Social Perception & Attributions Social psychologists study how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

Social schemas  mental representations that influence how we perceive othersSocial schemas  mental representations that influence how we perceive others –Influence how we process & interpret info –Influence what we remember because we attend to things that are consistent with our schemas –Can lead to errors in judging others Social Perception

Attribution Theory Internal (dispositional) attribution  assume person’s behavior is determined by personal traitsInternal (dispositional) attribution  assume person’s behavior is determined by personal traits External (situational) attribution  assume person’s behavior is due to external circumstancesExternal (situational) attribution  assume person’s behavior is due to external circumstances

How we explain someone’s behavior affects how we react to it Negative behavior Situational attribution “Maybe that driver is ill.” Dispositional attribution “Crazy driver!” Tolerant reaction (proceed cautiously, allow driver a wide berth) Unfavorable reaction (speed up and race past the other driver, give a dirty look)

Kelley’s Covariation Model Factors That Determine Attribution Consensus  Are other people's behavior similar to that person’s behavior in the situation?Consensus  Are other people's behavior similar to that person’s behavior in the situation? –High consensus = situation, Low consensus = dispositional Consistency  does the person act the same way frequently or in most cases?Consistency  does the person act the same way frequently or in most cases? –High consistency = dispositional, low consistency = situation Distinctiveness  does person respond differently in other situations? Or just this specific situation?Distinctiveness  does person respond differently in other situations? Or just this specific situation? –Low distinctiveness = dispositional, high distinctiveness = situation

Fundamental Attribution Error  overestimating internal (dispositional) attributions to others and underestimating external (situational) attributionsFundamental Attribution Error  overestimating internal (dispositional) attributions to others and underestimating external (situational) attributions

Actor-observer effect  attributing our own behavior to external (situational) causes & behavior of others to internal (dispositional) causesActor-observer effect  attributing our own behavior to external (situational) causes & behavior of others to internal (dispositional) causes –“ I was unprepared for the exam because there was a family emergency last night, but Sally was unprepared because she’s basically not good at math.”

Self-serving bias  tendency to attribute success to internal (dispositional) factors, but failures to external (situational) factorsSelf-serving bias  tendency to attribute success to internal (dispositional) factors, but failures to external (situational) factors –“I won the game today because I am a great athlete.” –“I lost the game because the referee made bad calls.”

Social Perception Self-fulfilling prophecy  occurs when our expectations cause us to unknowingly act in a way that elicits the behaviors that confirm our expectations

Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968) Teachers told that certain elementary school students would bloom (rapid academic growth) Randomly chosen bloomers showed significantly greater gains in IQ than control-group classmates Teacher expectancies about children influenced student performance The student who believes that he/she cannot pass a test will not study as hard as needed, thereby confirming that he/she was “right” SELF- FULFILLING PROPHECY

Just world hypothesis  tendency to believe that good people are rewarded, bad people are punishedJust world hypothesis  tendency to believe that good people are rewarded, bad people are punished False consensus effect  tendency to think other people share our attitudes more than they actually doFalse consensus effect  tendency to think other people share our attitudes more than they actually do –“I really like this one television show, so I assume most of my peers like it as well.”

Representative heuristic  tendency to make judgments about a person according to the group they appear to representRepresentative heuristic  tendency to make judgments about a person according to the group they appear to represent –If you see someone wearing athletic apparel, you assume that they are in the “jock” group –If you see someone wearing a white lab coat, you assume that they work in a lab or hospital What about the make-up counter at a department store?What about the make-up counter at a department store?

Availability heuristic  tendency to judge probability of an event’s occurring based on how readily examples come to mindAvailability heuristic  tendency to judge probability of an event’s occurring based on how readily examples come to mind –After 9/11, many people were afraid to fly, yet the increased security at airports made it safe to fly –Swine flu Hindsight bias  tendency to overestimate how predictable an event was once the outcome is knownHindsight bias  tendency to overestimate how predictable an event was once the outcome is known “I knew it all along!”