Chapter 13 Flashcards
Social psychology is the study of the _____ and ______ of sociality
causes; consequences
Define aggression
behavior whose purpose is to harm another
What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
animals aggress when their goals are frustrated i.e. chimp wants banana, pelican a/b to take it, chimp shakes fist
Define cooperation
behavior by two or more individuals that leads to mutual benefit
What shows that cooperation is risky?
prisoner’s dilemma; mutual cooperation leads to a moderate benefit to both players, but if one player cooperates and the other doesn’t, the cooperator gets no benefit and the non cooperator gets a large benefit
Describe ppls reactions to fairness using $ experiment
one person can offer another person a portion of amount of $; other person either accepts this amount, or rejects it and both ppl get nothing; shows that ppl are willing to forego $ reward to punish ppl who treat them unfairly
Define prejudice
an evaluation of another person based solely on their group membership
What is the common knowledge effect?
the tendency for group discussions to focus on information that all members share
What is group polarization?
the tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than any member would have made alone i.e. PTA meeting voting to build new school instead of renovating gymnasium
What is groupthink?
the tendency for groups to reach consensus in order to facilitate interpersonal harmony
What is deindividuation?
when immersion in a group causes ppl to become less concerned with their personal values
What is diffusion of responsibility?
the tendency for individuals to feel diminished responsibility when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way
What is social loafing? example
the tendency for ppl to expend less effort when in a group than when alone i.e. ppl are less likely to clap loudly after a performance when in a large group than in a small group
What is bystander intervention?
the act of helping strangers in an emergency situation
People are (more/less) likely to help an innocent person in distress when there are many other bystanders present
less; b/c they assume that the other bystanders are collectively ore responsible than they are
Define altruism
intentional behavior that benefits another at a cost to oneself
What is the relationship between testosterone and aggression?
studies show that aggression is strongly correlated with testosterone, which is typically higher in men than women, younger men than older men, and violent criminals than nonviolent criminals ; makes ppl feel confident in their ability to prevail in interpersonal conflicts
What is kin selection?
the process by which evolution selects for individuals who cooperate with their relatives
What is reciprocal altruism?
behavior that benefits another with the expectation that those benefits will be returned in the future
What is the mere exposure effect?
the tendency for liking to increase with the frequency of exposure
What is passionate love?
an experience involving feelings of euphoria, intimacy, and intense sexual attraction
What is companionate love?
an experience involving affection, trust, and concern for a partner’s well-being
What is a comparison level?
the cost-benefit ratio that a person believes he or she could attain in another relationship
What are the physical features people, on
average, find attractive? Why do
researchers believe these features are
important in attraction?
men– v shape, broad shoulders
women– small waist, hourglass shape
-symmetry b/c its a sign of health
-age b/c younger women are more fertile and older men have more resources
-testosterone causes mens bodies to be triangles, so theyre more socially dominant and tend to have more resources for their offspring
-estrogen causes hourglass bod and women w/estrogen are esp. fertile
What is equity?
a state of affairs in which the cost-benefit ratios of two partners are roughly equally favorable
What are the three basic motivations that make them susceptible to social influence?
1) hedonic motive- experience pleasure and avoid pain
2) approval motive- accepted, not rejected
3) accuracy motive- believe what is right, not wrong
What are norms?
customary standards for behavior that are widely shared by members of a culture
What is a norm of reciprocity?
the unwritten rule that people should benefit those who have benefited them
What is normative influence?
another person’s behavior provides information about what is appropriate
What is the door-in-the-face technique?
an influence strategy that involves getting someone to deny an initial request; works b/c of reciprocity; i.e. supervise kid at detention center every week vs. go on 1 field trip
Describe Asch’s conformity study
real participant was very likely to give wrong answer to simple question (which line matches the original line) after two other participants (actors) did as well
What did Milgram’s experiment show?
ppl would shock other people simply because a person in a lab coat told them they had no choice
Define attitude
an enduring positive or negative evaluation of an object or event
Define belief
an enduring piece of knowledge about an object or event
What is informational influence? Ex
another person’s behavior provides info about what is true i.e. ppl are screaming and running for an exit
Define systematic persuasion
the process by which attitudes or beliefs are changes by appeals to reason
Define heurisitic persuasion
the process by which attitudes or beliefs are changed by appeals to habit or emotion
What were the results of the study looking at heuristics?
when students were motivated/would be affected by proposal, they evaluated the arguments based on merit; when they were unmotivated, they chose the Princeton professor over the high school student regardless of content
What is the foot-in-the-door technique?
a technique that involves making a small request and following it with a larger request; occurs b/c of cognitive dissonance/lying
Define cognitive dissonance
an unpleasant state that arises when a person recognizes the inconsistency of his or her actions, attitudes, or beliefs
We normally think ppl pay for things b.c they value them, but sometimes ppl value things because….
example?
they have paid for them with money, time, blood, sweat, tears; hazing, gourmet food
Why is white lying a phenomenon?
because the large consistency of being nice to friends justifies the small inconsistency of lying about a hairstyle; reduces cognitive dissonance
Describe results of boring knob experiment
ppl given boring knob turning task to do; researcher gave one group $1 to recruit more ppl and another group $20; ppl in $1 group reported task to be more enjoyable b/c of cognitive dissonance; $20 a lot of money so it justified the lie
What is the self-fulfilling prophecy? ex
the tendency for ppl to behave as they are expected to behave i.e. black students marking their race, getting nervous on test, doing worse
What is perpetual confirmation?
the tendency for ppl to see what they expect to see
Define subtyping
the tendency for ppl who receive disconfirming evidence to modify their stereotypes rather than abandon them
What are attributions?
inferences about the causes of ppl’s behaviors
What kinds of attributions do we make for ppls behaviors?
situational attributions = temporary aspect of situation i.e. wind helped player hit ball
dispositional attributions = relatively enduring tendency to think, feel, or act i.e. great eye and powerful swing
Define the covariation model of attribution and use cheese hat as an example
consistency– does he perform action on regular basis?
consensus– do most ppl perform action?
distinctiveness– does the person perform similar actions?
low consistency+high consensus+high distinctiveness= situational attribution
high consistency+low consensus+low distinctiveness= dispositional attribution
What is the correspondence bias?
the tendency to make a dispositional attribution when we should instead make a situational attribution
Describe quizzing experiment a/b correspondence bias
one person was assigned quizmaster and other had to answer questions the q.m. made up; tricky questions, got a lot wrong; third observer rated quizmaster higher on intelligence and was more likely to choose them for their team even though switching roles would have yielded a different result
What causes the correspondence bias?
1) situational causes of behavior are not as tangible as behaviors i.e. students laughing @ professor vs. strong incentive to please grademaker
2) situational attributions are more complex
What is the actor-observer effect?
the tendency to make situational attributions for our own behaviors while making dispositional attributions for the identical behavior of others i.e. choosing college major (I chose econ cuz my parents want me to make $ vs. Leah chose econ cuz she’s materialsitic)
