Exam 2 Flashcards
Self concept
Overall set of of beliefes that ppl have about their personal attributes
- dev 18-24 months
Self concept main functions (4)
- Self knowledge
- Impression management
- Self control
- Self esteem
Self knowledge
The way we understand who we are and organize this info
Impression management
The way we present ourselves to others and get them to see us as we want to be seen
Self control
Make plans
Execute decisions
ways to engage in self-control (4)
- thought suppression
- depletion effect
- prayer
- implementation intentions
Thought suppression
trying to push thoughts out of our mind
- the more we try NOT to think about something, the more they keep coming to mind
- often backfires
Depletion effect
people have more energy
to engage in self-control in the morning than they do in the afternoon
- mentally depleted by afternoon
implementation intentions
Implementing specific “if-then” plans that specify how and when you will do task and how you will avoid temptations
Self esteem
Maintain positive views of ourselves
Independent view of self
Defines self thru own internal thoughts, feelings, actions
- independence and uniqueness
- western
Interdependent view of self
Others’ thoughts, feelings, actions affect our behavior
- defines self thru relationships
- Asian and non-western
Introspection
Looking inwards and examining our own thoughts, feelings, motives
Introspection isn’t relied on often
- not always pleasent
- reasons for our feelings can be outside conscious awarenesses
- organizing complex emotional experiences can provide possible expl for what happened and come to term w it
Self awareness theory
When ppl focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behavior w their internal standards and values
- become AWARE of behavior and see if it matches their values and IS
Causal theory
Theories about the causes of one’s own feelings and behaviors
Causal theory problem
Causes of our schemas and theories aren’t always correct
- can lead to incorrect judgements about the causes of our actions
Self perception theory steps (2)
- Infer inner feelings
- Judge whether our behavior is internal or external
- internal: behavior really reflects how I feel
- external: behavior is result of a situation that made me act that way
2 factor emotion theory
- Experience emotional arousal
- Seek appropriate expl for it (cognitive lable: scared anxious, excited)
Emotion = arousal X cognitive lable
Arousal misattribution
Making mistaken inferences about what’s causing them to feel the way they do
- arousal from one source (caffeine) can enhance the intensity of how the person interprets other feelings (attraction)
Intrinsic motivation
Engaging in activity for enjoyment and interest
Extrinsic motivation
Engaging in activity bc of external rewards/ pressures
Overjustification effect
View behavior as caused by extrinsic reasons, making them under estimate the extent of intrinsic motivation
Avoiding overjustification
- Rewards will undermine interest ONLY if interest is initially HIGH
- Reward type - performance contingent are less damaging
Performance contingent
Get rewarded based on how well you completed task
- conveys message that ur good at task
Ex get 5 bucks for straight A’s
Task contingent
Do task-> get reward
Ex pass test -> get 5 bucks
- regardless how well you performed task
Fixed mindset
Set amount of ability that CAN’T change
Growth mindset
Our abilities are malleable (changeable) that can be cultivated and grown
Engage in social comparison when (2)
- No objective standard exists to measure against
- When we experience social uncertainty (3)
- similarity
- upward SC
- downward SC
Similarity
Comparing ourselves to ppl similar to us
Goal: make accurate assessment
Upward social comparison
Comparing to ppl who are better than us
Goal: to know the further level we can aspire
Downward social comparison
Comparing to ppl who are worse than us
Goal: to feel better about ourselves
Social tuning
Process whereby ppl adopt another person’s attitudes, interests
impression management strategies (2)
- Ingratiation
- self-handicapping
Ingratiation
using flattery or praise to make yourself likable to another
- often to a person of higher status
Self handicapping
Creating obstacles / excuses for ourselves if we do poorly on a task as a way to avoid blaming ourselves
2 types
- behavioral
- reported
Behavioral self handicapping
Acting in ways that reduce the likihood if success so they can blame obstacles if they fail
Ex running errands instead of studying
Reported self handicapping
Devising ready-made excuses in case of failure
Cognitive dissonance
Discomfort when 2 cognitions conflict or when they behave in ways that are inconsistent with their conception of themselves
- threatens self esteem
Reduce cognitive dissonance (3)
- Change behavior
- Change attitude about behavior
