12 - Social Psychology Flashcards
cognitive dissonance
justifying effort
hazing and initiation, why does it work?
- works because behaviour has to match attitude
- showing a positive attitude towards a group which justifies the behaviour
cognitive dissonance
Postdecisional Dissonance
- focus on the positive aspects of our choices
- ex. choosing a university and dissing on the ones you decided not to go to
- the more we think about it, the more we begin to love the decisions we made
compliance
door in the face technique
- if you refuse a large request, you are more likley to comply with a smaller request
- ex. saying no to a $20 burger but yes to a $5 cookie
cognitive dissonance
foot in the door technique
- if you agree to a small request, you are more likley to comply with a large request
- ex. saying yes to a small sign on your front lawn then 2 weeks later having to say yes to a bigger one in your front window because you have established that you support the message so if you back out now your attitude and behaviour won’t be the same
cognitive dissonance
low-balling
- when you buy a product for a certain price, you are likely to comply with a request to pay more for the product
elaboration likelihood model
central route of persuasion
- when people are motivated and paying attention
- leads to strong attitudes that last over time and that people actively defend
elaboration likelihood model
peripheral route of persuasion
- people aren’t motivated
- unable to process info
- minimally process a message
- leads to more impulsive decisions (not much info to back it up)
- attitudes that develop this way are weaker and more likley to change over time
Actor/Observer Discrepancy
- The tendency to focus on situations in order to explain our own behaviour but focus on disposition (qualities of mind and character) to explain other people’s behaviour
- ex. I didn’t want to go to the movie because i was feeling sick and needed to go to bed but my friend didn’t go to the movie because she is lazy and disorganized
- mainly happens for negative events
aggression
any behaviour that involves the intention to harm another
- caused by a blend of social, situational, and biological factors
Altruism
- providing help when it is needed without an immediate reward for doing so
Attitudes
- people’s evaluations of other people, objects, events, or ideas
- often shaped through socialization
- guide behaviour
Attributions
- people’s explanations of why events or actions occur
- try to understand why things happen so we can better predict them in the future
Biological determinants of aggression
- hormone testosterone
- serotonin in the regulation of aggressive behaviour
- MAOA gene
bystander intervention effect
- the failure to offer help by those who observe someone in need when other people are present
Companionate love
a strong commitment based on friendship, trust, respect, and intimacy
Compliance
- the tendency to agree to do things requested by others
Conformity
- altering one’s behaviours and opinions to match those of other people or to match other people’s expectations
Social and Cultural determinants of aggression
- culture of honour (protect their reputation)
Deindividuation
- lack of self awareness
- tendency to do things they wouldn’t do while alone
Discrimination
- differential treatment of people as a result of prejudice against their group
Cognitive Dissonance
what are 2 ways it can be changed?
- when beliefs are inconsistent with our actions
- change action or behaviour
elaboration likelihood model
- the idea that persuasive messages lead to attitude changes in either of two ways:
1) central route
2) peripheral route
explicit attitudes
- attitudes that a person can report
- aware of them
- take effort to retrieve
Fundamental Attribution Error
- in explaining someone’s behaviour, the tendency to overemphasize personality traits and underestimate situational factors
- ex. assuming the participants in the Milgram study were evil people when in reality they were being compliant for the study
- mistaken association between a behaviour and a fundamental feature about a person
Group Polarization
- the process where the initial attitudes of a group become more extreme over time
- more conservative?
Groupthink
- extreme group polarization
- typically under stress, group members reassure each other that their decision is correct without truly considering all the information
- usually when a group is already biased in some way
How and why are negative attitudes stronger?
- evolutionarily, they tend to warn of us danger
- negative attitudes are stronger when they are formed through direct experience
implicit attitudes
- attitudes that subconsiously influence a person’s feelings and behaviour
- implicit bias tests
- fast, instant but can be replaced/overridden in 30 seconds
Inclusive fitness
- people are altruistic toward those who they share genes
- focuses on the adaptive benefit of transmitting genes rather than focusing on individual surivival
ingroup
groups that particular people belong to
ingroup favouritism
- ## people give preferential treatment to ingroup members
Mere exposure effect
- the idea that greater exposure to a stimulus leads to greater liking for it
- why we prefer mirror images of ourselves and normal pictures of our friends
minimal group paradigm
- ex dividing the class by eye colour. it’s stupid but they still treat each other differently as if eye colour meant anything
Modern Racism
- subtle forms of prejudice that coexist with the rejection of racist beliefs
Neophobia
people generally dislike new things
nonverbal behaviour
- facial expressions
- gestures
- mannerisms
- movements
- used to communicate with others
Obedience
following the orders of a person of authority
outgroup
groups that particular people don’t belong to
outgroup homogeneity effect
- the tendency to view outgroup members as less varied than ingroup members (ex. tendency to stereotype groups they aren’t as familiar with)
- people also show a positivity bias towards ingroup members (ex. rating ingroup members smiles as being more genuine than similar smiles of outgroup members)
Passionate love
a state of intense longing and sexual desire
- shifts later to companionate love
Personal Attributions
- place the cause of a behaviour on internal factors
- explanations of people’s behaviour that refer to their internal characteristics, such as abilities, traits, moods, or efforts
- ex. knowing you did well as a result of being smart
Persuasion
- the active and conscious effort to change an attitude through the transmission of a message
Prejudice
- negative feelings, opinions, and beliefs associated with a stereotype
prosocial behaviours
- actions that benefit others, such as doing favours or helping
- central human survival strategy
- either motivated by empathy, selfish behaviours, or the natural tendency to help others
Q: according to the mere exposure effect, how would your attitude toward a new food change after repeated trials?
