Chapter 13: Social Psychology

Question 1

Social Psychology

Answer 1

Study of how people influence each other’s behaviours

Question 2

Biological Perspective of Social Psychology (3)

Answer 2

Humans are social beings with the need to belong

Our brain structures and functions make us experience psychological damage in isolation

These processes have been naturally selected because they’ve served us well over the course of evolution

Question 3

Social Contagion

Answer 3

Looking to others to see how to react, which influences our perception

Question 4

Fundamental Attribution Error

Answer 4

Tendency for observers to underestimate situational factors & overestimate dispositional influences on other’s behaviour

Question 5

Attribution

Answer 5

A cause for behaviour

Question 6

Disposition

Answer 6

Personal characteristics / quality of character

Question 7

When are we less likely to commit the Fundamental Attribution Error (2)?

Answer 7

When we’ve been in the same situation ourselves

Collective cultures tend to commit it less than individualistic cultures

Question 8

Beliefs

Answer 8

Conclusions regarding factual evidence

Question 9

Attitudes

Answer 9

Beliefs with an emotional component

Question 10

Attitudes don’t always predict behaviour example

Answer 10

The polls coming out influences the rest of Canada’s choices

Question 11

Attitudes are more likely to predict behaviour when…

Answer 11

The attitude is firmly held and stable over time

Question 12

Origin of Attitudes (2)

Answer 12

Recognition heuristic: we’re more likely to believe something we’ve heard many times

Personality: Attitudes are associated with our personality traits

Question 13

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Answer 13

We alter our attitudes or our behaviour when experiencing tension between two or more conflicting thoughts

Ex: You want to be healthy but don’t eat well. We will resort to either eating better (behaviour) or think differently about our habits (attitude)

Question 14

Alternatives to the Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Answer 14

Self perception theory: Attitudes are acquired through observing our behaviours (“I must love rice because I order it a lot”)

Impression Management Theory: We don’t change our attitudes but we say we do to sustain our impressions socially

Question 15

Dual Process Model of Persuasion

Answer 15

Central Route -> Attitudes stick because it’s analytical & motivated

Peripheral Route -> Attitude does not stick because it’s emotion based or born from triggers

Question 16

Persuasion Techniques

Answer 16

Foot in the door
Door in the face
Low ball
But you are free

Question 17

Characteristics of the Messenger

Answer 17

• Attractiveness
• Similarity (Implicit Egotism Effect)
• Scarcity of product/sale
• Consensus/bandwagoning

Question 18

Who’s most affected by conformity? (2)

Answer 18

People with low self-esteem

Collectivist cultures

Question 19

Deindividuation

Answer 19

Lost of restraint and awareness in groups.

Caused by anonymity & lack of sense of responsibility

Question 20

Conformity in the Asch Paradigm is caused by… (3)

Answer 20

-Unanimity
-Difference in the wrong answer
-Size

Question 21

Groupthink

Answer 21

People tend to conform to group decisions because we want to belong like in cults

Question 22

How do cults collect their members? (5)

Answer 22

Illusion of invulnerability
Illusion of unanimity
Unquestioned moral correctness
Pressure to conform
Stereotyping the out-group

Question 23

Self-censorship

Answer 23

Tendency to censor ones self even when having doubts

Question 24

Mindguards

Answer 24

Self-appointed people who prevent contrarian views from circulating

Question 25

How do cults promote groupthink? (4)

Answer 25

• Persuasive leader who loves loyalty
• Disconnection from the outside world
• Discouraging questioning
• Establishing practices that gradually indoctrinate people

Question 26

Inoculation Effect

Answer 26

Approach to convince people by first showing reasons why it might be correct, then debunking those reasons

Question 27

Stanford Prison Study Results

Answer 27

Once the guards & prisoners played their roles they gave into expectations

Question 28

Milgram’s Shock Study

Answer 28

The proximity of the victim and the instructor influenced the probability of listening. If you believe in authority you will listen

Milgram said unjustified violence is caused by unquestioning acceptance of authority

Question 29

Pluralistic Influence

Answer 29

Not acting in an emergency because others aren’t acting either

Question 30

Diffusion of Responsibility

Answer 30

The tendency to not act in an emergency because we’re in a group with others which diffuses the responsibility

Question 31

Social Loafing

Answer 31

Decreased effort in a group due to diffusion of responsibility

Question 32

Altruism

Answer 32

Helping others for unselfish reasons

Question 33

What factors lead to increased chances of altruism?

Answer 33

No escape
Positive mood
Role models
Extroversion
Less concern with social approval
Life saving training & competencies

Question 34

What factors lead to increased chances of aggression?

Answer 34

Personality traits
Provocation
Frustration
Media influence
Aggressive cues
Arousal
Drugs
Temperature

Question 35

Ultimate Attribution Error

Answer 35

Stereotypes lead to attributing negative behaviour to an entire group of people

Question 36

Adaptive conservatism

Answer 36

From natural selection we benefit from forging alliances and mistrusting outsiders

Question 37

In-group bias

Answer 37

tendency to favour inside the group relative to outside

Question 38

Out-group Homogeneity

Answer 38

Tendency to view all outside as highly similar, usually in a negative way

Question 39

Scapegoat Hypothesis

Answer 39

Prejudice comes from the need to blame other groups for our misfortunes

Question 40

Just-World Hypothesis

Answer 40

Perceiving the world as fair (blaming the victim)

Question 41

What’s the Nature of Prejudice?

Answer 41

People with high authoritarian traits are prone to prejudice