Perception

Question 1

What is perception?

Answer 1

A process of interpreting messages from our senses to provide meaning to our environment.

Question 2

Why is understanding of perception important?

Answer 2

People act on how the perceive reality, not based on what reality truly is.

Perception can be biased

Question 3

What are the 3 components of perception? Describe them and the ways they can influence perception.

Answer 3

Perceiver- Infuenced by:

   - Past experiences
   - Needs/motives
   - Personalty
   - Values/attitudes

ex: a person whos lonely or desperate might find ugly people attractive

Situation
       -physical context
       -social context
       -Organizational 
                context

 ex. Ugly guy rated hotter when beside expensive car

Target
        -Contrast
        -Intensity
        -Figure-ground 
          separation 
         -Size
         -Motion
         -Repetition or  
              novelty  

 Ex. "beuaty is good" -> beautiful people are typically *assumed* to be happier, live fuller lives etc

Question 4

What does Social Identity Theory Look Into?

Answer 4

The individual’s
knowledge that he belongs to certain social
groups together with some emotional and value significance
to him of this group membership

Question 5

How does relational comparison play into Social Identity?

Answer 5

Because groups only exist in relation to other
groups, they derive their descriptive and evaluative
properties, and thus their social meaning, in relation to
these other groups

Question 6

What is Attribution?

Answer 6

Making judgements about others behaviours.

-> Assigning causes or motives to behaviour

“He offered to share the textbook with me… must be trying to get my digits”

Question 7

What are the 2 categories of explanation when “Attributing”

Answer 7

1. Dispositional vs 2.Situational

1- Assuming someone did something bc of their feelings

2-Assuming someone acted a certain way because theyre circumstances forced them too

EG: Throwing oneself overboard
1- Mutinous feelings bc the captains a dick
2- Hypnotized by Sirens

Question 8

What are the 3 cues of attribution

Answer 8

Consistency
    -Is behaviour the same    
     across TIME?
Distinctiveness
    - Is behaviour the  
      same across different 
      SITUATIONS?
Consensus
     -Is behaviour similar  
      to other peoples in 
      comparable 
      situations?

Question 9

How do the cues of Attribution relate to attributing actions to disposition vs situation?

Answer 9

Consistency:
High-> Dispositional

Distinctiveness:
        High-> Situational
        Think: "The 
           behaviour was 
           distinctly different 
           for x compared to y"

Consensus:
High-> Situational
Think:”If they act like everyone else, their true self isnt coming out.”

Question 10

Name 3 types of biases?

Answer 10

2 Broad categories (Cognitive, Social) many options:

• Fundamental attribution bias:”what people do reflects who they are” to put it simply, assignign Dispositional causes to all actions
• Self serving bias: Base choices on what is best for oneself
• Ingroup/outgroup bias: Treat people with whom one feels a group bond with better. “us vs them”
• Backfire effect: Evidence against ones belief only makes them more set in it
• Cheerleader effect: People are generally considered more attractive in a group
• Confirmation Bias: Selectively picking out and paying attention to evidence that reinforces ones own beliefs
• Courtesy Bias: Sharing views you dont necessarily believe in because theyre more socially acceptable
• Outcome Bias: Judging a choice by the outcome instead its value at the time of making it “Spending my life savings on lottery tickets was a great idea bc i won”

Question 11

What is “Stereotyping”

Answer 11

Judging someone on the basis of ones perception of the group to which that person belongs.

-> A generalization of individuals within a group as having a certain trait or characteristic

Question 12

Describe the phenomenon of the ‘Stereotyped Threat’

Answer 12

People are observed to perform worse when they belong to a group that is stereotyped as such.

-> Occurs through anxiety

Examples:
Black people//intelligence tests

women//math tests

Question 13

What is the Stereotype Content Model?

Answer 13

The model represents all interpersonal impressions forming along 2 dimensions, Warmth and Competence

Warmth: Is someone more likely to help or harm? If you identify as part of the same group as someone (any group.. race, age, class, gender, etc) you may perceive them warmly

Competence: Is someone capable of carrying out that help or harm? A person who is successful/ high social status is viewed as very competent.

You admire people who are warm and competent, have contempt for people low warmth and low competence

Question 14

Why do people use biases, stereotypes?

Answer 14

Limited processing capacity of brain. Heuristics make for fast decision making and perception of the world. These are cognitive shortcuts