CHP 13 Flashcards
What do social psychologists study?
How thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are shaped by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.
How do we usually explain others’ behavior vs. our own?
Others → dispositional (trait) causes; ourselves → situational causes (actor‑observer bias).
Define the fundamental attribution error.
Tendency to overestimate dispositional factors and underestimate situational ones when judging others.
Name two main factors that shape our attributions.
Culture (individualist vs. collectivist) and familiarity with the person/situation.
How do attitudes shape behavior?
Strong, personally relevant, and easily recalled attitudes better predict actions.
When do attitudes follow behavior?
In role‑playing, self‑justification, or when we publicly commit to an act (self‑perception).
What is the foot‑in‑the‑door phenomenon?
Agreeing to a small request increases chance of agreeing to a larger one later.
Cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger) in a line?
Discomfort from mismatch between actions and attitudes motivates attitude change.
Peripheral vs. central route persuasion—difference?
Peripheral: fast, superficial cues (attractiveness, slogans). Central: evidence & logic, deeper processing.
One tip to share views more effectively?
Match route to audience: use central route for motivated/analytical listeners, peripheral for uninterested ones.
What is ‘social contagion’?
Automatic mimicry of behaviors/emotions (e.g., yawning, checking phones).
Key finding of Asch’s line‑length experiment?
People conform to wrong majority answers about one‑third of the time.
Normative vs. informational social influence?
Normative: desire for approval; Informational: desire to be correct.
Milgram’s main obedience result?
~65 % of participants delivered what they thought was 450 V shocks when prompted by authority.
Lesson from conformity/obedience studies?
Situations can override personal values, but dissenters & firm commitments boost individual resistance.
How much power do individuals have?
Considerable: minority influence, heroic defiance, and consistent dissent can sway groups.
Social facilitation?
Improved performance on simple/well‑learned tasks in presence of others; impairment on complex tasks.
Social loafing?
Tendency to exert less effort in group tasks when individual output isn’t evaluated.
Deindividuation?
Loss of self‑awareness/restraint in group situations fostering anonymity & arousal.
Group polarization defined?
Discussion with like‑minded people amplifies prevailing opinions.
Internet’s role in polarization?
Algorithms & echo chambers magnify extreme attitudes and confirmation bias.
Groupthink—what is it?
Desire for harmony overrides realistic appraisal, leading to poor decisions (e.g., Bay of Pigs).
Define prejudice (psychological sense).
Unjustified negative attitude toward a group and its members.
Explicit vs. implicit prejudice?
Explicit: conscious and overt; Implicit: automatic, unconscious associations (IAT measures).
