Marsh, B. (2002). Heuristics as social tools. New Ideas in Psychology, 20(1), 49-57.
Myers, D. G. & Spencer, S. J. (2006). Social Psychology, Third Canadian Edition. Toronto, Canada: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
Types of Social Beliefs
Why is this topic important ?
Why do we use Social Beliefs
and Judgments ?
As humans we form and sustain beliefs about the world and people we interact with. These beliefs and judgments are cognitive strategies, or shortcuts, that serve to help us make evaluations. However, these shortcuts can also cause us to make errors in how we perceive others.
Social beliefs and judgments allow us to "make evaluations on the basis of one or a few simple rules or cues, thereby avoiding the processing and time costs related to exploring an exhaustive set of possibilities." (Marsh, 2002)
These snap judgments allow us to quickly respond to situations and give us cues about how we should feel about others.
Our social beliefs and judgments can, and do, affect how we feel and behave towards others. Although these judgments can be useful and accurate, they can also be erroneous. Errors in our judgments can have severe implications in career advising sessions and interactions with clients.
By understanding common social beliefs and judgments, and analyzing our own interactions with others, we can develop critical thinking skills to help us be less biased (Myers & Spencer, 2006).
Social Beliefs and Judgments