Attitude and Social Cognition

Explaining
social Behavior
 Because of social influences, people form views, or attitudes
about people, and about different issues in life, that exist in the
form of behavioural tendencies.
 When we meet people, we make inferences about their personal
qualities. This is called impression formation.
 We are also interested in why people behave in the ways they do
— that is, we assign causes to the behaviour shown in specific
social situations. This process is called attribution.
 Impression formation and attributions are influenced by
attitudes. These three processes are examples of mental activities
related to the gathering and interpretation of information about
the social world, collectively called social cognition.
 Explaining
social Behavior
 Social cognition is activated by cognitive units called schemas.
 Cognitive processes cannot be directly seen; they have to be
inferred on the basis of externally shown behaviour. There are
other examples of social influence that are in the form of
observable behaviour.
 Social Facilitation –Improvement in performance in the
presence of others
 Social Inhibition- Decline in performance in the presence of
others
 Helping, or pro-social behaviour, i.e. responding to others
who are in need or distress.
Nature and Components of Attitude
 Attitude is a state of mind ,set of views and
thoughts ,regarding some topic which have an evaluative
feature(positive, negative or neutral)
 Thought Component - Cognitive Component
 Emotional Component – Affect Component
 Act Component – Behavioral Component (or conative)
 A-B- C –Component
 Attitudes are themselves not behaviour, but they represent a
tendency to behave or act in certain ways. They are part of
cognition, along with an emotional component, and cannot be
observed from outside.
Nature and Components of Attitude
 A ‘Green Environment’ : The A-B-C Components of an Attitude Suppose a group of people in your
neighbourhood start a tree plantation campaign as part of a ‘green environment’ movement.
 Based on sufficient information about the environment, your view towards a ‘green environment’
is positive (cognitive or ‘C’ component, along with the evaluative aspect).
 You feel very happy when you see greenery. You feel sad and angry when you see trees being cut
down. These aspects reflect the affective (emotional), or ‘A’ component of the same attitude.
 Now suppose you also actively participate in the tree plantation campaign. This shows the
behavioural or ‘B’ component of your attitudes towards a ‘green environment’.
 In general, we expect all three components to be consistent with each other, that is, in the same
direction.
 However, such consistency may not necessarily be found in all situations. For example, it is quite
possible that the cognitive aspect of your ‘green environment’ attitude is very strong, but the
affective and behavioural components may be relatively weaker.
 Or, the cognitive and affective components may be strong and positive, but the behavioural
component may be neutral. Therefore, predicting one component on the basis of the other two
may not always give us the correct picture about an attitude.
Nature and Components of Attitude
 Attitudes are distinguished from 2 closely related topics
 Beliefs – Cognitive component of attitude, and form the
ground on which attitudes stand, e.g. belief in God and belief
in democracy
 Values -Should or ought aspect( moral or ethical values)
 One example of a value is the idea that one should work hard,
or that one should always be honest, because honesty is the
best policy
 Values are formed when a particular belief or attitude becomes
an inseparable part of a person’s outlook on life.
 Consequently, values are difficult to change
Nature and Components of Attitude
What is the purpose served by an attitude?
 We find that attitudes provide a background that makes it
easier for a person to decide how to act in new situations.
 For example, our attitude towards foreigners may indirectly
provide a mental ‘layout’ or ‘blueprint’ for the way in which
we should behave whenever we meet one
 Significant Features of Attitude
 Valence (positivity or negativity) :
 The valence of an attitude tells us whether an attitude is positive or negative
towards the attitude object.
 Suppose an attitude (say, towards nuclear research) has to be expressed on a 5-
point scale, ranging from 1 (Very bad), 2 (Bad), 3 (Neutral — neither good nor bad),
and 4 (Good), to 5 (Very good).
 If an individual rates her/his view towards nuclear research as 4 or 5, this is clearly a
positive attitude.
 This means that the person likes the idea of nuclear research and thinks it is
something good.
 If the rating is 1 or 2, the attitude is negative. This means that the person dislikes
the idea of nuclear research, and thinks it is something bad.
 We also allow for neutral attitudes. In this example, a neutral attitude towards
nuclear research would be shown by a rating of 3 on the same scale. A neutral
attitude would have neither positive nor negative valence.
