Chapter 13: Social Pysc Flashcards
What is attribution theory?
People seek to explain their own and others behaviour by attributing causes of that behaviour to a situation or a disposition
What is situational attribution?
We identify the cause of an action as something in the situation or environment
What is dispositional attribution?
We identify the cause of an action as something in the person
What is the fundamental attribution error?
The tendency to overestimate personality traits as a cause of behaviour or underestimate the influence of the situation
What is the better-than-average effect?
The bias to believe that we are better than average in most domains
What is the just-world hypothesis?
The bias to believe that the world is fair: this can lead to victim blaming
What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?
This occurs when a first impression (or expectation) affects one’s behaviour, which then affects other people’s behaviour, leading one to “confirm” their expectation
What is the false consensus effect?
The tendency to project the self-concept onto the social world
What is naïve realism?
The belief that one’s perceptions of reality are accurate, that we see things the way they are
What is the Dunning-Kruger effect?
When a person’s lack of knowledge and skill in a certain area causes them to overestimate their own competence
What is the familiarity effect?
The tendency to hold positive attitudes towards familiar people and things
What is the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion?
There are 2 routes by which persuasive communications can produce an attitude change:
Central route: direct info with arguments based in facts, stats, or jargon that may be difficult to understand
Peripheral route: arguments presented in an appealing or simple way ~> usually the best route
What is foot-in-the-door persuasion?
People are more likely to agree to help if they are asked to complete a small task before requesting them to complete a larger task
What is the door-in-face persuasion technique?
Involves asking for a large, unrealistic request, before making a smaller request
What is cognitive dissonance?
A state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds 2 beliefs (or actions) that are incongruent with each other
To resolve this dissonance, most people will change one of their attitudes
Rules and expectations that regulate social life, including explicit laws and implicit cultural conventions
Norms
Every society includes social ______ that are regulated by norms for appropriate behaviour
roles
A set of values, beliefs, and customs shared by most members of a community and passed from one generation to another
Culture
What are 2 basic beneficial motives for conformity?
The need for:
• social acceptance
• information
What did the Asch experiment show?
Most people will conform to the judgements of others even when others are obviously wrong
When an individual puts less effort into working on a task with others
Social loafing
When one’s performance is affected by the presence of others
Social facilitation
A decision-making problem in which group members avoid arguments and strive for agreement
Group think
What are some reasons behind social loafing?
Low efficacy beliefs
Believe their contribution won’t be important
Don’t care about the group outcome
When they feel the others aren’t working as hard as them
How can group think be minimized?
If the leader:
- rewards the expression of doubt and dissent
- asks group members to generate as many alternative solutions to the problem as possible
- has everyone try to think of the risks and disadvantages of the preferred decision
What is the bystander effect?
The observation that an individual is less likely to help when they perceive others are not helping
The reduced personal responsibility that a person feels when more people are present in a situation
Diffusion of responsibility
We often look to others for cues to the acceptable social response, and if we see that others are not responding, it makes us less likely to take action
Pluralistic ignorance
The loss of awareness of one’s individuality
Deindividuation
The willingness to take selfless action on behalf of others
Altruism
People often face the dilemma between ethnic identity and …
acculturation.
The tendency for people to be more generous with fellow members of their own group
In-group favouritism
What is one way to reduce group conflict?
Promote interdependent mutual goals
A strong, unreasonable dislike of a group and its members, often coinciding with negative stereotypes
Prejudice
What are the 2 types of sexism?
Hostile: active dislike of women
Benevolent: putting women on a pedestal
What are the different types of prejudice?
Psychological: can ward off feelings of doubt, fear, and low self-esteem, and can provide a scapegoat
Social: acquired through pressure to conform to others’ views and may be passed mindlessly from one generation to another
Economic: rises and falls with changing economic conditions
Cultural/national: bonds people to their own ethnic or national group, justifying what they do to preserve their own customs and national policies
