***Chapter 12: Social Psychology Flashcards
social psychology
the study of how people influence others’ behavior, beliefs, + attitudes
need-to-belong theory
-humans have a biologically based need for interpersonal connections
-threat of social isolation can lead to self-destructive behavior + may impair our mental functioning
-the pain we experience in response to social rejection may be similar in some ways to physical pain
-long-term loneliness can exert negative, at times devastating, effects on our psychological adjustment (depression, early death, cognitive decline, risk for Alzheimer’s disease)
social comparison theory
we need to evaluate our abilities + beliefs by comparing them with those of others
upward social comparison
we compare ourselves with people who seem superior to us in some way
downward social comparison
we compare ourselves with people who seem inferior to us in some way
upward or downward social comparison
“If he can achieve that, I bet I can too”
upward
upward or downward social comparison
“It’s not that I am dumb, it’s that he’s incredibly smart”
upward
upward or downward social comparison
“I am a big fish in a small pond”
downward
upward or downward social comparison
“I won the third place, but she did not even make it to the final!”
downward
social contagion
we look to others when a situation is ambiguous + we’re not sure what to do
mass hysteria
a contagious outbreak of irrational behavior that spreads much like a flu epidemic
collective delusions
many people simultaneously convinced of bizarre things that are false
urban legends
false stories repeated so many times that people believe them to be true
mass hysteria, collective delusions, or urban legends
In 1954, thousands of Seattle residents became alarmed by tiny pits in their car windshields which they suspected as the result of secret nuclear tests performed by the federal government
collective delusions
mass hysteria, collective delusions, or urban legends
While still alive, Walt Disney arranged to have his body frozen after his death so that it could be unfrozen at a future date when advanced technology will permit him to live again
urban legends
mass hysteria, collective delusions, or urban legends
In 2013, a single fake tweet proclaimed that President Barack Obama had been seriously injured following an attack on the White House. The U.S. financial markets quickly plunged by $130 billion
mass hysteria
social factilitation
even the mere presence of others can enhance our performance in certain situations (on easy tasks)
example of social facilitation
bicycle racers obtained faster speeds when racing along with other bicyclists than when racing against only the clock
social disruption
a worsening of performance in the presence of others, occurs on tasks we find difficult
example of social disruption
we get “choked” in the company of others while telling a joke with a complicated punch line
attribution
assigning causes to behavior
dispositional/internal attribution
attributing behavior to enduring characteristics, such as personality traits, attitude, or intelligence
situational/external attribution
attributing behavior to what’s going on around them
dispositional/internal or situational/external attribution
I missed the bus because I got up late
dispositional/internal
dispositional/internal or situational/external attribution
he is such a careless driver. He never watches out for other cars
dispositional/internal
dispositional/internal or situational/external attribution
I missed the bus because the bus arrived earlier than scheduled
situational/external
dispositional/internal or situational/external attribution
he probably has something emergent that he is driving so fast
situational/external
fundamental attribution error (FAE)
the tendency to overestimate the impact of dispositional influences + underestimate the impact of situational influences on others’ behavior
when do we tend to commit FAE
when explaining others’ behavior
-less so when explaining the causes of our own behavior
Japanese + Chinese are more/less prone to FAE than people in Western cultures
less prone
conformity
the tendency of people to alter their behavior as a result of group pressure
Asch study
-participants told this as a study of perceptual judgements
-participants in group asked to compare + match line lengths
-confederates picked the wrong line
-75% of participants in the original Asch study conform to the incorrect norm on at least 1 of the 12 trials
what 3 things influence conformity
-uniformity of agreement
-difference in the wrong answer
-size
influences on conformity
uniformity of agreement
if all confederates gave the wrong answer, the participant was more likely to conform
influences on conformity
difference in the wrong answer
knowing that someone else in the group differed from the majority made the participant less likely to conform
influences on conformity
size
people were no more likely to conform in a group of 10 than in a group of 5
what does Asch’s study show us
that many of us can + do resist the power of the group
what do brain imagining studies suggest about conforming behavior
conforming behavior was associated with activities in the amygdala (anxiety), parietal + occipital lobes (visual perception)
low self-esteem is related to being more/less prone to conformity
more
Asians are more/less likely to comply to group norms
more
