Psychology2016

Social Psychology 481

motives of others for engaging in conflict, researchers found that each side felt that their
side was motivated by love more than hate but that the other side’s motivating force was
hate. Calling this idea motive attribution asymmetry, the researchers suggest that this is at
least one reason compromise and negotiation are so difficult to obtain—if the other side
hates you, you believe them to be unreasonable and negotiations impossible.

comprise affective, behavioral,

and cognitive components

are not great predictors of behavior

although tend to have more influence

as they become more specific and salient

attitude formation can be

the result of several processes

can change through persuasion and are

contingent upon both the message and

the target audience; elaboration likelihood

model suggests that the route/level of

information processing (central vs. peripheral)

influences ease of persuasion

direct contact

direct instruction

interaction with others

vicarious learning

attitudes

tendency to respond positively

or negatively toward a certain idea,

person, object, or situation;

learned through experience

cognitive dissonance

emotional discomfort as the result

of engaging in behavior that is

inconsistent with personal cognitions

can be reduced by (1) changing behavior, (2) changing cognition,

or (3) forming new cognitions to justify behavior

Social Cognition

focuses on the ways in which people think about other people and how those cognitions affect behavior

stereotypes: set of characteristics

believed to be shared by all

members of a particular category;

can be useful (by limiting

information processing)

according to implicit personality

theory, categories assigned are

based on the set of assumptions

formed in childhood about

different types of people

situational: cause of behavior is assumed to come from external sources

dispositional: cause of behavior is assumed to come from within the individual

fundamental attribution error is the tendency to overestimate the influence

of another person’s internal characteristics on behavior and underestimate

the external/situational factors; influenced by age and culture

attribution

process by which we

explain both our own

behavior and the

behavior of others;

based on attribution

theory (Heider)

impression formation

forming of first knowledge

about another person;

influenced by primacy effect

social categorization

automatic and unconscious

assignment of a new acquaintance

to some category or group

Concept Map L.O. 12.5, 12.6, 12.7, 12.8, 12.9

Interactive

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Practice Quiz How much do you remember?

Pick the best answer.

1. Which of the following represents the affective component of an
   attitude?
   a. “I love to go to the clubs—it makes me so happy!”
   b. “Tonight, we’re going to that new club downtown.”
   c. “It is interesting to watch people when I’m out at a club.”
   d. “I’m going to wear a new outfit to the club tonight.”
   2. Erin hates snakes, even though she has never been bitten or been
   close to one. She developed her feelings by seeing how scared her
   mother was when she came across them in the garden or even when
   watching a movie or television show in which there was a snake.
   Erin’s attitude toward snakes was most likely acquired through
   a. direct contact. c. interaction with others.
   b. direct instruction. d. vicarious conditioning.