The connected mind: Social psychology
How accurate are first impression?
Halo effects occur when one characteristic or a small number of characteristics have a large impact
on an overall perception. If people see characteristics that they value or dislike, they tend to make a
simple thumbs up or thumbs down assessment.
Why did that just happen?
Attributions are judgements about the cause of a person’s behaviour
Dispositional attribution is a judgement assigning the cause of a person’s behaviour to
personal qualities or characteristics.
A situational attribution is a judgement assigning the cause of a person’s behaviour to the
environment
Correspondence bias and fundamental attribution error
Correspondence bias is the tendency to view behaviour as the result of disposition, even when the
behaviour can be explained by the situation in which it occurs. Factors that contribute to the
correspondence bias include lack of awareness of the power of the situation and unrealistic beliefs
about how situations should affect people. Another factor is the genuine stability of personality
traits.
According to the fundamental attribution error, people do not just underestimate situational
variables, but instead completely fail to consider situational variables while making attributions.
Defensive attributions
Actor-observer bias is emphasizing dispositional attributions to explain the behaviour of others while
emphasizing situational attributions to explain our own behaviour. This bias tends to boost our self-
esteem and also results in self-enhancement (inflating your opinion of yourself)
Self-serving bias is attributing success to dispositional factors while attributing failures to situational
factors. In group-serving bias, an organization tends to attribute success to its dispositional
characteristics but blames failures on its situation
Just-world belief is the assumption that good things happen to good people and bad things happen
to bad people.
How are our attitudes influenced by others?
Attitudes are positive or negative evaluation that predisposes behaviour toward an object, person,
or situation. Attitudes spread widely throughout an area or a group of people. Decision making is
simpler, faster, and less stressful when attitudes exist to serve as a guide. Attitudes form networks
comprised of three interacting elements:
Affect
Behaviour
Cognition
How accurate are first impression?
Halo effects occur when one characteristic or a small number of characteristics have a large impact
on an overall perception. If people see characteristics that they value or dislike, they tend to make a
simple thumbs up or thumbs down assessment.
Why did that just happen?
Attributions are judgements about the cause of a person’s behaviour
Dispositional attribution is a judgement assigning the cause of a person’s behaviour to
personal qualities or characteristics.
A situational attribution is a judgement assigning the cause of a person’s behaviour to the
environment
Correspondence bias and fundamental attribution error
Correspondence bias is the tendency to view behaviour as the result of disposition, even when the
behaviour can be explained by the situation in which it occurs. Factors that contribute to the
correspondence bias include lack of awareness of the power of the situation and unrealistic beliefs
about how situations should affect people. Another factor is the genuine stability of personality
traits.
According to the fundamental attribution error, people do not just underestimate situational
variables, but instead completely fail to consider situational variables while making attributions.
Defensive attributions
Actor-observer bias is emphasizing dispositional attributions to explain the behaviour of others while
emphasizing situational attributions to explain our own behaviour. This bias tends to boost our self-
esteem and also results in self-enhancement (inflating your opinion of yourself)
Self-serving bias is attributing success to dispositional factors while attributing failures to situational
factors. In group-serving bias, an organization tends to attribute success to its dispositional
characteristics but blames failures on its situation
Just-world belief is the assumption that good things happen to good people and bad things happen
to bad people.
How are our attitudes influenced by others?
Attitudes are positive or negative evaluation that predisposes behaviour toward an object, person,
or situation. Attitudes spread widely throughout an area or a group of people. Decision making is
simpler, faster, and less stressful when attitudes exist to serve as a guide. Attitudes form networks
comprised of three interacting elements:
Affect
Behaviour
Cognition
