PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Chapter 20
SOCIAL COGNITION
Section 1: Attitudes
Section 2: Persuasion
Section 3: Prejudice
Section 4: Social Perception
Section 5: Interpersonal Attraction
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PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Journal 1 - Define attitude.
 Attitudes are beliefs and feelings about objects,
people, and events that can affect how people
behave in certain situations.
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PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 20
Section 1: Attitudes
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Question: What are attitudes, and how do they develop?
Attitudes are beliefs and feelings about objects,
people, and events that can affect how people
behave in certain situations.
HOW ATTITUDES DEVELOP
 Conditioning
 Observational Learning
 Cognitive Evaluation
 Cognitive Anchors
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 Conditioning – children are often reinforced for
saying and doing things that are consistent with
the attitudes held by their parents, teachers and
other authority figures.
 EX: encourage and praise sharing so the child acquires
the attitude about the importance of sharing.
 Observational Learning – acquiring attitudes by
observing.
 EX: teens observe how classmates who dress, talk or
act in certain ways or admired by peers so they may
adopt some of the same qualities.
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 Cognitive Evaluation- when people evaluate evidence
and form beliefs on the basis of their evaluation. Part
of the process is learning to examine data carefully.
 EX: Reading a news report with statistics, considering the
study and sample size. Learning more about each candidate
before voting.
 Cognitive Anchors- these are a person’s earliest
attitudes or beliefs that shape the ways in which he or
she sees the world and interprets events. These
anchors tend to hold firm throughout life.
 EX: A child is raised practicing a certain religion, the
religious beliefs and practices will likely become anchors.
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PSYCHOLOGY
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Section 2: Persuasion
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Brain Games: Power of Persuasion Season 2-5
 Take out a new sheet of paper.
 Title your paper, “Ch. 20
Brain Game: Power of
Persuasion.”
 Take notes on 3 ways your
brain is affected by persuasion.
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PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
VIDEO Review: 3 ways your brain is persuaded
 Priming – subtle cues that influence your attitudes.
 It affects your prefrontal cortex, responsible for
decision making and targets the part of your brain
responsible for subconscious decision making.
 EX: “count the ducks” and “count the rabbits”
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PSYCHOLOGY
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 Expert Fallacy – we often trust other based on their
attire, delivery of information and if others trust
them as well.
 EX: The reporter in the suit with the camera.
 Primacy Effect – the first information you hear will
color the rest of the information. You want to make
a strong and positive first impression.
 EX: The twins interviewing for a job. Same info and
appearance but different order of delivery.
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Why do these persuasion strategies work?
 These strategies take advantage of our brains default
setting of always looking for shortcuts!
 Advertisers know this and take advantage of it!
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Chapter 20
Section 2: Persuasion
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Question: How does persuasion affect people’s attitudes
and behavior?
PERSUASION AFFECTS ATTITUDES
AND BEHAVIOR
There are two basic ways to persuade people:
 Central route
 Peripheral route
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 Central route – offers evidence and arguments that aim to
trigger favorable thoughts
 Because it is more thoughtful and less superficial, it is
more durable and more likely to influence behavior
 It occurs mostly when people are naturally analytical or
involved in the issue.
 EX: Environmental advocates may show us evidence of
rising temperatures, melting glaciers, rising seas, and
northward shifts in vegetation and animal life.
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 Peripheral route – produces fast results as people
respond to incidental cues and make snap
judgments
 Ex: an advertisement may lure us with images of
attractive and/or famous people, or an endorsement
for a “trusted name” for that industry
Examples?
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Who is a powerhouse endorser?
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Oprah Effect – do not copy
 Spanx – in 2000, Oprah chose the shape wear as one of her
“favorite things.” The company went on to make $350
million in retail sales over the next decade.
 Garrett’s Popcorn – One of Oprah’s “Favorite Things”
twice, the company saw sales increase by 100% in the
month of December after she mentioned them in 2002.
 Kindle – Amazon’s electronic reading device sold out
during the 2008 holiday season after Oprah introduced the
device and gave viewers a discount code.
 Carol’s Daughter – Once a flea market merchant, Lisa
Price has turned the Carol’s Daughter line of fragrances into
a multi-million dollar business after an appearance on
“Oprah.”
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PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Section 3: Prejudice
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PSYCHOLOGY
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Journal 2: What is prejudice? Give examples of prejudice.
HOLT, RINEHART
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PSYCHOLOGY
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What is prejudice?
 Prejudice literally means “prejudgment”.
 It is an unjustifiable and usually negative
attitude toward a group – often a different
cultural, ethnic, or gender group.
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PSYCHOLOGY
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Prejudice, is a three-part mixture of
 Beliefs ( in this case stereotypes)
 Emotions (for example, hostilility or fear)
 Predisposition to action (to discriminate)
 Stereotypes are generalized beliefs about a
group of people
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Chapter 20
PSYCHOLOGY
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SOME CAUSES OF PREJUDICE
 Exaggerating differences between oneself and others
 Assuming others are inferior because they are not as well
off as oneself
 Learning through observation and reinforcement
 Scapegoating because the real cause of the issue is too
complex or powerful to address
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TED TALK: Color blind or color brave? By Melody Hobson
 The subject of race can be
very touchy. As finance
executive Melody Hobson
says, it's a "conversational
third rail."
 But, she says, that's exactly why we need to start
talking about it.
 In this engaging, persuasive talk, Hobson makes
the case that speaking openly about race — and
particularly about diversity in hiring — makes for
better businesses and a better society.
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PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Fun Fact: Who is this man with Melody Hobson?
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Chapter 20
Section 3: Prejudice
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Question: What are the causes of prejudice, and how can it
be overcome?
OVERCOMING PREJUDICE
 Increased contact among members of different groups
 Speaking up when other people act or talk in ways
that reflect prejudicial attitudes
 Make a conscious effort to treat others with courtesy
and fairly regardless of the groups to which they
belong
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PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Journal 3: Is what you wear and how you behave important
in a job interview? Explain why.
 What about school? Are you concerned with
your appearance and behavior here? Why or
why not?
 In what other settings is your appearance and
behavior important?
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PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Section 4 - PERCEPTION AND NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
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Chapter 20
Section 4: Social Perception
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Question: What factors influence our perceptions of other
people, and how do people use various forms of
nonverbal communication?
PERCEPTION AND NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
 Factors influencing perception include
appearance and whether a person is rude or
friendly
 Nonverbal communication includes physical
contact and eye contact
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PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
 It’s not what you say but how you say it.
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r Succes