits - Answer-- certain descriptions (e.g., a warm vs.
cold person) influence impressions more than others because they provide unique information and are
associated with a large number of other characteristics
Factors that Affect Impression Formation: Schemata - Answer-- organized mental networks that are
based on previous personal and social experiences and that are used to judge or interpret current
circumstances
- pay more attention to and have better recall for evidence that confirms our mental networks
Illusory Correlation - Answer-- belief that two characteristics, events, or variables are related when they
are not
- ex. believe a politician is dishonest based on schema for politicians
Factors that Affect Impression Formation: Social Context - Answer-- behaviors of others tend to be
perceived in a manner that is consistent with the social environment in which they occurred
Rosenhan's Social Context Study - Answer-- confederates who admitted themselves to a psyc hospital
were inappropriately diagnosed with Schizophrenia
, Factors that Affect Impression Formation: Base Rate Fallacy - Answer-- when making probabilistic
inferences about an event or characteristic, individuals rarely consider the prior probability of that event
but rely, instead, on case-specific information
Factors that Affect Impression Formation: Representativeness Heuristic - Answer-- tendency to assume
that an individual belongs to a certain category if s/he has certain characteristics associated with that
category
Attribution - Answer-- the process of determining or inferring why a behavior occurred
Dispositional vs Situational Attributes - Answer-- behavior can be attributed to the person's internal
characteristics or to situational, external characteristics
Stable vs Unstable Attributes - Answer-- behavior can be the result of enduring factors (e.g., personality)
or temporary factors (e.g., fatigue)
Specific vs Global Attributes - Answer-- behavior can be restricted to a limited number of circumstances
or may occur in many different situations
Fundamental Attribution Bias - Answer-- overestimate the role of internal factors and underestimate the
role of situational factors in a person's behavior
Actor-Observer Effect - Answer-- tendency to make different attributions about our own behaviors vs
those of others
- (we are more likely to attribute our own behaviors to situational factors, especially if the consequences
were negative)
Self-Serving Bias - Answer-- tendency to blame external factors for our failures and take credit for our
successes
- opposite (e.g., learned helplessness) occurs in individuals with depression
Primacy Effect - Answer-- our impressions are usually swayed the most by information received early in
an interaction
False Consensus Bias - Answer-- overestimation of the degree to which the beliefs and opinions of
others are similar to our own
Factors that Affect Impression Formation: Central Traits - Answer-- certain descriptions (e.g., a warm vs.
cold person) influence impressions more than others because they provide unique information and are
associated with a large number of other characteristics
Factors that Affect Impression Formation: Schemata - Answer-- organized mental networks that are
based on previous personal and social experiences and that are used to judge or interpret current
circumstances
- pay more attention to and have better recall for evidence that confirms our mental networks
Illusory Correlation - Answer-- belief that two characteristics, events, or variables are related when they
are not
- ex. believe a politician is dishonest based on schema for politicians
Factors that Affect Impression Formation: Social Context - Answer-- behaviors of others tend to be
perceived in a manner that is consistent with the social environment in which they occurred
Rosenhan's Social Context Study - Answer-- confederates who admitted themselves to a psyc hospital
were inappropriately diagnosed with Schizophrenia
, Factors that Affect Impression Formation: Base Rate Fallacy - Answer-- when making probabilistic
inferences about an event or characteristic, individuals rarely consider the prior probability of that event
but rely, instead, on case-specific information
Factors that Affect Impression Formation: Representativeness Heuristic - Answer-- tendency to assume
that an individual belongs to a certain category if s/he has certain characteristics associated with that
category
Attribution - Answer-- the process of determining or inferring why a behavior occurred
Dispositional vs Situational Attributes - Answer-- behavior can be attributed to the person's internal
characteristics or to situational, external characteristics
Stable vs Unstable Attributes - Answer-- behavior can be the result of enduring factors (e.g., personality)
or temporary factors (e.g., fatigue)
Specific vs Global Attributes - Answer-- behavior can be restricted to a limited number of circumstances
or may occur in many different situations
Fundamental Attribution Bias - Answer-- overestimate the role of internal factors and underestimate the
role of situational factors in a person's behavior
Actor-Observer Effect - Answer-- tendency to make different attributions about our own behaviors vs
those of others
- (we are more likely to attribute our own behaviors to situational factors, especially if the consequences
were negative)
Self-Serving Bias - Answer-- tendency to blame external factors for our failures and take credit for our
successes
- opposite (e.g., learned helplessness) occurs in individuals with depression
