ch13: social psychology Flashcards
confederates
individuals working with the experimenter, unbeknownst to participants
conformity
the extent to which persons modify their behaviour to be consistent with the behaviour of the surrounding group
attribution theory
a framework used to explain the actions of others as the result of either dispositional or situational causes
what are the two basic attributions when interpreting the actions of others
dispositional/internal causes and situational/external causes
dispositional / internal causes
when another’s behaviours is assumed to be a result of their personality traits and characteristics (used for other’s behaviour)
situational / external causes
whether another’s behaviour is assumed to be a result of environmental causes that are beyond one’s control (used for our own behaviour)
Kelley’s covariation model
identified three factors required when making internal or external attributions: consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus
consistency
how a person acts in the same situation across time
distinctiveness
determines whether the person behaves similarly across different situations
consensus
compares the extent to which an individual’s behaviour resembles the behaviour of others
fundamental attribution error (FAE)
the tendency to attribute the behaviour of others to internal/dispositional causes rather than to external/environmental causes
actor-observer bias
one attributes the causes of one’s own behaviour to external causes and the behaviour of others to internal, dispositional causes
self-serving bias
attributing one’s successes to internal causes and one’s failures to external causes (to preserve self-esteem)
false consensus effect
an overestimation regarding the extent to which others share our beliefs
impression formation
the process by which a person formulates either positive or negative opinions and feelings about another person or group
first impression
the tendency for our initial impression that we have about other persons to be rapid and enduring (assessed within seconds of meeting, negative information is given more weight than positive ones)
primacy effect
the initial information learned about another person has the strongest effect on impression formation, which is most pronounced with the initial information is negative
confirmation bias
the tendency to pay attention to information consistent with one’s existing beliefs and ignore or discard information inconsistent with their beliefs
self-fulfilling prophecy
when desired outcomes are more likely to occur because we unwittingly act in ways to bring them about
social influence
the process by which our thoughts and actions are shaped by the presence of others
social norms
prescribed behaviours that vary across contexts, cultures, and time
collectivistic societies
cultures that place emphasis on the group instead of the individual, the benefit of the group supersedes that of the individual
social scripts
learned behaviours that are expected across a variety of situations
Solomon Asch’s conformity effect
- the purpose was to determine whether participants were willing to go stray from group responses where the desire to be correct would outweigh the need for conformity
- conformity level is higher when the group size increases and familiarity with the task is low
- 75% complied with an incorrect answer at least once
groupthink
faulty decision-making that occurs when high degree of conformity and group cohesion are highly valued, and the exclusion of opposing information and ideas
Irving Janis’ theory of groupthink
there are three components contributing to poor decision making
- overestimating the group: an illusion of invulnerability and a belief in the inherent morality of the group
- close-mindedness: collective rationalization and stereotyped views of an out-group
- pressure for uniformity: direct pressure on dissenters, self-censorship, illusions of unanimity)
out-group
the group that a person does not belong to, members of out-group are assumed to be highly homogeneous
what are the 8 characteristics in groupthink situations proposed by Janis
- illusion of invulnerability
- collective rationalization
- belief in inherent morality
- stereotyped views
- direct pressure on dissenters
- self-censorship
- illusion of unanimity
- self-appointed mindguards
illusion of invulnerability
excess optimism that increases risk-taking (nothing could possibly go wrong)
collective rationalization
minimize or disregard the warning of others (they don’t know what they are talking about)
belief in inherent morality
belief that the group is looking out for the greater good (making the world a better place and know what they are doing)
stereotyped views
hold negative views of out-groups and have in-group favouritism
direct pressure on dissenters
group members are pressured to conform and not express diverging ideas / opinions (we all agree and no one care what you think)
self-censorship
the illusion of a united front makes members with different opinion think that their ideas are incorrect / wrong (everyone agrees, there’s no point in sharing my ideas, it’s probably wrong)
illusion of unanimity
the group appears unanimous because dissenting views are not considered (everyone agrees so there is nothing to discuss)
self-appointed mindguards
some group members want to protect the leader and the group by enforcing group cohesiveness and quashing dissenting ideas (no one wants to hear you nonsense so stay quiet)
the Nuremberg Code