- justify behavior by changing one of the dissonant cognitions - Add a third cognition that makes the original 2 cognitions seem less inconsistent
- ex self-affirmation
self-affirmation theory
focusing on one or more good qualities to lessen the dissonant sting caused by doing something foolish
Impact Bias
overestimating the intensity and duration of negative emotional reactions
ex overestimating the dreadfulness of a breakup
Post decision dissonance
Dissonance aroused after making a decision
- enhancing positives about chosen decision and devaluating the alt
Downplays:
- neg aspects of chosen decision
- positive aspects of alt
lowballing
- a salesperson induces a customer to agree to purchase a product at a low cost
- claims it was an error
- raises the price
- frequently, the customer will
agree to make the purchase at the
inflated price
ways lowballing works (3)
- illusion of commitment
- anticipation of an exciting
event - using the new product - new price is probably only
slightly higher than the price at another dealership - here anyway, might as well buy it
Justification effort
Increase liking for something that you worked hard for
External justification
Expl for dissonant personal behavior that resides outside the individual
Ex receiving large reward or avoiding severe punishment
Internal justification
Dissonance reduction by changing something about oneself (attitudes, behaviors)
- can change long term attitudes/behaviors
Counterattitudinal Advocacy/ Behavior
Stating an opinion/ attitude that differs from one’s private belief about it
Punishment threat severe
Sufficient external justification for refraining from that behavior
- behavior will continue in long run
Ex getting grounded
Punishment threat mild
Creates greater need for internal justification
- changing attitudes via self-persuasion
Insufficient punishment
Dissonance aroused when individuals lack sufficient external justification for having resisted a desired activity
Ben Franklin Effect
liking a person more after doing them a favor
- even if you don’t like them in general
Self persuasion
Long-lasting attitude change that results from self justification attempts
Hypocrisy paradigm
Make person aware of conflict bt attitudes and behaviors
- hypocrisy creates dissonance
- reduce dissonance by changing behaviors
Self evaluation theory
Experiencing dissonance when someone close to us outperforms us in an area that’s central to our self esteem
Reducing dissonance in relationships (3)
- Distance self from the person who outperforms us
- Change how relevant the task is to our self esteem
- Change performance relative to the other person
Attitude
Evaluation (emotions and beliefs) towards a particular object, person, event
- evaluate what you encounter-> form attitude
based attitudes (3)
- cognitive
- behavioral
- affective
Cognitive based attitudes
Attitude based on person’s thoughts, beliefs about an object
Behavioral based attitudes
Attitude based on observations and actions of ourselves
only occurs when:
- initial attitude is ambiguous or weak
- no other plausible explanation for behavior
Affective based attitudes
Attitude based on feelings and values - not facts
- sensory/ aesthetic reaction
- conditioning
Self perception theory
Attitudes can form based on our observations of our BEHAVIOR and SITUATION
perception of behavior + situation = attitude
Classical conditioning
- Stimulus that elicits an emotional response is paired with a neutral stimulus
- neutral stimulus takes in emotional properties of 1st stimulus
Operant conditioning
Freely chosen behaviors increase/decrease when followed by reinforcement or punishment
Explicit attitudes
Consciously endorsed attitudes that can be reported easily
Social desirability
Tendency to present ourselves in a generally favorable manner
Implicit attitudes
Unconscious and involuntary attitudes
Aversive racism
Exhibiting racist tendencies while denying that one’s thoughts, behaviors, motives are racist
Spontaneous behavior only occurs when
Attitudes are highly accessible
Attitude accessibility
Strength of the associative memory link bt representation and evaluation of an object
- stronger memory link-> more quickly attitude comes to mind
Theory of planned behavior
People’s INTENTIONS are the best predictors of their planned behaviors
Intentions are determined by their attitude toward: (3)
- Specific attitudes
- Subjective norms
- Perceived behavioral control
- behavioral attitudes-> behavioral intentions-> behavior
Specific attitudes
People’s specific attitudes toward the behavior
Subjective norms
People’s beliefs about how other ppl they care about will view the behavior in question
Perceived behavioral control
Ease ppl believe they can perform the behavior (control over situation)
Persuasive communication
Message advocating a particular side of an issue
Ex speech, ads
Yale attitude approach
