SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Social Beliefs and Judgments Part Three

INTENDED LEARNING
OUTCOMES
oEvaluate the significance of our expectations of the
social world and their impact on perception and
judgment.
oSummarize key conclusions drawn from the study of
social beliefs and judgments.
oReflect on the broader implications of social beliefs and
judgments in understanding human behavior and society.
OUR OWN SOCIAL BELIEFS
oSelf-fulfilling Prophecy
oBeliefs that lead to their own fulfillment
oWhen our ideas lead us to act in ways that produce their
apparent confirmation
oStudies show that our perceptions of others are more accurate
than biased
OUR OWN SOCIAL BELIEFS
oBehavioral Confirmation
oA type of self-fulfilling prophecy whereby people’s social
expectations lead them to behave in ways that cause others to
confirm their expectations
CONCLUSION OF SOCIAL
BELIEFS
oResearch on social beliefs and judgments reveals how we
form and sustain beliefs that usually serve us well but
sometimes lead us astray
oA balanced social psychology will therefore appreciate both
the powers and the perils of social thinking