PSY 240 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Social Dominance Orientation, Psy
10 Dec 2020
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Document Summary
Social categorization: classification of persons into groups on the basis of common attributes. While our inclusion in various social groups gives us an important part of our personal identity, not all the groups to which we belong are equally likely to be important to our sense of self. One important consideration is the relative size and distinctiveness of one"s ingroup. People also vary in their ideologies about intergroup relations, such as concerning equality and access to power and social mobility. Causes of the problem: cognitive and cultural factors. As perceivers, we routinely sort single objects into groups rather than think of each as unique. People sort each other into groups on the basis of gender, race, and other common attributes in a process called social categorization. Social categorization is natural and adaptive: we form impressions quickly and use past experience to guide new interactions. we save time and effort by using peoples" group memberships to make inferences about them.
