Week 7 Notes
Social Psychology -
Is the scientific study of
Social thinking - how we perceive ourselves and others. What we believe.
Judgements we make. Our attitudes.
Social influence - culture and biology. Pressure to conform. Persuasion. Groups of
people.
Social relation - prejudice. Aggression. Attraction and intimacy. Helping.
First impression and ways we think about causes of behaviours.
Explain how actual, imagined, or implied presence of others influences us.
Influences on thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Impression Formation -
Primary effect -
Overall impression of another.
Influenced most by initial information we receive.
Expectations -
Once formed, our expectations affect how we perceive behaviour.
Attributions -
Attribution = assign causes to explain behaviour.
Situational attributions = attribute behaviour to external cause.
Dispositional attributions = behaviour due to internal cause.
Attributional Biases -
Actor - Observer Bias = our issues due to situational factors; others’ issues due to
internal personal factors.
Fundamental Attribution Error = overemphasize internal, underemphasize external
factors when explaining others.
Self-serving Bias = our successes from internal or dispositional causes; our failures
from situational causes.
Factors Influencing Attraction -
Proximity - geographic closeness.
Mere-exposure effect - more positive toward stimuli with repeated exposure.
Social Psychology -
Is the scientific study of
Social thinking - how we perceive ourselves and others. What we believe.
Judgements we make. Our attitudes.
Social influence - culture and biology. Pressure to conform. Persuasion. Groups of
people.
Social relation - prejudice. Aggression. Attraction and intimacy. Helping.
First impression and ways we think about causes of behaviours.
Explain how actual, imagined, or implied presence of others influences us.
Influences on thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Impression Formation -
Primary effect -
Overall impression of another.
Influenced most by initial information we receive.
Expectations -
Once formed, our expectations affect how we perceive behaviour.
Attributions -
Attribution = assign causes to explain behaviour.
Situational attributions = attribute behaviour to external cause.
Dispositional attributions = behaviour due to internal cause.
Attributional Biases -
Actor - Observer Bias = our issues due to situational factors; others’ issues due to
internal personal factors.
Fundamental Attribution Error = overemphasize internal, underemphasize external
factors when explaining others.
Self-serving Bias = our successes from internal or dispositional causes; our failures
from situational causes.
Factors Influencing Attraction -
Proximity - geographic closeness.
Mere-exposure effect - more positive toward stimuli with repeated exposure.
