PS270 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Fundamental Attribution Error
Document Summary
The same processes that allow people to simplify and make sense of the world also sometimes lead people to make prejudicial evaluations of others. We simplify our environment by categorizing objects into groups, however we also classify people so we can think about them more easily. Stereotypes sometimes offer a beneficial ratio of info gained to effort expended (cognitive efficiency) We find it especially easy to rely on stereotypes under the following conditions: There is a strong tendency to see objects within a group as being more uniform than they really are. Once we assign people to groups we are likely to exaggerate the similarities. Out group homogeneity effect: a sense other group are all alike and different from us and our group. Ex if liberals win vote by small margin, we tend to view whole country as having a. When the group is our own, we are more likely to see diversity.