 Significant Features of Attitude
 Extremeness :
 The extremeness of an attitude indicates how positive or
negative an attitude is.
 Taking the nuclear research example given above, a rating of 1
is as extreme as a rating of 5 : they are only in the opposite
directions (valence). Ratings of 2 and 4 are less extreme.
 A neutral attitude, of course, is lowest on extremeness.
 Significant Features of Attitude
 Simplicity or Complexity (multiplexity) :

 This feature refers to how many attitudes there are within a broader attitude. Think of
an attitude as a family containing several ‘member’ attitudes.
 In case of various topics, such as health and world peace, people hold many attitudes
instead of single attitude.
 An attitude system is said to be ‘simple’ if it contains only one or a few attitudes, and
‘complex’ if it is made up of many attitudes.
 Consider the example of attitude towards health and well-being. This attitude system
is likely to consist of several ‘member’ attitudes, such as one’s concept of physical and
mental health, views about happiness and well-being, and beliefs about how one
should achieve health and happiness.
 By contrast, the attitude towards a particular person is likely to consist of mainly one
attitude..
 Each member attitude that belongs to an attitude system also has A-B-C components.
 Significant Features of Attitude
 Centrality :
 This refers to the role of a particular attitude in the attitude
system.
 An attitude with greater centrality would influence the other
attitudes in the system much more than non-central (or
peripheral) attitudes would.
 For example, in the attitude towards world peace, a negative
attitude towards high military expenditure may be present as
a core or central attitude that influences all other attitudes in
the multiple attitude system.
 PROCESS OF ATTITUDE formation
How are attitudes formed?
 Like many other thoughts and concepts that develop and
become part of our cognitive system, attitudes towards
different topics, things and people also are formed as we
interact with others
 In general, attitudes are learned through one’s own
experiences, and through interaction with others.
 Show some sort of inborn aspect of attitudes, but such genetic
factors influence attitudes only indirectly, along with learning.
 Social psychologists have focused on the conditions which lead
to the learning of attitudes.
 PROCESS OF ATTITUDE formation
 Learning attitudes by association :
 You might have seen that students often develop a liking for a
particular subject because of the teacher.
 Because they see many positive qualities in that teacher;
these positive qualities get linked to the subject that s/he
teaches, and ultimately get expressed in the form of liking for
the subject.
 A positive attitude towards the subject is learned through the
positive association between a teacher and a student
 PROCESS OF ATTITUDE formation
 Learning attitudes by being rewarded or punished :
 If an individual is praised for showing a particular attitude,
chances are high that s/he will develop that attitude.
 For example, if a teenager does yogasanas regularly, and gets
the honour of being ‘Miss Good Health’ in her school, she
may develop a positive attitude towards yoga and health in
general.
 Similarly, if a child constantly falls ill because s/he eats junk
food instead of proper meals, then the child is likely to
develop a negative attitude towards junk food, and also a
positive attitude towards eating healthy food.
 PROCESS OF ATTITUDE formation
 Learning attitudes through modelling (observing others) :
 We learn them by observing others being rewarded or
punished for expressing thoughts or showing behaviour of a
particular kind towards the attitude object.
 For example, children may form a respectful attitude towards
elders, by observing that their parents show respect for
elders, and are appreciated for it.
 PROCESS OF ATTITUDE formation
 Learning attitudes through group or cultural norms :
 Very often, we learn attitudes through the norms of our group or culture.
 Norms are unwritten rules about behaviour that everyone is supposed to
show under specific circumstances.
 Norms may become part of our social cognition, in the form of attitudes.
 Learning attitudes through group or cultural norms may actually be an
example of all three forms of learning described above — learning
through association, reward or punishment, and modelling. For example,
offering money, sweets, fruit and flowers in a place of worship is a
normative behaviour in some religions.
 When individuals see that such behaviour is shown by others, is expected
and socially approved, they may ultimately develop a positive attitude
towards such behaviour and the associated feelings of devotion
 PROCESS OF ATTITUDE formation
 Learning through exposure to information :
 Many attitudes are learned in a social context, but not
necessarily in the physical presence of others.
