Social Cognition The study of how information about people is processed and stored. Our thoughts, perceptions, and beliefs about people are influenced by the social context in which we interact with people It meets our needs to accurately perceive the world around us and to perceive ourselves in a positive light

Person Perception Social schemas are mental representation that influence how we perceive others. Schemas = concepts

Schemas influence How information is processed We pay more attention to people who portray characteristics that are consistent with our schemas or our ideas about how people should behave Professional appearance

Schemas influence what we remember because we attend to things that are consistent with our current schemas Top down processing and errors

A Script an expectation about how a certain event should unfold A Self Fulfilling prophecy – our expectations cause us unconsciously to act in a manner to bring about behaviors that confirm our expectations.  Rosenthal and Jacobson study (1968)

The Attribution Process Personal (Internal) Explains outcomes by looking within an individual Situational (external) Explains outcomes by looking outside the individual

Biases in the attributional process 1. Fundamental attribution error 2. Actor-observer bias 3. Self-serving Bias 4. The Just World Hypotheses 5. False Consensus

Activity 1. Fundamental Attribution Error Overestimating personal influences and underestimating external influences when judging the behavior of others.  More likely to happen when we don’t know the person well 2. Actor-Observer bias – attributing one’s own behavior to situational causes and the behavior of other to personal factors

3. Self Serving Bias Attribute success to personal factors and failures to situational factors Activity 4. The Just World Hypotheses To believe that good people are rewarded, and bad people are punished. Can lead to “blaming the victim”

5. False Consensus effect To think other people share our attitudes more than they actually do. Use an example from your own life, of a time, when employed the five biases in the attributional process. (Real Life Examples) 1. Fundamental attribution error 2. Actor-observer bias 3. Self-serving Bias 4. The Just World Hypotheses 5. False Consensus