Chapter 7 - Social Thinking and Social Influence Flashcards
What is person perception?
The process of forming impressions of others
What five key sources of information do we rely on when engaging in person perception?
- Appearance
- Verbal Behaviour
- Actions
- Nonverbal messages
- Situations
What are snap judgements?
Those made quickly and based on only a few bits of information and preconceived notions (shortcuts)
What do snap judgements rely on?
Automatic processing
When are snap judgements used?
When we are not motivated to form an accurate impression of another person
What do systematic judgements require?
More controlled processing
When do systematic judgements occur?
When forming impressions of others that can affect our happiness or welfare
What are attributions?
Inferences that people draw about the causes of their own behaviour, others’ behaviour, and events
What are the two types of attributions?
External and internal
What are internal attributions?
When people attribute the cause of others’ behaviour to personal dispositions, traits, abilities, or feelings
What are external attributions?
When people attribute the cause of others’ behaviour to situational demands or environmental constraints
When are we most likely to make attributions about others’ behaviour (3 things) (1)?
When others behave in unexpected or negative ways
(2)
When events are personally relevant
(3)
When we are suspicious about others’ motives
What can influence our actual perceptions of people?
How we expect others to behave
What is confirmation bias?
The tendency to seek information that supports one’s beliefs while not pursuing disconfirming information
When so self-fulfilling prophecies occur?
When expectations about a person cause him or her to behave in ways that confirm the expectations
What are the three steps of the self-fulfilling prophecy (1)?
You form an impression of someone
(2)
You behave toward that person in a way that is consistent with your impression
(3)
The person exhibits the behaviour you encourage, which confirms your initial impression
What are social categorizations?
Cognitive “shortcuts” in which we categorize people on the basis of nationality, race, gender, etc.
How does perception of similar and dissimilar individuals work?
People perceive similar individuals to be members of their in-group (us) and dissimilar people to be members of the outgroup (them)
What are the three important results of categorizing (1)?
People have more negative attitudes toward outgroup members
(2)
People see out group members as more alike than they really are (the out group homogeneity effect)
(3)
The visibility of out group members is heightened when they comprise the minority in a crowd
What are stereotypes?
Widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group
Four what four reasons do stereotypes persist (1)?
They are functional in that they require less effort, cognitively (we are “cognitive misers”)
(2)
But the tradeoff for simplicity is inaccuracy
(3)
Confirmation bias
(4)
Self-fulfilling prophecy
What does the fundamental attribution error refer to?
The tendency to explain other people’s behaviour as the result of personal, rather than situational factors
What two steps are required to make attributions (1)?
Focusing on the person (making an internal attribution)
(2)
Taking the situation into account (allowing for external attributions)
Why do we often skip the second step in making attributions?
Because it is more effortful
What is the problem with skipping the second step?
This causes the observers to exaggerate the role of personal factors in behaviour, making a fundamental attribution error
What is a defensive attribution?
The tendency to blame victims for their misfortune, so that one feels less likely to be victimized in a similar way
What is efficiency as a key them in person perception?
When forming impressions of others we default to automatic processing
What is selectivity as a key them in person perception?
We “see what we expect to see” by focusing on aspects of the person that confirm our expectations
What is consistency as a key them in person perception?
First impressions do matter!
What is the primacy effect, under consistency as a key them in person perception?
Once a perceiver has formed an impression of someone, he or she tunes out subsequent information
What is prejudice?
A negative attitude toward members of a group
What does discrimination involve?
Behaving differently, usually unfairly, toward the members of a group
What test demonstrates that we are not even aware of our prejudices?
Implicit Association Test
Are prejudice and discrimination always together?
Although they are highly correlated, one can exist without the other
What has happened to old fashioned or “overt” discrimination?
It has declined in recent years, and a more subtle “modern” form of discrimination has emerged
What is modern discrimination?
When people privately harbour negative attitudes toward minority groups, but express them only when they feel such views are justified, or that it’s safe to do so
What is old fashioned sexism characterized by?
Endorsement of traditional gender roles and acceptance of stereotypes that portray females as less competent than males
What is modern sexism characterized by?
Denial of continued discrimination and rejection of policies intended to help women
What are four causes of prejudice?
Authoritarianism, cognitive distortions and expectations, competition between groups and threats to social identity
What is considered the authoritarian personality?
A personality type characterized by prejudice toward any group perceived to be different from oneself
What types of cognitive distortions and expectations contribute to prejudice?