 With the huge amount of information that is being provided
through various media, both positive and negative attitudes
are being formed.
 By reading the biographies of selfactualised persons, an
individual may develop a positive attitude towards hard work
and other aspects as the means of achieving success in life.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ATTITUDE
FORMATION
 Family and School Environment :
 Particularly in the early years of life, parents and other family
members play a significant role in shaping attitude formation.
Later, the school environment becomes an important
background for attitude formation.
 Learning of attitudes within the family and school usually
takes place by association, through rewards and punishments,
and through modelling.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ATTITUDE
FORMATION
 Reference Groups :
 It indicate to an individual the norms regarding acceptable
behaviour and ways of thinking.
 They reflect learning of attitudes through group or cultural
norms. Attitudes towards various topics, such as political, religious
and social groups, occupations, national and other issues are
often developed through reference groups.
 Their influence is noticeable especially during the beginning of
adolescence, at which time it is important for the individual to
feel that s/he belongs to a group.
 Therefore, the role of reference groups in attitude formation may
also be a case of learning through reward and punishment.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ATTITUDE
FORMATION
 Personal Experiences :
 Many attitudes are formed, not in the family environment or through
reference groups, but through direct personal experiences which bring
about a drastic change in our attitude towards people and our own life.
 A driver in the army went through a personal experience that
transformed his life. On one mission, he narrowly escaped death
although all his companions got killed. Wondering about the purpose of
his own life, he gave up his job in the army, returned to his native village
in Maharashtra, and worked actively as a community leader.
 Through a purely personal experience this individual evolved a strong
positive attitude towards community upliftment. His efforts completely
changed the face of his village.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ATTITUDE
FORMATION
 Media-related Influences :
 Technological advances in recent times have made audio-visual media and the
Internet very powerful sources of information that lead to attitude formation and
change. In addition, school level textbooks also influence attitude formation.
 These sources first strengthen the cognitive and affective components of
attitudes, and subsequently may also affect the behavioural component.
 The media can exert both good and bad influences on attitudes. On one hand,
the media and Internet make people better informed than other modes of
communication.
 On the other hand, there may be no check on the nature of information being
gathered, and therefore no control over the attitudes that are being formed, or
the direction of change in the existing attitudes.
 The media can be used to create consumerist attitudes where none existed and
can also be harnessed to create positive attitudes to facilitate social harmony.
 Process of attitude change
 Some attitudes change more than others do.
 Attitudes that are still in the formative stage, and are more
like opinions, are much more likely to change compared to
attitudes that have become firmly established and have
become a part of the individual’s values.
 From a practical point of view, bringing about a change in
people’s attitudes is of interest to community leaders,
politicians, producers of consumer goods, advertisers, and
others.
 Conditions account for such change
 Process of attitude change
 The concept of balance
 Proposed by Fritz Heider
 Is sometimes described in the form of the ‘P-O-X’ triangle, which
represents the relationships between three aspects or components of
the attitude.
 P is the person whose attitude is being studied, O is another person, and
X is the topic towards which the attitude is being studied (attitude
object).
 It is also possible that all three are persons.
 The basic idea is that an attitude changes if there is a state of imbalance
between the P-O attitude, O-X attitude, and P-X attitude.
 This is because imbalance is logically uncomfortable. Therefore, the
attitude changes in the direction of balance
 Process of attitude change
 Imbalance is found when
 (i) all three sides of the P-O-X triangle are negative
 (ii) two sides are positive, and one side is negative.
 Balance is found when
 (i) all three sides are positive
 (ii) two sides are negative, and one side is positive.
 Consider the example of dowry as an attitude topic (X).
Suppose a person (P) has a positive attitude towards dowry
(P-X positive). P is planning to get his son married to the
daughter of some person (O) who has a negative attitude
towards dowry (O-X negative).
 Process of attitude change
 What would be the nature of the P-O attitude, and how would it
determine balance or imbalance in the situation?
 If O initially has a positive attitude towards P, the situation would be
unbalanced. P-X is positive, O-P is positive, but O-X is negative.
 That is, there are two positives and one negative in the triangle. This is a
situation of imbalance.
