SP - Attribution Theory & Person Perception Lesson
Learning Targets:
- Describe how we perceive others and explain the differences in how we interpret the behaviors of others compared to our own.
- Explain how comparing ourselves to others shapes our self-perception and our views of others.
- Describe what prejudice is and explain the differences between explicit and implicit forms of prejudice.
- Identify the types of group differences that commonly trigger prejudicial attitudes.
- Explain the social, emotional, and cognitive factors that contribute to the development of prejudice.
Courtesy of the AP psychology course and exam description, effective fall 2024. (n.d.). Links to an external site.
Social Thinking
Social psychology describes how individuals think, feel, and behave in various social situations. Social thinking or cognition refers to how we form expressions or opinions of other people, interpret their behavior, and affect behavior by attitudes. Sometimes we must conclude strangers in a limited time. When this happens, we use "thin slicing" to quickly make tough decisions based on behavior, especially in unknown situations. The advantage to thin slicing is that it is easy to organize information mentally, the disadvantage is it causes us to ignore unique qualities.
Person Perception
Person perception describes the mental process we use to form judgments and draw conclusions about the characteristics of others. It is an active and subjective process in some types of interpersonal interactions. Each interpersonal interaction has three components:
- Characteristics of the person you are assessing
- Your characteristics as the perceiver
- The specifics of the situation
The mere exposure effect can impact how much individuals enjoy something. This phenomenon occurs when people are repeatedly exposed to a stimulus, leading them to develop a preference for the stimulus over time.
Imagine you are at a new school where you see a piece of artwork in the hallway every day on your way to class. Initially, you may not pay much attention to it. However, as the days go by and you continue to see the artwork regularly, you start to develop a liking for it. Eventually, you find yourself appreciating the artwork more and more each time you pass by it. This gradual increase in your preference for the artwork is a result of the mere exposure effect.
Individuals can act in a manner that prompts others to exhibit behaviors that align with their beliefs or perceptions about themselves or others, known as the self-fulfilling prophecy.
Understanding Attribution Theory
Attribution theory is a psychological concept that focuses on how individuals explain the causes of events and behaviors. It explores how people attribute outcomes to either internal factors (personal characteristics or abilities) or external factors (situational influences or luck). By understanding attribution theory, we can gain insights into how we perceive and interpret the actions of ourselves and others in social settings, leading to a deeper understanding of social interactions and personality development.
In addition to attribution theory, individuals display a consistent pattern of attributions known as explanatory style. This style refers to how people interpret positive and negative events, both in their own lives and in the lives of others. Explanatory style can be categorized as optimistic or pessimistic, influencing how individuals perceive and respond to various situations.
Fundamental Attribution Error
Fundamental attribution error, along with self-serving bias, plays a significant role in shaping our perceptions of behavior. Fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to underestimate the impact of a situation when explaining someone else's behavior and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition when explaining our behavior. This bias leads us to attribute the behavior of others to internal traits while downplaying external situational factors.
Conversely, when we are the ones acting, we tend to exhibit actor-observer bias. This bias leads us to attribute our behavior to external factors rather than internal characteristics, as we possess more insight into the various factors influencing our actions. Essentially, we are more attuned to the reasons behind our own behavior while being less considerate of the factors affecting the behavior of others.
Moreover, self-serving bias influences how we interpret actions, especially our own. When faced with our behavior, we often exhibit self-serving bias by attributing positive outcomes to our abilities or efforts while attributing adverse outcomes to external factors beyond our control. This bias allows us to maintain a positive self-image and protect our self-esteem.
Effects of Attribution
- Blaming the Victim - Blaming innocent victims of crime, disaster, or severe injury to themselves.
- Just World Hypothesis - The assumption that the world is fair and, therefore, people get what they deserve and deserve what they get.
Social Comparison
Social comparison plays a significant role in shaping our perceptions of ourselves and others. This psychological phenomenon involves individuals evaluating themselves by comparing their attributes, abilities, and possessions to those of others in society or their social circles. There are two main types of social comparison: upward and downward. Upward social comparison occurs when individuals compare themselves to those perceived as superior in certain aspects, often leading to feelings of inadequacy or aspiration. On the other hand, downward social comparison involves comparing oneself to those perceived as inferior, which can boost self-esteem but may also lead to guilt or complacency. Additionally, individuals often assess their sense of deprivation by comparing themselves to others, known as relative deprivation. This process can impact how individuals perceive their success, happiness, and overall well-being about those around them.
Prejudice
Prejudice is an unjustifiable, typically negative attitude toward a particular group and its members. It encompasses three key components: negative emotions, often rooted in stereotypes and beliefs, and a readiness to act on those attitudes through discrimination. Prejudice can manifest in explicit forms, where individuals consciously express bias, or in implicit forms, which operate beneath conscious awareness. Implicit prejudice can result in discriminatory behaviors even without intentional malice. For example, someone may unknowingly treat individuals from certain groups differently based on unconscious biases.
In the context of target groups, prejudice can be directed towards individuals based on their race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. The social origins of prejudice can be attributed to existing social inequalities and divisions. Those belonging to higher-status groups may rationalize their privileged positions through the "just-world phenomenon." At the same time, individuals favor their group or in-group over out-group members. Prejudice sometimes serves as a coping mechanism, allowing individuals to redirect negative emotions by assigning blame to a scapegoat. By recognizing these dynamics, we can work towards fostering a more inclusive and understanding society.
Understanding the Roots of Prejudice
Prejudice has deep-seated roots that stem from various social, emotional, and cognitive factors. Social inequalities and divisions play a significant role, with phenomena like the just-world belief leading to victim-blaming, especially evident in cases like sexual assault. Our social identity, which defines the "we" aspect of our self-concept based on group memberships, influences how we perceive others. This includes the ingroup bias, where we favor those in our group, and the outgroup bias, where we view those outside our group as different or inferior, highlighting the evolutionary need for belonging and safety within a group.
Negative emotions, such as those fueled by the scapegoat theory, provide an outlet for anger by directing blame towards certain groups, as seen with the stigmatization of Jews during World War II, by Nazi Germany. Exposure to hate speech can desensitize individuals and foster increased prejudice towards outgroups. Additionally, cognitive shortcuts like stereotyping, ethnocentrism, and the other-race effect further perpetuate prejudiced attitudes by simplifying complex social interactions and reinforcing biases based on superficial characteristics. Understanding these roots of prejudice is crucial in combating discriminatory behaviors and fostering a more inclusive society.
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