ethical guidelines that were designed to protect the rights of participants in research, a byproduct of the release of gruesome details of experimentation done on innocent men, women, and children during the reign of Nazi Germany
obedience to authority
when people perceived as authority figures are capable of getting high levels of cooperation in tasks designed to directly harm others or cause severe pain in another without the use of coercion
the Milgram Experiments
- early 1960s
- participants were asked to deliver shock to confederate when they answer incorrectly
- the intensity of the electric shock increases by 15 volts every time they answer incorrectly all the way up till 450 volts
- 65% continued to the end, delivering 450 volts shock
The Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Philip Zimbardo
- early 1970s
- 24 participants were recruited to be either prison guards or prisoner with proper attire
prisoners were “arrested” by local polices to make it feel more like real life - first emotional collapse occurred within 36 hours
- terminated in 6 days instead of 14 days
- compared to the Abu Ghraib detention centre
bystander effect
a person in need is less likely to receive help as the number of people who are present increases (the level of inaction increases as the number of bystander increase)
diffusion of responsibility
in the context of the bystander effect, as the number of people present increases, the relative level of accountability of each person decreases. when only one person is present, they assume 100% of the responsibility
pluralistic ignorance
a social psychological concept that occurs when individuals unconsciously depend on social cues, unaware that others also grapple with uncertainty (failure to act)
escalation of commitment
the more time one remains in an interpersonal relationships or as a member of a group, despite experiencing increasingly negative outcomes, the more difficult it is to leave the relationship/group
attitudes
variations in thoughts, ideas, and opinions, learned and shaped by personal experience
what are the three components of attitudes about a person or object
- cognitive: addresses the thoughts one may have about someone or something
- affective: one’s feelings about the attitude in question
- behavioural: refers to the actions taken
the Implicit Association Test (IAT)
designed to quantify feelings and opinions about sensitive issues that would be difficult to self-report accurately
cognitive dissonance theory
proposed by Festinger, explaining that when attitudes and behaviours are inconsistent, a state of unease is felt, which the individual is then motivated to reduce
ways to reduce cognitive dissonance
- changing the attitude
- changing the behaviour
- distorting attitude
- distorting perceived behaviours
stereotypes
attitudes and opinions about people based on their group affiliation
heterogeneous
when group members are diverse and possess a mix of different characteristics
homogeneous
when members of a group are highly similar or perceived as highly similar
stereotype threat
occurs when a person or group experiences significant fear of confirming negative expectations about one’s own social group, which ultimately adversely affects performance
prejudice
learned, negative attitudes or opinions that a person has towards certain groups
discrimination
adverse behaviours directed at groups towards which one hold negative and prejudicial beliefs
scapegoat
the tendency to blame a less powerful person or group for one’s own problems. this often leads to feelings of prejudice, extreme dislike, and malice towards the person or group being blamed
realistic conflict theory
intergroup conflict that is created when two or more groups are competing over real or perceived scarce resources (jobs, money, social status, power)
in-group
the group that a person belongs to, it is perceived to be superior to other groups
mutual interdependence
refers to the need for the individuals or groups to work together toward a common goal
mere exposure effect
the more time and experience that we have with someone is associated with an increased liking of that person
instrumental aggression
violent behaviour that is purposeful and is a means to achieve some goal
hostile aggression
violent behaviour whose sole purpose is inflicting harm on another living creature (human or animal)
behaviour modeling
learning to complete a task by simply copying the behaviour of another person
social learning
learning behaviours and skills by watching others engage in those behaviours
prosocial behaviours
helping others without the expectation of anything in return
altruism
engaging in behaviour to help another, despite the cost or potential risk to self (needs of others over your own)
reciprocal altruism
engaging in what appears to be prosocial behaviours with the expectation of getting something in return
reciprocity norm
the idea that if others help us, then we should provide something in return
three common forms of gaining compliance
foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face, lowballing
foot-in-the-door
“commitment”, a person initially asks for a small request and then follows up with a larger request, leveraging the principle of consistency to increase compliance
door-in-the-face
“reciprocity”, where a person begins by making a large request that is likely to be rejected, and then follows up with a smaller, more reasonable request
lowballing
“commitment and reciprocity”, where an initial commitment is obtained from someone at a lower cost, which is then followed by revealing additional terms or costs, resulting in the person still adhering to the commitment
