Psychology 1000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13: Physical Attractiveness, Social Proof, Minority Influence

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Derek Quinlan

Document Summary

Chapter 13 behaviour in a social context. Consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus information jointly influence whether we make a personal or situational attribution for a particular act. The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to attribute other people"s behaviour to personal factors while underestimating the role of situational factors. The self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute one"s successes to personal factors and one"s failures to situational factors. Although our impressions of people may change over time, our first impression generally carries extra weight. Stereotypes and schemas create mental sets that powerfully shape our impressions. Through self-fulfilling prophecies, our initially false expectations shape the way we act toward someone. In turn, this person responds to our behaviour in a way that confirms our initially false belief. They predict behaviour best when situational influences are weak, when the attitude is strong, and when we consciously think about our attitude.