Social Cognition- thinking about how other people influence how we feel, our behaviors and
how we think
Social pressure to conform
This need to conform in society
Asch’s social pressure experiment- did an experiment where he deceived people
Said it was an experiment in perception
Learned that if you make people feel insecure, they are more likely to
conform. More people, more likely to conform. If one person doesn’t conform, other
won’t either. If you identify with the conforming group, they you do what the
conforming group does.
Social pressure to conform
Social Comparison
Cognitive dissonance- what they see vs. what other people say
When we act to conform in order to remove the feeling of being
uncomfortable
Normative social influence- influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain
approval or avoid disapproval
Informational social influence- influence resulting from one’s willingness to
accept other’s opinions about reality
Perceiving others
Forming impressions: when you first meet people
Pattern perception- we look for consistency in behavior
Central traits- traits that guide a person’s behavior
First impressions
Illusory correlations- we keep seeing a first impression despite conflicting information
Attribution
Attributing a personality to someone based off of a single action
Attribution process:
Situation- someone does something that initiates a reaction from you, but when you
associate it as a flaw in their personality, it turns out to be a situational action
(person leaves class in a hurry and knocks your stuff down, you think they’re a jerk,
but they apologize the next day and say their father had a heart attack.
Disposition
Fundamental attribution error- when people behave we see it as personality
when it is just situational
Attitudes and Actions
Attitudes- feelings, often influences by our beliefs, that predispose our reactions to
objects, people and events
Peripheral route persuasion
how we think
Social pressure to conform
This need to conform in society
Asch’s social pressure experiment- did an experiment where he deceived people
Said it was an experiment in perception
Learned that if you make people feel insecure, they are more likely to
conform. More people, more likely to conform. If one person doesn’t conform, other
won’t either. If you identify with the conforming group, they you do what the
conforming group does.
Social pressure to conform
Social Comparison
Cognitive dissonance- what they see vs. what other people say
When we act to conform in order to remove the feeling of being
uncomfortable
Normative social influence- influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain
approval or avoid disapproval
Informational social influence- influence resulting from one’s willingness to
accept other’s opinions about reality
Perceiving others
Forming impressions: when you first meet people
Pattern perception- we look for consistency in behavior
Central traits- traits that guide a person’s behavior
First impressions
Illusory correlations- we keep seeing a first impression despite conflicting information
Attribution
Attributing a personality to someone based off of a single action
Attribution process:
Situation- someone does something that initiates a reaction from you, but when you
associate it as a flaw in their personality, it turns out to be a situational action
(person leaves class in a hurry and knocks your stuff down, you think they’re a jerk,
but they apologize the next day and say their father had a heart attack.
Disposition
Fundamental attribution error- when people behave we see it as personality
when it is just situational
Attitudes and Actions
Attitudes- feelings, often influences by our beliefs, that predispose our reactions to
objects, people and events
Peripheral route persuasion
