SOCPSY 3, 4, 5

• Schemata


  Mental frameworks or concepts we use to organize and understand the world
• Schemata are the plural for the singular word 'schema'
• Schemata


  • We use schemata every day
  • We have schemata for every important category or structure that exists in our world
• Subschemata


  Lower levels within a schema
• Types of schemata


  • Well-formed, specific schema
  • Poorly formed, vague schema
  • Script
• Well-formed, specific schema


  A concept or category for which a person has a lot of clear, accurate, useful information
• Poorly formed, vague schema


  A concept or category for which a person has unclear and uncertain information
• Script


  A very specific schema for a particular order of expected events in a particular context
• Priming effect


  Priming occurs when exposure to a stimulus in one context influences the way people think or behave in other contexts
• Social priming


  People may often attribute qualities or behaviors to others because of social biases or expectations
• Types of cognitive priming


  • Negative priming
  • Positive priming
  • Repetition priming
  • Semantic priming
  • Associative priming
  • Masked priming
• Negative priming


  Slows down processing, decreases response speed and increases error
• Positive priming


  Speeds up processing, facilitates ability to process information on a specific task
• Repetition priming


  When a stimulus and a response co-occur enough times, people learn to respond a certain way to a stimulus out of familiarity
• Semantic priming


  Meaningful relationship, such as seeing the words dog and bone together
• Associative priming


  Associated to one another in context, such as dog and bone together
• Masked priming


  This type of priming is when people fill-in missing letters to complete obscured words
• Self-fulfilling prophecy


  When a prediction about the future comes true because the individual believes in the future outcome and changes their behavior to make the prediction come true
• Self-fulfilling prophecies are used in film and literature when a character tells others how the situation will turn out
• Self-fulfilling prophecy


  • It is cyclical
  • It starts with a belief about something, which then influences the individual to alter their behavior consciously or unconsciously
  • The new actions of the individual while believing in the prophecy change the originally false idea into a true occurrence
• In 1948, Robert Merton proposed that when a future event or circumstance was described incorrectly and the individual believed in the false statement, they would change their behavior to make the initially false interpretation of reality true
• Pygmalion effect


  A self-fulfilling prophecy where the expectations of self and others influence behavior
• Oedipus effect


  A self-fulfilling prophecy where the belief in a prophecy is so strong that even trying to avoid it will still yield a self-fulfilling prophecy
• The self-fulfilling cycle can lead to cycles of good or bad thoughts or behaviors, and can also lead to cognitive error - believing in something that is not true
• Heuristics


  Efficient thinking strategies that can save time and energy, but can also lead to errors in judgement
• Types of heuristics


  • Availability
  • Representativeness
  • Base-rate heuristics
• Availability heuristic


  A mental shortcut which helps us make a decision based on how easy it is to bring something to mind
• Representativeness heuristic


  A mental shortcut which helps us make a decision by comparing information to our mental prototypes, which can lead to stereotypes
• Base-rate heuristic


  A mental shortcut that helps us make a decision based on probability
• Low-effort vs. high-effort thinking

  • Low effort: automatic and involuntary
  • High effort: controlled and intentional
• Counterfactual thinking


  Imagining alternative outcomes of past events, which can have a big impact on our emotional response
• Thought suppression


  The attempt to avoid thinking about something, which often leads to the rebound effect where the suppressed thought becomes more frequent
• Covariation model of attribution


  Explains how we use social perception to attribute behavior to internal or external factors based on consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency
• Internal attribution


  Attributing behavior to personal characteristics or disposition
• External attribution


  Attributing behavior to the person's environment or situation
• Members of individualistic cultures tend to use internal attributions to explain behavior, while members of collectivistic cultures tend to use external attributions
• The Self


  The idea that you are separate and different from other people
• The Self


  • Recognizing that you have a different body than other people
  • Emotions, behaviors, and thoughts go into determining who we are
  • Experiences, values, and beliefs are an important part of constructing a concept of who you are
• Executive Function


  The way that our concept of self helps us regulate our behavior
• Organizational Function


  • The way we organize information
  • Our knowledge of ourselves helps us interpret and find patterns in the world around us