Chapter 11 part 1 Flashcards
social psychology
what is social psychology?
how people think about, influence, and relate to other people
what are some areas of social psychology?
social cognition, social behavior, social influence, behavior relations, close relationships
what is social cognition?
How people select, interpret, remember, and use social information
what are the areas of social cognition?
attrition, personal perception, the self, attitudes
what is attribution?
determining why people do what they do
it is human nature ____________________
to want to know why someone is doing that thing and we try to figure it out and make judgments
what are the attribution theories?
internal vs. external causes
stable vs. unstable causes
controllable vs. uncontrollable causes
why do we use the attribution theories?
they are the explanations of why someone is doing something
what is internal vs. external causes?
is someone doing this thing because it is part of their personality (internal) or is it because something about the situation is demanding they behave that way (external)
what is stable vs. unstable causes?
does this person behave this way most times (stable) or does this behavior happen only once (unstable)
what is controllable vs. uncontrollable causes?
can this person control the situation or not?
how do we explain other people’s behavior?
we typically attribute others’ behavior to internal causes even though it is not always accurate
humans tend to say that people ______________
are just like that and they act that way all the time
what do humans tend to overestimate with attrition theories?
stable and internal traits
what do humans tend to underestimate with attrition theories?
unstable / temporary, uncontrollable, and external traits
what is the fundamental attribution error?
people tend to overestimate the importance of stable, internal traits and underestimate the importance of temporary, external situations when seeking explanations for others’ behavior
what is the self-serving bias?
we often attribute our own behavior to whichever explanation benefits us the most
if I catch a far ball while playing softball even though I’m not good
I attribute it to being a good player because of the self-serving bias
if I didn’t catch an easy ball while playing softball
I say the sun was in my eyes and make excuses
what is the self-serving bias in simple terms?
we take credit for our successes and make excuses for our mistakes / failures
why does the self-serving bias work so well?
it allows us to try again because it lets us off the hook for our mistakes and protects our ego
what is the false consensus effect?
overestimation of the degree to which everyone else thinks and acts as we do
what is the false consensus effect in simple terms?
we tend to surround ourselves with people who are like us, and we don’t encounter people who aren’t, so we have a false belief that most people are like you when it is not true, it always comes as a shock
what is person perception?
how we think about other people. forming impressions, feelings, and attitudes about others
why is it important that, when we first meet someone, we make judgments about them and feel them out?
so we can prepare ourselves in case of danger (part of human nature)
are first impressions important?
yes, because of the power of the first impression and the primacy effect
what are first impressions?
the very first thoughts and feelings we have about someone when we meet them for the first time
why is it hard to erase a first impression?
because of the primacy effect, all your attention was on the very first few things that person did and it was encoded really well in long-term memory
what is a stereotype?
generalization about a group’s characteristics that does not account for individual variability. sometimes it is accurate, but often overgeneralized
what happens when you stereotype someone?
we know that each person is different and we can’t share all characteristics but when we meet someone from that group for the first time, we still assume they have all the characteristics of that group
is stereotyping accurate?
no
why do we stereotype?
we are biologically built to categorize
it is easier to make assumptions about someone that to actually learn about them at first
what is the self-fulfilling prophecy?
expectations that cause individuals to act in ways that make the expectations come true
what is a stereotype threat?
a type of self-fulfilling prophecy in which anxiety about being negatively stereotyped actually causes underperformance
what is the self-fulfilling prophecy in simple terms?
because of expectations and stereotypes, we treat people differently and they behave differently, which meets our expectations
what is an example of the self-fulfilling prophecy?
you are poking someone, and they get mad (the reaction you expected), see, they are like that
what is a stereotype threat in simple terms?
I belong to a group that other people think is less than, which makes me anxious and I underperform
if you know you are being negatively stereotyped, ________________________
it makes it more difficult to perform
what stereotypes do we have about beautiful/attractive people?
beautiful people are rated higher in friendliness, honesty, and other good traits
what is social identity?
defining oneself in terms of group memberships
what is social identity in simple terms?
we look to see what groups we belong to
what is the ingroup?
your group
what is the outgroup?
comparison group
every ingroup _________________
has an outgroup that is a comparison group
what is prejudice?
Prejudgment. Unjustifiable and usually negative attitude about a group and its members. Generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition towards discriminatory actions
what is discrimination?
unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members
what is the self?
how we view ourselves
what is self-esteem?
the degree to which we have positive or negative feelings about ourselves
what is self-image?
how you think other people perceive you
what is self-efficacy?
how confident I am in my ability to complete a goal
self-esteem factors into _________________
a lot of mental illnesses
which individual has a higher self-esteem?
A: has positive allusions about herself. tends to have a self-serving bias
B: is more realistic about her good and bad characteristics
A has a higher self-esteem because her self-esteem is more protected due to the positive allusions and self-serving bias
people who are more realistic about their characteristics tend to ________________
have more anxiety and depression
what are social comparisons?
evaluating one’s thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to others
what are social comparisons in simple terms?
determining your own worth by comparing yourself to others
if you do a lot of social comparisons ________________________
you will feel more negatively about yourself
