PSYC 104 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Social Cognition, Longitudinal Study, Long-Term Memory
Document Summary
Social cognition- explanation of how people think about social world and arrive at judgments that help them interpret the past, understand the present and predict the future. Social stimuli don"t influence behavior directly, but indirectly through individual"s interpretations. Firsthand info- based on personal experience or observation. Can be unrepresentative (make an inaccurate assumption about entire population based on encounter with one student. Observing others" behavior that were done out of desire to create a certain impression. Pluralistic ignorance- when people act in ways that conflict with their private beliefs because of a concern for social consequences (don"t want to ask question because others will think you"re dumb) Ex) the emperor"s new clothes- only the people who are smart and believe in king will be able to see clothing; no one wanted to admit they couldn"t see clothes because they didn"t want their loyalty to be questioned. Ideological distortions- desire to foster certain beliefs or behaviors in others.