 One of the three attitudes will therefore have to change. This change
could take place in the P-X relationship (P starts disliking dowry as a
custom), or in the O-X relationship (O starts liking dowry as a custom),
or in the O-P relationship (O starts disliking P).
 In short, an attitude change will have to take place so that there will be
three positive relationships, or two negative and one positive
relationship, in the triangle.
 Process of attitude change
 The concept of cognitive dissonance
 Proposed by Leon Festinger.
 It emphasises the cognitive component.
 Here the basic idea is that the cognitive components of an attitude must be
‘consonant’ (opposite of ‘dissonant’), i.e. they should be logically in line with each
other.
 If an individual finds that two cognitions in an attitude are dissonant, then one of them
will be changed in the direction of consonance.
 For example
 Cognition I : Pan masala causes mouth cancer which is fatal.
 Cognition II : I eat pan masala
 Holding these two ideas or cognitions will make any individual feel that something is
‘out of tune’, or dissonant, in the attitude towards pan masala.
 Therefore, one of these ideas will have to be changed, so that consonance can be
attained
 Process of attitude change
 In order to remove or reduce the dissonance,
 I will stop eating pan masala (change Cognition II).
 This would be the healthy, logical and sensible way of reducing dissonance
 Both balance and cognitive dissonance are examples of cognitive
consistency.
 Cognitive consistency means that two components, aspects or elements of
the attitude, or attitude system, must be in the same direction.
 Each element should logically fall in line with other elements.
 If this does not happen, then the person experiences a kind of mental
discomfort, i.e. the sense that ‘something is not quite right’ in the attitude
system.
 In such a state, some aspect in the attitude system changes in the direction
of consistency, because our cognitive system requires logical consistency
 Process of attitude chanGE
 The two-step concept
 Proposed by S.M. Mohsin, an Indian psychologist.
 According to him, attitude change takes place in the form of two steps.
 In the first step, the target of change identifies with the source.
 The ‘target’ is the person whose attitude is to be changed.
 The ‘source’ is the person through whose influence the change is to take
place.
 Identification means that the target has liking and regard for the source.
 S/he puts herself/himself in the place of the target and tries to feel like
her/him.
 The source must also have a positive attitude towards the target, and
the regard and attraction becomes mutual
 Process of attitude chanGE
 In the second step, the source herself/himself shows an attitude change,
by actually changing her/him behaviour towards the attitude object.
 Observing the source’s changed attitude and behaviour, the target also
shows an attitude change through behaviour.
 This is a kind of imitation or observational learning
 Example
 Preeti reads in the newspapers that a particular soft drink that she
enjoys is extremely harmful.
 But Preeti sees that her favourite sportsperson has been advertising the
same soft drink.
 She has identified herself with the sportsperson, and would like to
imitate her/him
 Process of attitude chanGE
 Now, suppose the sportsperson wishes to change people’s
attitude towards this soft drink from positive to negative.
 The sportsperson must first show positive feelings for her/ his
fans, and then actually change her/his own habit of
consuming that soft drink
 (Step I) — perhaps by substituting it with a health drink.
 If the sportsperson actually changes her/his behaviour, it is
very likely that now Preeti will also change her attitude and
behaviour and stop consuming the harmful soft drink (Step II).
 Factor that influence attitude chanGE
 Characteristics of the existing attitude :
 All four properties of attitudes mentioned earlier, namely,
valence (positivity or negativity), extremeness, simplicity or
complexity (multiplexity), and centrality or significance of the
attitude, determine attitude change.
 In general, positive attitudes are easier to change than negative
attitudes are.
 Extreme central attitudes are more difficult to change than the
less extreme, and peripheral (less significant) attitudes are.
 Simple attitudes are easier to change than multiple attitudes are
attitudes
 Factor that influence attitude chanGE
 An attitude change may be congruent — it may change in the
same direction as the existing attitude (for example, a positive
attitude may become more positive, or a negative attitude may
become more negative).
 For instance, suppose a person has a somewhat positive attitude
towards empowerment of women. Reading about a successful
woman may make this attitude more positive.
 This would be a congruent change.
