Lesson 6.5: Social Cognition: Attitudes, Attribution and the Self

Introduction

Welcome to Lesson 6.5, students! Today, we're diving into the fascinating world of social cognition, which explores how our thoughts about ourselves and others are shaped by social interactions. By the end of this lesson, you will:

• Understand how we form impressions and explain others' behaviour, known as attribution.
• Learn about the fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias.
• Gain insight into attitudes, how they change, and the processes of persuasion.
• Explore the self-concept and self-esteem as products of social influence.
• See how social cognition links social and cognitive approaches in psychology.

Let's get started! 🎉

Understanding Attribution

Attribution is the process by which we explain the causes of our own and others' behaviours. Essentially, we constantly try to make sense of why people do what they do.

Types of Attribution

There are two main types of attributions:

1. Internal Attribution: This is when we believe a person's behaviour is due to their characteristics, such as their personality or mood. For example, if your friend performs well on a test, you might think, "They studied hard!"
2. External Attribution: This occurs when we attribute behaviour to external factors, like the situation. Using the same example, if your friend performs poorly, you might think, "The test was unfair."

Fundamental Attribution Error

A key concept in social psychology is the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE). This refers to our tendency to overemphasize internal factors (like personality) while underestimating external factors (like environment) when judging others' actions.

Example of FAE

Let's say you see a classmate act rudely during a group project. You might think, "They're just a rude person!" But you may not consider that they could be stressed or dealing with personal issues.

Understanding Attitudes

What are Attitudes?

Attitudes are our evaluations of people, objects, and ideas, which can be positive, negative, or neutral. They play a significant role in shaping our behaviours and how we interact with the world.

Components of Attitudes

1. Cognitive Component: This includes our beliefs and thoughts about an object or situation. For instance, believing that exercise is good for your health.
2. Affective Component: This entails the emotions associated with an object. For example, feeling happy when you think about your favorite sport.
3. Behavioural Component: This consists of how our attitudes influence our actions, like participating in a sport because we enjoy it.

Attitude Change

Attitudes can change due to various factors, including:

• Persuasion: This is a deliberate attempt to change someone’s attitudes. For example, advertisements often try to persuade you to buy products.
• Cognitive Dissonance: When our actions don’t match our beliefs, it creates discomfort. For instance, if you smoke but believe smoking is unhealthy, you may feel uneasy and eventually change your attitude about smoking.

The Self-Concept and Self-Esteem

What is Self-Concept?

Self-concept refers to the understanding of who we are, shaped largely by social interactions and feedback from others. It includes our roles, relationships, and traits. For example, you might see yourself as a student, a friend, and a basketball player.

What is Self-Esteem?

Self-esteem is the evaluative aspect of the self-concept. It is how we feel about ourselves, which can be influenced by our experiences and how we perceive others’ attitudes towards us.

Example of Self-Esteem

Imagine you receive praise from your teacher. Your self-esteem may increase as you believe you are doing well, enhancing your self-concept as a capable student.

Linking Social Cognition to Other Psychological Approaches

Social cognition connects the social and cognitive approaches in psychology. While social psychology focuses on how societal factors influence behaviour, cognitive psychology examines how individuals process information.

Example

When considering why a student might struggle in school (a social issue), we can apply cognitive processes like memory and perception. For instance, if a student experienced trauma, their cognitive processes about learning and interaction might be affected, illustrating how social contexts impact cognitive functions.

Conclusion

In this lesson, we learned about social cognition, focusing on attitudes and attribution. We dissected how we judge others' behaviours and our own, looked at how attitudes form and change, and examined the concepts of self-concept and self-esteem. Recognizing these elements helps us understand ourselves and our social world better! 🌍

Study Notes

• Attribution is how we explain behaviours, distinguishing between internal and external.
• The Fundamental Attribution Error leads to misjudging why others behave a certain way.
• Attitudes consist of cognitive, affective, and behavioural components.
• Attitudes can change through persuasion or cognitive dissonance.
• Self-concept is our understanding of ourselves, while self-esteem reflects how we feel about that self-concept.
• Social cognition links social influences to cognitive processes in understanding behaviour.