Chapter 16: Social Psychology Flashcards
social psychology
the study of the causes and consequences of reality
cooperation
behavior in by two or more individuals that leads to mutual benefit
prisoner’s dilemma
illustrates risk of cooperation
group
collection of people that have something in common that separates them of others
prejudice
feelings that go along with beliefs about members of another group or a different group
- both conscious and unsconscious
costs of being in a group
- groups don’t fully capitalize on expertise of members
- common knowledge effect
- group members with moderate opinions can end up making extreme decisions
- group members are reluctant to share opposing opinions
common knowledge effect
tendency for group discussions to focus on information that all members share
group polarization
tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than any member would have made alone
groupthink
tendency for groups to believe one idea to have interpersonal harmony
- reluctant to create conflict
deindividuation
a phenomenon that occurs when immersion in a group causes people to become less concerned with their personal values
diffusion of responsibility
tendency of individuals to feel diminished responsibility for their actions when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way
bystander intervention
the act of helping a stranger in an emergency situation
bystanders and responsibility
the fewer bystanders, the more morally responsible the person feels
altruism
intentional behavior that benefits another at a potential cost to oneself
kin selection
the process by which evolution selects for individuals who cooperate with their relatives
reciprocal altruism
behavior that benefits another with the expectation that those benefits will be returned in the future
mere exposure effect
tendency for liking of a stimulus to increase with the frequency of exposure to that stimulus
beauty standards
- body shape
- symmetry
- age
why is similarity attractive?
- easily agree
- share attitudes and beliefs
- we like being liked
passionate love
an experience involving feelings of euphoria, intimacy, and intense sexual attraction
companionate love
an experience involving affection, trust, and concern for a partner’s wellbeing
social cognition
the process by which people come to understand others
stereotyping
beliefs or cognitions that we have about other groups or people
properties that make stereotyping a subject to misuse
- inaccuracy
- overused when variability is high
- tend to be self-perpetuating
- unconscious and automatic
perceptual confirmation
tendency of observers to see what they expect to see
behavioral confirmation
tendency of targets to behave as observers expect them to behave
stereotype threat
the target’s fear of confirming to the observer’s negative stereotype
attributions
how we determine the causes behind others’ behaviors
situational attribution
when we decide a person’s behavior was caused by a temporary situation
dispositional attribution
when we decide a person’s behavior was caused by a relatively enduring tendency to think, feel, or art in a certain way
fundamental attribution error/correspondence bias
tendency to make a dispositional attribution when we should instead make a situational attribution
actor observer effect
tendency for individuals for external attributions for our own behavior but internal attributions for others behavior
social influence
ability to change or direct another person’s behavior
three motivations that underlie social influence
- hedonic motive
- approval motive
- accuracy motive
hedonic motive
motivated to experience pleasure and avoid pain
approval motive
motivated to be accepted and to avoid rejection
accuracy motive
motivated to believe what is right and avoid believing what is wrong
overjustification effect
occurs when a reward decreases a person’s intrinsic motivation to perform a behavior
reactance
an unpleasant feeling that arises when people feel they are being coerced into
norms
customary standards for behavior that are shared by members of a culture
norm of reciprocity
the unwritten rule that people should benefit those who have benefited them
normative influence
a phenomenon in which another person’s behavior provides information about what is appropriate
conformity
tendency to do what others do
obedience
tendency to do what authorities tell us to do
attitude
an enduring positive or negative evaluation of a stimulus
belief
an enduring piece of knowledge about a stimulus
informational influence
occurs when another person’s behavior provides information about what is good or true
foot-in-the-door technique
involves making a small request and then following with a larger request
cognitive dissonance
an unpleasant state that arises when a person recognizes the inconsistency of their action, attitudes, or beliefs
Festinger and Carlsmith
studied cognitive dissonance
- people who were given $1 for research said it was interesting while others said it was not
self perception theory
shaping out beliefs based on our actions
cognitive consistency
we are motivated towards consistency
primacy effect
relying too heavily on the first traits of a person you receive and neglecting any subsequent traits you learn
why does primacy effect occur?
schemas - fits newer attributes into existing idea
confirmation bias
confirmation bias
paying attention to data that supports our beliefs and ignoring information that doesn’t
self-fulfilling prophecy
someone expecting something, and the person’s resulting behaviors align to fulfill the belief
social comparison
we make judgements about ourselves by comparing ourselves to other people
- Leon Fesinger
impression management
a conscious or subconscious process in which people attempt to influence the perceptions of other people about a person, object or event
flattery
the act of giving excessive compliments, generally for the purpose of ingratiating oneself with the subject
Kelley’s Covariation model
an attribution theory in which people make causal inferences to explain why we and other people behave in a certain way
3 Factors to the Covariation model
- consensus
- distinctiveness
- consistency
consensus
what are other people doing in a given situation
- low -> internal
- high -> external
distinctiveness
behavior across different situations
- low -> internal (multiple situations)
- high -> external (one situation)
consistency
behavior over time in the same situation
- high -> internal or external (could be personality or situational)
- low -> external (situational)
Jones and Harris
studied fundamental attribution error/correspondence bias
- student that gave speech pro Castro was seen as a communist sympathizer although they were instructed to do so
self-serving bias
tendency to make internal attribution during success and external attribution for failure
just-world hypothesis
what happens to someone is internal rather than external
compliance
a person’s modification of behavior in response to a request by another person
factors that effect confirmity
- group size
- group cohesiveness
- self-esteem
- social status
- culture
- appearance of unanimity
group size
the bigger the group, the more likely to comply
group cohesiveness
when everyone feels apart of the group
- less cohesive group, less pressure to go along with them
self esteem
people with low self-esteem are more likely to conform
social status
people with an average level of social standing have more pressure to conform
culture
collectivists are more likely to conform
appearance of unanimity
if one person goes against the group, that frees up internal pressure to go along with the group
what factors increased obedience in Milgram’s study
- being in the same room as subject
- subject has authoritarian personality
- learner is in a different location from subject
- research is conducted at a prestigious university
- clothing
tactics for complaince
- tactics based on commitment or consistency
- tactics based on reciprocity
- tactics based on scarcity
tactics based on commitment or consistency
- foot in the door
- low ball technique
low-ball technique
once you have made a commitment, you are less likely to back out
tactics based on reciprocity
door in the face
door-in-the-face
big request, then make a small request
tactics based on scarcity
- hard to get
- fast approaching deadline
- justification
hard to get
rarity makes it more attractive
fast-approaching deadline
when deal is limited, you are more likely to comply
justification
giving a reason results in more compliance
pro-social behavior
helping behavior
reciprocal liking
we like people who like us
social facilitation
the improvement in performance that comes when there are other people around us
- pushes arousal towards optimal level
social inhibition/impairment
when the presence of other people leads to a decrease in performance
- pushes arousal past level of optimal arousal
social loafing
the tendency to put less effort into work when working in a group
illusion of out group homogeneity
people in other groups are seen as all being alike