 On the other hand, an attitude change may be incongruent — it
may change in a direction opposite to the existing attitude (for
example, a positive attitude becomes less positive, or negative,
or a negative attitude becomes less negative, or positive).
 Factor that influence attitude chanGE
 In the example just given, after reading about successful
women, a person may think that women might soon become
too powerful and neglect their family responsibilities.
 This may make the person’s existing positive attitude towards
empowerment of women, less positive, or even negative.
 If this happens, then it would be a case of incongruent
change.
 It has been found that, in general, congruent changes are
easier to bring about than are the incongruent changes in
attitudes
 Factor that influence attitude chanGE
 An attitude may change in the direction of the information
that is presented, or in a direction opposite to that of the
information presented.
 Posters describing the importance of brushing one’s teeth
would strengthen a positive attitude towards dental care.
 But if people are shown frightening pictures of dental
cavities, they may not believe the pictures, and may become
less positive about dental care.
 Research has found that fear sometimes works well in
convincing people but if a message generates too much fear, it
turns off the receiver and has little persuasive effect.
 Factor that influence attitude chanGE
 Source characteristics :
 Source credibility and attractiveness are two features that affect attitude
change.
 Attitudes are more likely to change when the message comes from a highly
credible source rather than from a low-credible source. For example, adults
who are planning to buy a laptop are more convinced by a computer
engineer who points out the special features of a particular brand of laptop,
than they would be by a schoolchild who might give the same information.
 If the buyers are themselves schoolchildren, they may be convinced more by
another schoolchild advertising a laptop than they would be by a
professional giving the same information.
 In the case of some products such as cars, sales may increase if they are
publicised, not necessarily by experts, but by popular public figures
 Factor that influence attitude chanGE
 Message characteristics :
 The message is the information that is presented in order to bring
about an attitude change.
 Attitudes will change when the amount of information that is given
about the topic is just enough, neither too much nor too little.
 Whether the message contains a rational or an emotional appeal,
also makes a difference. For example, an advertisement for cooking
food in a pressure cooker may point out that this saves fuel such as
cooking gas (LPG) and is economical (rational appeal).
 Alternatively, the advertisement may say that pressure-cooking
preserves nutrition, and that if one cares for the family, nutrition
would be a major concern (emotional appeal)
 Factor that influence attitude chanGE
 The motives activated by the message also determine attitude change. For
example, drinking milk may be said to make a person healthy and good-
looking, or more energetic and more successful at one’s job
 The mode of spreading the message plays a significant role.
 Face-to-face transmission of the message is usually more effective than
indirect transmission, as for instance, through letters and pamphlets, or
even through mass media.
 For example, a positive attitude towards Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) for
young children is more effectively created if community social workers and
doctors spread the message by talking to people directly, than by only
describing the benefits of ORS on the radio
 These days transmission through visual media such as television and the
Internet are similar to face-to-face interaction, but not a substitute for the
latter
 Factor that influence attitude chanGE
 Target characteristics :
 Qualities of the target, such as persuasibility, strong
prejudices, self-esteem, and intelligence influence the
likelihood and extent of attitude change.
 People, who have a more open and flexible personality,
change more easily.
 Advertisers benefit most from such people.
 People with strong prejudices are less prone to any attitude
change than those who do not hold strong prejudices
 Factor that influence attitude chanGE
 Persons who have a low self-esteem, and do not have
sufficient confidence in themselves, change their attitudes
more easily than those who are high on self-esteem.
 More intelligent people may change their attitudes less easily
than those with lower intelligence.
 However, sometimes more intelligent persons change their
attitudes more willingly than less intelligent ones, because
they base their attitude on more information and thinking.
Attitude and Behavior Relationship
 An individual’s attitudes may not always be exhibited through
behaviour. Likewise, one’s actual behaviour may be contrary
to one’s attitude towards a particular topic.
 Psychologists have found that there would be consistency
between attitudes and behaviour when
 • the attitude is strong, and occupies a central place in the
attitude system
 • the person is aware of her/his attitude
 • there is very little or no external pressure for the person to
behave in a particular way. For example, when there is no
group pressure to follow a particular norm
Attitude and Behavior Relationship
 • the person’s behaviour is not being watched or evaluated by
others
 • the person thinks that the behaviour would have a positive
consequence, and therefore, intends to engage in that behaviour.
