PSY220H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Jeremy Bentham, Tabula Rasa, Social Cognition
Document Summary
Social cognition: study of how people come to believe what they do; how they explain, reneber, predict, make decisions, and evaluate themselves and others; and why these processes so frequently produce errors. Nuch of the time, we use reason, facts, and critical analysis not to form our opinions but not to confirm what we already see, feel, or believe. To a great extent, how we make sense of the world depends on a combination of our institutions, our personalities and ways of perceiving the world, and a set of fundamental social motives. People decide the moral status of their behavior or choices - what"s good or bad, right or wrong - by creating a happiness calculation. Cognitive misers: we seek ways to conserve cognitive (mental) energy and simplify complexity. We take shortcuts and use rules of thumb. Portrays mind as a tabula rasa or blank state.
