PSYC 1002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Fundamental Attribution Error, Social Perception, Interpersonal Attraction
20 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Social psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the way individuals" thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by others. The text focuses on the following six broad topics in social psychology: person perception, attribution processes, interpersonal attraction, attitudes, conformity and obedience, behaviour in groups. Perceptions of others can be influenced by a variety of factors, including physical appearance. People tend to attribute desirable characteristics such as sociable, friendly, poised, warm, competent, and well-adjusted to those who are good looking. Research on physical variables in person perception indicate that facial features that are similar to infant features influence perceptions of honesty (baby-faced people being viewed as more honest). People use social schemas, organized clusters of ideas about categories of social events and people, to categorize people into types. Stereotyping is a normal cognitive process involving widely held social schemas that lead people to expect that others will have certain characteristics because of their membership in a specific group.