is there a significant gender difference in conformity
no
deindividuation
the tendency of people to engage in atypical behavior when stripped of their usual identities
example of deindividuation
posting something on Instagram different than how you converse with your friends; you may text different than you speak face to face
deindividuation is due to what
a feeling of anonymity + lack of personal responsibility
Stanford prison study
-subjects randomly assigned role of guard or prisoner
-guards began to treat prisoners cruelly, subject them to harsh punishments, + become increasingly sadistic
-many prisoners began to display signs of depression, hopelessness, + anger
-study stopped early
groupthink
an emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking
-viewpoint diversity (valueing a range of different perspectives) is crucial to groupthink
-encourage dissent within an organization (devil’s advocate) to avoid groupthink
-doesn’t always lead to bad decisions, just overconfident ones
3 examples of groupthink
-Holocaust in WW2
-collapse of Swissair
-mass resignation of the Major League Umpires Association
groupthink
collapse of Swissair
the airline was once to financially solvent it was called the “Flying Bank”. However, they began to believe they were invulnerable + as a result of failing to question poor decisions + gross mismanagement, the airline eventually went bankrupt
groupthink
mass resignation of the Major League Umpires Association
the members resigned in 1999 in an attempt to gain a stronger negotiating position. They overestimated the resolve + unity of their members + the strength of their position within major league baseball. As a result, their efforts were not effective
in extreme forms, what can groupthink lead to
cults
-groups that exibit intense + unquestioning devotion to a single individual/cause
groupthink symptoms
-ilusion of group’s invulnerability
-illusion of group’s unanimity
-unquestioned belief in group’s moral correctness
-conformity pressure
-stereotyping of the out-group
-self-censorship
-mind guards
groupthink symptoms
illusion of group’s invulnerability
“we can’t possibly fail”
groupthink symptoms
illusion of group’s unanimity
“obviously, we all agree”
groupthink symptoms
unquestioned belief in the group’s moral correctness
“we know we’re on the right side”
groupthink symptoms
conformity pressure
“don’t rock the boat”
groupthink symptoms
stereotyping of the out-group
“they’re all morons”
groupthink symptoms
self-censorship
“I suspect the group leader’s idea is stupid, but I’d better not say anything”
groupthink symptoms
mind guards
“oh, so you think you know better than the rest of us?”
group polarization
occurs when group discussion strengthens the dominant position held by individual group members
2 examples of group polarization
-a group of students who were slightly unprejudiced became less prejudiced after discussing racial issues, whereas a group that was slightly prejudiced became more prejudiced after discussing racial issues
-left-leaning students becoming more liberal, + right-leaning students becoming more conservative
inoculation effect
approach to convincing people to change their minds about something by first introducing reasons why the perspective might be correct + then debunking these reasons
obedience
adherence to instructions from those of higher authority
Milgram experiment
-subjects (the teacher) told to give increasing levels of shock to another subject (the learner) every time an error was made
-62%; obeyed until the end, though they seemed reluctant to do so
-“I stopped, but he (the experimenter) made me go on”
-the greater the “psychological distance” between teacher (the actual participant) + the experimenter, the less the obedience
-the greater the psychological distance between teacher + learner, the more the obedience
-lower moral level, high authoritarianism, agreeableness, + conscientiousness associated with more obedience to the experimenters’ demands
-no consistent sex differences in obedience nor significant differences between Americans + non-Americans
pluralistic ignorance
the error of assuming that no one in the group perceives things as we do which keeps us from interpreting a situation as an emergency
diffusion of responsibility
discourages us from offering assistance in an emergency
enlightenment effect
learning about psychological research can change real-world behavior for the better
social loafing
a phenomenon in which people slack of when they’re working in groups
-variant of bystander nonintervention
-people in individualistic countries are more prone to social loafing than are people in collectivist countries
altruism
helping others for unselfish reasons
-altruism out of egoistic (self-centered) reasons -> relieving our own distress, experiencing the joy of helping, future reciprocity of help
-altruism out of genuine emphathy + relieve the disstress of others
people are more likely to help others when they…
-can’t easily escape the situation
-in a good mood
-has the time or skills
-extroverted
-exposed to role models
-less concerned about social approval
-seeing certain characteristics of the victim
men are more prone to help than women…
-in situations involving physical or social risks
-especially if the women are physically attractive
aggression
behavior intended to harm others, either verbally or physically
situational influences on aggression
-interpersonal provocation