Conditions under which ppl are most likely to change their attitude in response to persuasive messages
- who
- what
- whom
Who
Communication source
- expertise
- attractiveness
What
The communication itself
- argument quality
- both sides are rep
Whom
Audience nature
- hostile/friendly to POV in question
Yale attitude change problem
Unclear which factor should be emphasized
Elaboration likelihood model
Persuasive communications can cause attitude change in 2 ways:
- central route
- peripheral route
Central route
Listener is MOTIVATED and has the ABILITY to pay attention to the argument
- long lasting
Peripheral route
Being swayed by surface characteristics- not by the argument
- not long lasting
Need for cognition
Enjoy and engage in effortful cognitive activities
- high need: form attitudes thru central route
- low need: rely on peripheral cues
Fear arousing communications
Persuasive messages that attempt to change people’s attitudes by arousing their fears
Heuristic systematic persuasion model
Explanation for the 2 ways (central and peripheral routes) in which persuasive communication can cause attitude change
Using emotions and moods as heuristics to determine attitude (feel good and bad)
Feel good = positive attitude about object
Feel bad = negative attitude
Heuristic systematic persuasion model problem
Can make mistakes about the cause of our mood
- arousal misattribution
Subliminal messages
Words/pics that aren’t consciously perceived but may influence people’s judgements, attitudes, behaviors
Attitude inoculation
Making ppl immune to attempts to change their attitudes by exposing them to small doses of the argument against their position
Conformity
A change in one’s behavior due to
the real or imagined influence of other people
Informational Social Influence
Relying on other people as a source of information to guide our behavior
- we conform b/c we believe that others’ interpretation of an ambiguous situation is correct
- this helps us choose an appropriate course of action
conform to ISI when (3)
- situation is AMBIGUOUS
- situation is a CRISIS
- other ppl are EXPERTS
Private Acceptance
Conforming to other people’s
behavior out of a (PRIVATE) genuine belief/acceptance that what they are doing or saying is right
Public Compliance
Conforming to other people’s
behavior PUBLICLY without necessarily believing in what the other people are doing or saying
Social Norms
The implicit/ explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members
Normative Social Influence
Going along with what other people do in order to be liked and accepted by them
- norm of the group
Social Impact Theory:
conforming to social
influence depends on (3)
- group’s importance
- immediacy
- number of people in the group
Minority Influence
The case where a minority of
group members influences the
behavior or beliefs of the majority
Descriptive Norms
perceptions of how people ACTUALLY BEHAVE in given situations
regardless of whether the behavior
is approved or disapproved of by
others
Ex 75% of students take the stairs
Injunctive Norms
People’s perceptions of what
behaviors are approved or disapproved of by others
- what we THINK other ppl approve/disapprove of
Ex don’t litter
Foot-in-the-Door Technique
getting people to agree first to a
small request makes them more
likely to agree later to a second,
larger request
- small -> big = yes to both
Door-in-the-Face Technique
asking for a large request that they will probably refuse makes them more likely to agree to a second, smaller request later
- big -> small = no to big
yes to small
Propaganda
attempt to advance a cause by manipulating mass attitudes and behaviors
- often through misleading or
emotionally charged information
obeying authority
- NSI
- ISI
- conforming to wrong norm
- self-justification
- Loss of personal responsibility
obey authority: NSI
Normative pressures make it difficult for people to stop obeying authority figures
- want to please them
obey authority: ISI
ambiguous situation so they followed the orders of the expert
conforming to wrong norm
caught in a web of conflicting norms
- difficult to determine which one to follow
ex obey authority to continue giving shocks
vs obey “student” to stop
obey authority: self-justification
participants only faced a smaller
decision about whether to increase the shock voltage by 15V
Loss of personal responsibility
denying responsibilities for actions inflicted upon you by authority figure
-you’re “just following orders.
Idiosyncrasy credits
Conforming to group norms earns you “credits” which occasionally allows you to deviate from the group w/o consequences
Reactance theory
Administrating strong prohibitions will INCREASE interest in prohibited activity
Terror management theory
Self esteem protects ppl from terrifying thoughts about their own mortality
Reasons-generated attitude change
Attitude change resulting from thinking about the reasons for one’s attitude
