PSYC1030 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Impression Formation, Gestalt Psychology, Cross-Examination
Lecture – Social Cognition
Social Cognition:
• First impressions
• How we make sense of ourselves
Impression Formation:
• Algebraically and configurationally
Algebraic models:
• Summative
• Averaging
• weighted averaging
Configurational model:
• Gestalt principles
• Overall impression from the simple sum of reactions
• Central and peripheral traits
• Asch (1946) model
• Impression not formed algebraically
First Impressions:
• Frame of reference
• Hard to change the view from the first meeting – any subsequent meetings is viewed
through this lens
Schemas:
• More general models of impression formation
• How we make sense of the social world
• Mentally represent on what has happened in the past
• Little bit like theory that help us to code, store and what we should do
• Take on board what we already know
• Confidence to go forward or vice versa
• Schemas about events/ situations/ roles/ person schema (individual structures about the
people in our head of specific people like religion, gender, social class) stereotypes
Implicit Personally Theory:
• Characteristics that go together to form stereotype about a type of person
Self Schemas:
• More complex with information about ourselves
Social Judgements:
• Judgements made by people to those we would expect from a rational model of inference
• Making mental shortcuts