-frustration
-media influences
-aggressive cues
-arousal
-alcohol + other drugs
-temperature
higher physical aggression in males or females
males
-in younger males (12-28) than older ones
higher level of relational aggression in boys or girls
girls
Asian people have more/less physical aggression than Western
less
culture of honor
a social norm of defending one’s reputation in the face of perceived insults
-people from Northern China are more likely to be offended by Pacific insults + take aggression to defend their reputation
recognition heuristic
we are more likely to believe something we’ve heard many times
bandwagon fallacy
one must accept/reject an argument because everyone else accepts/rejects it
are attitudes + personality related
yes
-political conservatives are more fearful, sensitive to threat, less tolerant of uncertainty than liberals
-high conscientiousness + agreeableness are related to being religious
cognitive dissonance
unpleasant mental experience of tension resulting from 2 conflicting thoughts or beliefs
cognitive dissonance theory
we dislike the state of tension due to cognitive dissonance, so we are motivated to reduce/eliminate it
example of cognitive dissonance theory
-attitude A: you shouldn’t be stealing those office supplies
-attitude B: what’s the big deal? You deserve to get a few privileges sometimes
-we can resolve this by changing our cognition A OR by changing cognition B, OR by introducing a new cognition C
self-perception theory
we acquire our attitudes by observing our behaviors
behavior -> attitude
example of self-perception theory
behavior: now that I think about it, I vote only for conservatives
attitude: I guess I don’t like liberal politicians
impression management theory
we don’t really change our attitudes, but we don’t want to appear inconsistent
dual process models of persuasion
there are 2 alternative pathways to persuading others
central route
evaluate the merits of persuasive arguments carefully + thoughtfully; focus on the informational content of argument
system 1 or 2 thinking in central route
system 2 thinking
peripheral route
respond to persuasive arguments on the basis of snap judgements; focus on the surface aspect of argument
system 1 or 2 thinking in peripheral route
system 1 thinking
foot-in-the-door technique
start small before making a bigger request
example of foot-in-the-door technique
asking your friend to start volunteering with you once a week + gradually increasing the amount of time you ask them to volunteer
door-in-the-face technqiue
start with a large request before asking for a small one
example of door-in-the-face technique
asking someone for a donation of $100; they decline so you ask them for $10 instead
low-ball technique
start by quoting a price well below the actual sales price, then the add-ons that come along with the product
“but you are free” technique
gives the sense that the customer is free to choose whether to perform the act (make the purchase or not)
-end in saying “but you are free to make the purchase or not”
prejudice
negative attitudes toward others
stereotype
a belief (positive or negative) about a group’s characteristics that apply to most members of that group
key difference between prejudice + stereotype
prejudice is only about negative attitudes toward other people; stereotype can be positive, negative, or neutral
adaptive conservatism
organisms benefit from forging close alliances with insiders + from mistrusting outsiders; “better safe than sorry”
in-group bias
the tendency to favor individuals inside our group relative to members outside our group
out-group homogeneity
the tendency to view all people outside our group as highly similar
scapegoat hypothesis
prejudice arises from a need to blame other groups for our misfortunes
example of scapegoat hypothesis
I lost my job because all the newcomers that come to Florida
just-world hypothesis
“blaming the victim”; believing that all things happen for a reason
example of just-world hypothesis
there is a reason that person got put in jail, without considering other factors such as wrong convictions
conformity
for social approval
individual differences in prejudice
authoritarian personality traits + extrinsic religiosity are related to higher levels of prejudice
extrinsic religiosity
view religion as a means to end such as obtaining friends or social support
those with high extrinsic religiosity tend to have lower/higher levels of prejudice than non-religious people
higher
intrinsic religiosity
viewing religion as a deeply integrated part of their belief system
those with intrinsic religiosity tend to have lower/higher levels of prejudice than non-religious people
equal/lower
explicit prejudices
biases of which we’re aware
implicit prejudices
biases of which we’re unaware
discrimination
the act of treating members of out-groups differently from members of in-groups (negative behaviors)
difference between prejudice + discrimination
-prejudice refers to negative ATTITUDES toward others
-discrimination refers to negative BEHAVIORS toward others
can we have prejudice without discriminating
yes
-but- prejudice + discrimination frequently go hand-in-hand
systemic racism
practices, policies, + cultural/social perspectives that…
A) deliberately or often unintentionally, create barriers or disadvantages to members of social racial/ethnic groups
AND/OR
B) contribute to long-term disparities among groups