greater exposure across repeated trials would lead to a greater liking for the new food
Q: How can stereotypes lead to discrimination?
- stereotypes are beliefs about a group that can sometimes be negative which leads to prejudice. Negative perceptions then guide behaviours and lead to discrimination
Q: If you are biased by the actor/observer discrepancy, how would you explain your late arrival to class differently from your classmate’s late arrival?
- i’m late because of traffic (situational factors), she’s late because she is dumb and probably forgot to set an alarm (personality flaws)
Q: what is the difference between social facilitation and social loafing?
social facilitation is the tendency for people to work harder in the presence of others. however, social loafing is the tendency for people to not work as hard when in groups
the difference is that social facilitation is individual responsibility and social loafing is group responsibility
Q: What is the key to reducing hostility between competitive groups?
- opportunities for cooperation
- subordinate goals - goals that require cooperation
reciprocal helping
- an animal helps another because the other may return the favour in the future
risky-shift effect
- groups often make riskier decisions than individuals do
Situational Attributions
- explanations of people’s behaviour that refers to external events, such as weather, luck, accidents, or other people’s actions
- Ex. blame your bad mark on the way the test was made
Situational determinants of aggression
- heat
- observational learning (ex. seeing aggression in the media)
- when people feel rejected
- any situation that involves negative emotions can trigger physical aggression
- emotional states can disrupt the functioning of brain regions involved in controlling behaviour
social brain hypothesis
Social Facilitation
- the presence of others generally enhances performance
social identity theory
- sense of pride through group membership
- defining yourself by the status of a group is part of your social identity
Social Loafing
- tendency for people to not work as hard when in groups vs. when they’re alone
- responsibility is pooled so the individual doesn’t feel responsible for the entire groups outcome
social norms
expected standards of conduct that influence behaviour
Stereotype Threat
what are some effects?
- fear or concern someone experiences when they believe their performance on a task could confirm negative stereotypes about their group
- causes distraction and anxiety
- interferes with performance
- undermines confidence and motivation
what are some factors that increase compliance?
(2)
- good mood
- ## a reason is given
What are some functions of stereotypes?
- fast processing of social information
- efficiency
What are some ways to reduce prejudice?
- sharing common goals
- ## explicit training about stereotypes
what are the 2 forms of influence that lead people to conform
1) normative influence
- attempt to fit in with a group
2) informational influence
- assumes the behaviour of others is the correct way to respond
- copies others
What are the 3 components of attitudes?
1) cognitive - beliefs
2) affective - emotional reaction
3) behavioural - actions
what are the two conditions that need to be met in order for people to organize themself into a group?
1) reciprocity
- treat others as others treat them
2) transitivity
- shared opinions of other people
what does Zajonc’s model of social facilitation suggest?
- arousal in the presence of others leads to a dominant response (ex. food -> eat)
- this can either improve of impair performance
- if the dominant response is well learned (ex. drawing), the presence of others will improve performance
- if the dominant response isn’t well learned (ex. science), the presence of others will impair performance
What idea does Impicit Association Tests draw upon?
that explicit attitudes aren’t necessarily the same as implicit attitudes
“what is beautiful is good” stereotype
the belief that attractive people are superior in most ways
what is the medial prefrontal cortex important for?
thinking about/reading other people
what part of the brain is important for judging trustworthiness?
amygdala
why is the medial prefrontal cortex less active when people think about members of an outgroup?
- people see them as being less human than the ingroup (dehumanization due to stereotype)
Insufficient Justification
- when we do something we don’t find enjoyable, for no reward, so we change our attitude towards it
- ex. deciding you helped your neighbour because you like her (even though you barely know her)
