Ch. 9- Social Psychology Flashcards
psychological arousal
alertness and readiness to respond
social facilitation
you perform better in higher psychological arousal settings
Yerkes-Dodson law
you will perform the best under conditions of moderate arousal
social loafing
being less helpful/productive in a group because other people will pick up the slack
bystander effect
if there are bystanders present, you’re less likely to help someone in distress because you think “someone else is going to help them”
deindividuation
people tend to lose their sense of self-awareness in a large group setting (low perceived responsibility)
what three main factors contribute to deindividuation?
anonymity, diffused responsibility, and group size
anonymity (deindividuation)
the sense that no one will know what you do in a crowd
diffused responsibility (deindividuation)
the sense that you’re not really responsible for what happens
group size (deindividuation)
a factor that increases the effects of anonymity and diffused responsibility
group polarization
tendency of a group to make decisions or final opinions that are more extreme than the initial positions of the individuals in the group (ie. people saying “yeah chocolate is good” -> “CHOCOLATE IS THE ULTIMATE SUPERFOOD”)
two main factors that contribute to group polarization
informational influence and normative influence
informational influence
idea that in a group discussion, people who aren’t sure about their opinions tend to think that other people in the group are more knowledgeable, therefore trusting their ideas more
normative influence
desire to be socially accepted, so tend to agree with the group you want to be part of
groupthink (Irving Janis)
irrational decisions are made within a group due to pressures towards harmony and individual conformity. has 8 main factors
8 main factors of groupthink (3 illusions + CEMPS)
- illusion of morality
- illusion of unanimity
- illusion of invulnerability
- collective rationalization
- excessive stereotyping
- mindguards
- pressure on dissenters
- self-censorship
collective rationalization
group members ignore warnings and do not reconsider their actions, assumptions, or beliefs
excessive stereotyping
members construct negative views of those outside the group who have dissenting opinions
illusion of invulnerability
an unjustified and excessive sense of optimism encourages risk-taking
illusion of morality
members of the group believe in the moral rightness of their cause and therefore ignore the consequences of their actions
illusion of unanimity
the majority views of the group are assumed to be unanimous
mindguards
members of the group protect the group’s cohesiveness by filtering out information that would be problematic
pressure on dissenters
members who express opposing views are pressured to conform and remain loyal to the group
self-censorship
members who do hold dissenting opinions do not share them
what is the difference between group polarization and groupthink?
group polarization involves an increase in extremeness of views, but does not involve making decisions. Groupthink involves making irrational decisions
conformity
situations where someone’s behavior, beliefs, or thinking changes to line up with someone else’s or the social norms
convergence/congruence
someone’s beliefs or behaviors just happen to line up with those of the group
internalization/conversion (subtype of conformity)
genuine change in someone’s beliefs
compliance (subtype of conformity)
someone goes along with the group but internally dissents
identification
middle ground: someone’e behavior and beliefs change, but only kind of, and only in the presence of that group.
Solomon Asch experiment
indicates conformity power: how likely someone was going to go along with the group to give an incorrect answer
compliance (request-related)
obeying requests from someone who has no power to enforce them
foot-in-the-door technique
first making a small request, then later making a large request. people saying yes to the small request are more likely to also say yes to the larger request
door-in-the face technique
making a large request that you know someone will say no to, then making a smaller request that seems more reasonable.
low-ball technique
offering something at a low price, then raising it at the last minute after the customer is invested in the purchase