Social Psychology: The study of how people influence, and
are influenced by, other people
Social Cognition: The mental processes associated with the
ways in which people perceive & react to other individuals &
groups
ADVANCED PLACEMENT
PSYCHOLOGY
Chapter 17: Social Cognition
SELF-CONCEPT – (NOUN.) BELIEFS ABOUT WHO
WE ARE & WHAT CHARACTERISTICS WE HAVE
SELF-ESTEEM– (NOUN.) EVALUATIONS OF
PERSONAL WORTH AS HUMAN BEINGS
Two main theories about how we form our selfconcept:
- Social Comparison Theory
- Social Identity Theory
SOCIAL COMPARISON THEORY
WE KNOW WHO WE ARE BY COMPARING OURSELVES TO OTHERS

Objective Measures: Things that can be measured


Non-objective Measures: Things that cannot be
measured

1.
2.
3.
Ex: height, weight, age, etc.
Ex: attractiveness, athletic prowess, etc.
Social Comparison – Evaluation of the self by
comparing to others
Reference Groups – Categories of people to which
individuals see themselves as belonging & to which
they compare themselves
Relative Deprivation – Occurs when a person’s
relative standing is poor compared to a social
reference group (no matter how much you’re getting,
it’s less than you deserve)
SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY
WE KNOW WHO WE ARE THROUGH OUR ROLE IN SOCIETY
(PART OF OUR SELF-CONCEPT)


Social Identity: our beliefs about the groups to which
we belong
“I am _____________.”

Physical Attributes




Social Attributes




Tall
Smart
Athletic
a student
American
a [sport] player
Cultural Differences
Individualist Cultures – Tend to define themselves more by
physical attributes
 Collectivist Cultures – Tend to define themselves more by
social attributes

LINKAGES:
SOCIAL COGNITION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
1.
Self-Schemas
a)
b)

Unified Self-Schemas – Same characteristics across
situations
Differentiated Self-Schemas – Different characteristics
across situations
Those with unified self-schemas are more prone to
developing mental disorders
Parts of the Self-Schema
1.
Actual Self – What the person is like
2.
Ideal Self – What the person wants to be
3.
Ought Self – Who the person should be (morals)

Perceived discrepancies between the parts of the self may
be the trigger for distress & then mental disorders
SOCIAL PERCEPTION
THE ROLE OF SCHEMAS, FIRST IMPRESSIONS, ATTRIBUTION, &
SELF-PROTECTIVE FUNCTIONS


Social Perception: the process through which
people interpret information about others, form
impressions of them, & draw conclusions about
the reasons for their behavior
Social perception influences our thoughts,
feelings, & actions!
ROLE OF SCHEMAS
GESTALT PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTION: TOP-DOWN PROCESSING
“FILLING IN THE BLANKS” ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE

Attention
Schemas affect what we pay attention to & what we ignore
Attributes consistent with our schemas get more attention
than those inconsistent with schemas
 Processing speed is quicker for characteristics that confirm
our schemas



Memory
Schemas influence what we remember
Attributes consistent with our schemas are easier to
remember than those inconsistent with schemas
 You will remember more about a random person if you
knew their profession ahead of time.



Attribution


Schemas affect how we judge behavior of others
A man and a woman doing the same thing get different
judgments of their behavior
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
IS THE FIRST IMPRESSION THE MOST IMPORTANT?
1.
Forming Impressions
Influenced heavily by schemas & top-down processing
Assumption: Others hold attitudes & values similar to your
own
 Negative information is more potent than positive
information



2.
Lasting Impressions


3.
Why?
 There are many reasons for why someone might act
positively
 Only one reason for why someone might act negatively
First impressions are very slow to change
New information is filtered by the existing framework
through top-down processing
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

Schemas that lead people to behave in line with our
expectations
EXPLAINING PERCEPTION: ATTRIBUTION
Attribution – Process of explaining the causes of behavior


a)
Attribution helps to understand the causes of
behavior, predict future behavior, & decide how to
control the situation itself
Scenario: A student asks Ms. de Bari for an extension
on an assignment
Internal Attribution


b)
External Attribution



Behavior caused by characteristics of the person
“Sigh… laziness…”
Behavior caused by situational factors
“Something must have happened that prevented him/her
from being able to work on the assignment.”
Similar to locus of control, but what’s the difference?
SOURCES OF ATTRIBUTIONS
KELLEY’S THEORY FOR UNDERSTANDING ATTRIBUTIONS

a)
You ask Ms. de Bari for an extension on an assignment & she
yells at you before refusing
Consensus
Degree to which other people’s behavior is similar to that of the actor
 Consensus = External
 Consensus = Internal
 None of your other teachers ever give you extensions.
 All your other teachers give you extensions when you ask.