Stereotyping, fundamental attribution error, defensive attributions and expectations
How does competition between groups cause prejudice?
Perceived threats to one’s group, such as conflict over scarce resources, causes prejudice against out group members
In terms of threats to social identity, what two responses may occur when the collective self-esteem of a group is threatened?
In group favouritism and out group denigration
What can cognitive strategies do to reduce prejudice?
They make an effort o override stereotypes by using controlled processing
In terms of intergroup contact, what are subordinate goals?
Goals that require two or more groups to work together to achieve mutual ends
How can subordinate goals reduce prejudice?
They can reduce intergroup hostility
What is persuasion?
It involves the communication of arguments and information intended to change another person’s attitudes
What do “attitudes” include?
Beliefs and feelings about people, objects and ideas
What are the four elements of persuasion (1)?
The source - the person who sends a communication
(2)
The receiver - the person to whom the message is sent
(3)
The message - the information transmitted by the source
(4)
The channel - the medium through which the message is sent
In terms of source factors, when is persuasion more effective?
When the source has high credibility and when the source is likeable
When are sources deemed credible?
If they have expertise and are trustworthy
When is source likability increased?
When the source is attractive and/or similar to the receiver
When are messages most effective (there are three things)?
When two sided arguments are used, persuaders use emotional appeals to shift attitudes, and they create positive feelings in the receiver
What are four receiver factors (1)?
Mood (optimistic vs. pessimistic)
(2)
The receiver’s need for cognition, or tendency to seek out and enjoy effortful though, problem solving activities and in depth analysis
(3)
Forewarning, which reduces the impact of arguments on receivers
(4)
Receivers are harder to persuade when the message content is incompatible with existing beliefs
What does the elaboration likelihood model say?
Our thoughts about a persuasive message are most important in determining whether attitudes will change
What two routes can messages be perceived?
Through a peripheral route (not mindful processing) or central route (mindful processing)
What is the result of messages being perceived by the central route?
High elaboration, which tends to produce longer lasting attitude change and stronger attitudes than the peripheral route
Through what route are messages perceived more effective, longer lasting and a better predictor of behaviour?
The central route
What two things need to happen for the central route to over ride the peripheral route?
- The receiver must be motivated to process the persuasive message
- Receivers must be able to grasp the persuasive message
What is conformity?
Occurs when people yield to real or imagined social pressure
What did Solomon Asch’s (1955) classic study demonstrate?
That people conformed easily to wrong answers given by others in a mock perception test
What is the trend shown by Asch’s study about conformity?
Conformity increased to a point as group size increased, peaking at seven members
Different than conformity, what is compliance?
Occurs when people yield to social pressure in their public behaviour, even though their private beliefs have not changed
What two reasons could people be compliant?
Normative and informational influence
What is normative influence?
Operates when people conform to social norms for fear of negative social consequences
What is informational influence?
Operates when people look to others for how to behave in ambiguous situations
Can pressure come from normative and informational influences?
Yes!
What is the bystander effect?
The tendency for individuals to be less likely to provide help when others are present than when they are alone
What is the bystander effect an example of?
The problem of informational influence
What are three tips for resisting conformity pressures (1)?
Pay more attention to social forces operating on you
(2)
Identify someone in the group whose views match yours
(3)
Bring along a friend with similar views if you know that you will confront pressure
What is obedience?
A form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from someone in a position of authority
What did Stanley Milgram’s classic study (1963) demonstrate?
That people’s tendency to obey is strong, even if they are asked to harm another person
When is obedience strongest?
When demands increase gradually, when others take responsibility for your actions, and when we are motivate to meet the authority figure’s expectations
Based on the three types of situations when obedience is strongest, how could we say human behaviour is determined?
It is determined more by the power of the situation than by the character of the person
What does the consistency principle state?
That once people agree to something, they will tend to stick with it
What are the two common techniques in terms of the consistency principle?
The foot in the door technique and the lowball technique
What is the foot in the door technique?
Getting people to agree to a small request so that they will agree to a larger request later
What is the lowball technique?
Getting someone to commit to an attractive proposition before its hidden costs are revealed
What does the reciprocity principle exploit?
The tendency for people to think they should pay back in kind what they receive from others
What is the door in the face technique?
Involves making a large request that is likely to be turned down in order to increase the chances that people will agree to a smaller request later
What is the scarcity principle?
People believe that if something is scarce it must be good and they are more likely to buy it
What statements made by ads can explained the scarcity principle?
Limited supply available, for a limited time only, order while they last, time is running out