 In the days when Americans were said to be prejudiced against
the Chinese, Richard LaPiere, an American social psychologist,
conducted the following study.
 He asked a Chinese couple to travel across the United States and
stay in different hotels.
 Only once during these occasions they were refused service by
one of the hotels.
Attitude and Behavior Relationship
 Sometime later, LaPiere sent out questionnaires to managers of hotels and
tourist homes in the same areas where the Chinese couple had travelled,
asking them if they would give accommodation to Chinese guests.
 A very large percentage said that they would not do so. This response
showed a negative attitude towards the Chinese, which was inconsistent
with the positive behaviour that was shown towards the travelling Chinese
couple.
 Thus, attitudes may not always predict actual pattern of one’s behaviour
 Students who got only one dollar for telling others that the experiment was
interesting, discovered that they liked the experiment.
 That is, on the basis of their behaviour (telling others that the experiment
was interesting, for only a small amount of money), they concluded that
their attitude towards the experiment was positive
PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION
 Prejudices are examples of attitudes towards a particular group.
 They are usually negative, and in many cases, may be based on stereotypes (the
cognitive component) about the specific group.
 A stereotype is a cluster of ideas regarding the characteristics of a specific group.
 All members belonging to this group are assumed to possess these characteristics.
 Often, stereotypes consist of undesirable characteristics about the target group,
and they lead to negative attitudes or prejudices towards members of specific
groups.
 The cognitive component of prejudice is frequently accompanied by
 Dislike or hatred, the affective component.
 Prejudice may also get translated into discrimination, the behavioural component,
 Whereby people behave in a less positive way towards a particular target group
compared to another group which they favour.
PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION
 The genocide committed by the Nazis in Germany against Jewish people is an
extreme example of how prejudice can lead to hatred, discrimination and
mass killing of innocent people.
 Prejudices can exist without being shown in the form of discrimination.
 Similarly, discrimination can be shown without prejudice.
 Yet, the two go together very often. Wherever prejudice and discrimination
exist, conflicts are very likely to arise between groups within the same
society .
 Our own society has witnessed many deplorable instances of discrimination,
with and without prejudice, based on gender, religion, community, caste,
physical handicap, and illnesses such as AIDS.
 Moreover, in many cases discriminatory behaviour can be curbed by law.
 But, the cognitive and emotional components of prejudice are more difficult
to change.
 Source of prejudice
 Learning :
 Like other attitudes, prejudices can also be learned through
association, reward and punishment, observing others, group
or cultural norms and exposure to information that
encourages prejudice.
 The family, reference groups, personal experiences and the
media may play a role in the learning of prejudices .
 People who learn prejudiced attitudes may develop a
‘prejudiced personality’, and show low adjusting capacity,
anxiety, and feelings of hostility against the outgroup
 Source of prejudice
 A strong social identity and ingroup bias :
 Individuals who have a strong sense of social identity and have a very
positive attitude towards their own group boost this attitude by holding
negative attitudes towards other groups.
 These are shown as prejudices.
 Scapegoating :
 This is a phenomenon by which the majority group places the blame on
a minority outgroup for its own social, economic or political problems.
 The minority is too weak or too small in number to defend itself against
such accusations.
 Scapegoating is a groupbased way of expressing frustration, and it often
results in negative attitudes or prejudice against the weaker group
 Source of prejudice
 • Kernel of truth concept :
 Sometimes people may continue to hold stereotypes because they think that,
after all, there must be some truth, or ‘kernel of truth’ in what everyone says
about the other group.
 Even a few examples are sufficient to support the ‘kernel of truth’ idea.
 • Self-fulfilling prophecy :
 In some cases, the group that is the target of prejudice is itself responsible for
continuing the prejudice.
 The target group may behave in ways that justify the prejudice, that is,
confirm the negative expectations.
 For example, if the target group is described as ‘dependent’ and therefore
unable to make progress, the members of this target group may actually
behave in a way that proves this description to be true.
 In this way, they strengthen the existing prejudice.
