PSYC 3520 - Social Psychology Chapter 3 notes. Social Beliefs & Judgment

PSYC 3520 - Social Psychology Chapter 3 notes. Social Beliefs & Judgment Social Psychology Chapter 3 Notes -Social Beliefs and Judgments Perceiving Our Social Worlds • Priming o Activating particular associations in memory ▪ Example: Watching a scary movie at home may prime us to interpret furnace noises as a possible intruder • Belief Perseverance o Persistence of one’s initial conceptions, as when the basis for one’s belief is discredited but an explanation of why the belief might be true survives ▪ Obama as a Muslim or illegitimate president • Constructing Memories of Ourselves and Our Worlds o Our memory is like a computer hard drive storing information as it happens. We can later retrieve this information when required unless it becomes lost, in which case we say we have forgotten. o Misinformation effect