Consistency
b)
Degree to which the behavior is the same across time
 Consistency = Internal
 Consistency = External
 Ms. de Bari has never given you an extensions before.
 Ms. de Bari use to always give you extensions except this time



Distinctiveness
c)





Degree to which similar stimuli elicit the same behavior from the
actor
 Distinctiveness = External
 Distinctiveness = Internal
Ms. de Bari gives everyone extensions but you.
Ms. de Bari gives extensions to NO ONE!
ATTRIBUTION ERRORS & BIASES
Fundamental
Attributional Error

Fundamental
Attribution Error


Tendency to overattribute the behavior of
others to internal
factors, such as
personality traits
Ultimate Attribution
Error

Tendency to attribute
negative behaviors of
out-groups to stable
traits, & positive
behaviors as exceptions
Other Attributional
Biases

Actor-Observer Bias


Tendency to overattribute the behavior of
self to external factors
Self-Serving Bias
Success  Internal
attribution
 Failure  External
attribution
 Explanation: Self-esteem


Claims success &
disowns failures
SELF-PROTECTIVE FUNCTIONS


People are motivated to maintain their self-esteem
Ignoring negative information is one way to do it


Ex: If you just failed your last exam (hopefully not!) you are
more likely to blame me as the teacher instead of painfully
admitting that you got the grade you deserved
Unrealistic Optimism [Unique Invulnerability]
 The tendency to believe that:


Positive events are more likely to happen to you than others
Negative events are more likely to happen others than you
Tends to persist even in the face of contradictory evidence
 Can lead to unhealthy behaviors




Alcoholism
Reckless Driving
Drugs
ATTITUDES
THE TENDENCY TO THINK, FEEL, OR ACT POSITIVELY OR
NEGATIVELY TOWARD OBJECTS IN OUR ENVIRONMENT

Three components of attitudes
1.
2.
3.
Cognitive – Beliefs held about something (Ex: you believe
drunk driving is bad)
Affective – Emotional feelings toward something (Ex: you
feel angry when people drive drunk)
Behavioral – The way one acts towards something (Ex: you
participate in demonstrations against drunk driving)

People will consciously or subconsciously try to maintain
consistency between the components of their attitude

Factors Affecting Consistency [of behavior]
Cognitive & affective consistency [What you believe and how
you feel are consistent]
 In line with subjective norm [View of how people around us
want us to act]
 There is a degree of perceived control [Belief one can actually
perform said behavior]
 Having had direct experience [Having first-hand experience]

FORMING ATTITUDES
NO ONE IS BORN WITH ATTITUDES

Genetics


Inherited predispositions of temperament
Learning
Modeling & Social Learning – Children learn from parents
not just what objects are, but also how they should feel
about them
 Classical / Operant Conditioning – Naturally associating
positive or negative feelings with the object

Mere-Exposure Effect
All else being equal, attitudes toward an object will become
more positive the more frequently people are exposed to it
 i.e. Spend enough time with the girl you like and maybe
she’ll start liking you too.

CHANGING ATTITUDES
Two Routes to Attitude Change
a)
Three factors affecting attitude change
Characteristics of the person communicating
Content of the message
Audience who receives it
i.
ii.
iii.
b)
Elaboration Likelihood Model
Peripheral Route
i.


Central Route
ii.