 Strategies for handling prejudice
 Thus, the strategies for handling prejudice would be effective
if they aim at :
 (a) minimising opportunities for learning prejudices
 (b) changing such attitudes
 (c) de-emphasising a narrow social identity based on the
ingroup
 (d) discouraging the tendency towards self fulfilling prophecy
among the victims of prejudice.
 Strategies for handling prejudice
 These goals can be accomplished through
 • Education and information dissemination, for correcting stereotypes
related to specific target groups, and tackling the problem of a strong
ingroup bias.
 • Increasing intergroup contact allows for direct communication, removal of
mistrust between the groups, and even discovery of positive qualities in the
outgroup.
 However, these strategies are successful only if : - the two groups meet in a
cooperative rather than competitive context, - close interactions between
the groups helps them to know each other better, and - the two groups are
not different in power or status.
 • Highlighting individual identity rather than group identity, thus weakening
the importance of group (both ingroup and outgroup) as a basis of
evaluating the other person.
REST OF THE TOPICS ARE DELETED
• PLEASE NOTE
 Social cognition
 Cognition -Refers to mental processes that deal
with obtaining and processing information
 Social cognition – refers to psychological
processes that deal with gathering and
processing information related to social objects
 Social objects- individuals ,groups ,
people ,relationships, social issues
 Schemas and stereotypes
 Schema- Mental structure that provides a
framework ,set of rules or guidelines
 Prototypes-Set of feature or quality that
define an object
 Stereotypes- Category based schema related
to group of people
 Stereotype provide fertile ground for prejudice
and bias
 Prejudice can develop without stereotype
 Impression formation
 Process of knowing a person is divided into
 1. Impression formation 2. Attribution
 Perceiver- The person who forms the
impression
 Target – The person on whom the impression
is formed
 Attribution -Attaching and assigning a cause
for the target ‘s behavior is the main idea
 Impression formation
• Influenced by
 Nature of information available to the
perceiver
 Social Schemas in the perceiver
 Personality Characteristics of the perceiver
 Situational Factors
 Impression formation
• Process of impression formation consists of 3 processes:
a. Selection -information
b. Organisation -information is combined
c. Inference – draw conclusion
• Primacy effect – information presented 1st has stronger
effect then information presented at the end
• Recency effect- information presented at the end has
stronger effect
• Halo effect – tendency to think one set of qualities along
with associated specific qualities
 Attribution of causality
• Process of assigning causes to person’s behavior
 Cause as Internal –within the person ,
 Cause as External- Something outside
 Success and Failure- Internal / External , Stable /
Unstable
 Fundamental Attribution Error –overall
tendency to give grater weightage to internal
factors than external situational factors
 Attribution of causality
• Process of assigning causes to person’s behavior
 Success to internal –ability ,hard work
failure to external factors bad luck or task characteristics
 Actor-Observer effect -positive and negative experience (actor
role)positive and negative experience (observer role )
Good marks (actor – internal attribution of positive experience
Bad Marks (actor – external attribution of negative experience
Good marks (observer – external attribution of positive
experience
Bad Marks (observer – internal attribution of negative
experience
 Behavior in the presence of others
Social Facilitation- Performance on a
specific task is influenced by the presence
of others.
Norman Triplett – Better Performance
in the presence of others
Social Inhibition- Decline in
performance in the presence of others
 Behavior in the presence of others
Arousal- helps to perform
Evaluation Apprehension- praised for
good and criticised for mistakes
Nature of Task- Simple /Familiar task,
Complex /New task
Co-action- if others present are performing
the same task ,leads to social comparison and
competition
 Pro-social behavior
 Doing something for or thinking about the
welfare of others without self interest .
 Cooperating with others helping during natural
calamities, showing sympathy , doing favor to
others ,making charitable donations.
 Also called Altruism- Latin word- Alter
means other, ego means self.
 Pro-social behavior
• Pro-social behavior has following
characteristics:
 Aim to benefit or do good to another person or
other persons
 Without expecting anything in return
 Willingly done by the person not under any
pressure
 Involve some difficulty or cost .
Factors influencing Pro-social behavior

1. Inborn Tendency- Help other members of

4.Involves social norms- 1.Social responsibility