Social Perception (Lecture 6)

The study of how we form impressions of, and make inferences about, other people.

The tendency to assume that an individual who is physically attractive also possesses other positive characteristics (e.g., is smarter, nicer, funnier), and in turn, we treat them better.

Communication, intentionally or unintentionally, without words, such as through facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, touch, gaze, body posture, etc.

Theories that investigate the ways people explain the causes of their own and others' behavior.

The theory suggesting that we are more likely to make internal attributions when a person's behavior is freely chosen and surprising.

A model that explains how people first make automatic internal attributions and then adjust them based on external factors if needed.

A model that suggests people make internal or external attributions based on consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency information.

The tendency to make internal attributions for others' behavior and external attributions for our own behavior.

The tendency to make internal attributions for positive outcomes and external attributions for negative outcomes to protect self-esteem.

The act of doing something in advance of a performance that could explain away potential failure, such as staying up late before a big test to give an excuse if the test isn't aced.

Attributions that allow people to maintain a positive view of themselves and the world, such as blaming victims for their misfortunes.

The belief that good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people, which can lead to victim-blaming.

The tendency to believe that one is better than others on various traits, such as being a better driver than the average person.

The tendency to make dispositional attributions for others' behavior while making situational attributions for our own.

The tendency to attribute positive outcomes to our own abilities and efforts and negative outcomes to external factors