Persuasion Cues are important
How confident or attractive the persuader is
Content of message is important
How logical the argument is
Which Route Will Be Taken?
Personal Involvement – How personally important the
information is [C]
 Cognitive Busyness – Thinking about other things [P]
 Need for Cognition – Need for thoughtful mental activities [C]
 Need for Closure – Discomfort with uncertainty [P]

ADVERTISEMENTS
BILLIONS SPENT TO CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE
ATTITUDE CHANGE
FESTINGER’S COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY
Procedure / Results


Participants did mundane
peg-turning activity
Advertised the task to
others as “exciting & fun”



Group 1


Group 1: $1 reward
Group 2: $20 reward
More favorable attitude
towards the task
Group 2

Small increase in attitude
towards the task
Explanation
Group 1
Justification
•Low
Monetary
Justification
Dissonance
•High
Dissonance
Attitude
Change
•High change
in favorable
attitude
Group 2
Justification
•High
Monetary
Justification
Dissonance
•Low
Dissonance
Attitude
Change
•Less change
in favorable
attitude
ATTITUDE CHANGE
FESTINGER’S COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY
People want their thoughts, beliefs, & emotions
to be consistent with one another and with their
behavior
 In cases where the behavior & cognition can’t be
changed, the attitude naturally shifts

•Behavior, thoughts,
beliefs, and attitudes
are inconsistent
Inconsistency
Dissonance
•Created from
awareness of the
inconsistency
•Conscious or
subconscious feelings
of guilt or discomfort
Anxiety
Change
•Alteration of
behavior, attitudes,
thoughts, or beliefs
to reduce dissonance
ATTITUDE CHANGE
SELF-PERCEPTION THEORY


You’re not quite sure yet
how you feel about a
particular boy or girl
You examine

How excited you get when
you are on your way to spend
time with him or her

How upset you get when
others speak poorly about the
boy or girl

How unhappy you get when
you see him or her with
others of the opposite gender



Does not presuppose
internal tension when
attitudes are inconsistent
with behavior
Under ambiguous
situations, people examine
their behavior to infer their
attitude.
Self-Perception Theory


Best when there is weak/no
prior attitude
Cognitive-Dissonance
Theory

Best when there is
strong/clearly defined
attitudes and internal
consistency is important for
self-esteem
FIRST, SOME VOCABULARY

Some commonly interchange words
Stereotype – Perceptions, beliefs, and expectations
about members of a group
 Prejudice – Positive or negative attitude toward an
individual because of his or her membership in a group
 Discrimination – Differential treatment of individuals
who belong to different groups


Group Dynamics
In-group – Group to which one identifies with and
belongs to
 Out-group – Everyone else

THEORIES OF PREJUDICE AND STEREOTYPING:
MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES

Motivational Theories
Prejudice may enhance one’s sense of security
 Prejudice is especially likely among those with an
authoritarian personality trait

Acceptance of conventional or traditional values
 Willingness to unquestioningly follow the orders of authority
 Inclination to act aggressively towards those identified by these
authority figures as threatening the values held by one’s ingroup


Prejudice may enhance one’s self-esteem by affirming
their social identity with their in-group
THEORIES
OF
PREJUDICE AND STEREOTYPING:
COGNITIVE AND LEARNING
Cognitive Theories
Social relationships are so numerous and complex that we
rely heavily on schemas
 People are then sorted into social categories




Categories that replace the individual details of a person
Members of the same social category are perceived to be quite
similar to each other [saves cognitive energies: less attention]
“All you ____________ people look the same.”
Learning Theories
Children learn prejudice by watching parents, peers, and
others
 Children often know about the negative characteristics of
groups before they ever meet a member

REDUCING PREJUDICE

Contact Hypothesis


Stereotypes and prejudice toward a group will diminish as
contact with the group increases
Lessons Since 1954 [Brown vs. Board of Education]
How to make desegregation work
Members of the two groups had to be roughly the same
social and economic status
 Members of the two groups had to work together on
projects that required reliance and teamwork for success
 Contact has to happen on a one-on-one basis
 Members of each group must be seen as typical

AND NOW, WHAT WE’VE ALL BEEN
WAITING FOR…
KEYS TO ATTRACTION
AKA: THE LOVE MANUAL

The Environment



Mere-Exposure Effect (forming attitudes section)
Classical / Operant Conditioning
Similarity


Attitudes, age, habits
Balance




Conclusion: Opposites don’t actually attract
Why?


Similar attitudes towards mutual acquaintances
“If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends, make it last
forever, friendship never ends…” – Spice Girls
We don’t know which direction the causality arrow points
Physical Attractiveness


Matching Hypothesis – People tend to form committed
relationships with others of similar attractiveness
Why?

Balance between attraction and likeliness of rejection
ANALYZING LOVE
TRIANGULAR THEORY OF LOVE