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14.4 Chapter Summary
Social psychology is the scientific study of how we feel about, think about, and behave toward
the other people around us, and how those people influence our thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
A fundamental principle of social psychology is that although we may not always be aware of it,
our cognitions, emotions, and behaviors are substantially influenced by the people with whom
we are interacting.
Our initial judgments of others are based in large part on what we see. The physical features of
other people—particularly their sex, race, age, and physical attractiveness—are very salient, and
we often focus our attention on these dimensions. At least in some cases, people can draw
accurate conclusions about others on the basis of physical appearance.
Youth, symmetry, and averageness have been found to be cross-culturally consistent
determinants of perceived attractiveness, although different cultures may also have unique
beliefs about what is attractive.
We frequently use people’s appearances to form our judgments about them, and these judgments
may lead to stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. We use our stereotypes and prejudices in
part because they are easy and we may be evolutionarily disposed to stereotyping. We can