Introduction to Sociology

Question 1

Define social psychology

Answer 1

Scientific study of how one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the real, imagined, or implied presence of others

Question 2

Self-concept

Answer 2

• The image of oneself that develops from interactions with significant people in life.
• Organized structured of thoughts about oneself
• Guideline on how to act, think, and feel
• Ability to define and strive for what we desire

Question 3

Self-awareness

Answer 3

• Psychological state of being aware of one’s own characteristics, behaviours, and feelings
• develops over time
• Private self-awareness: inner, hidden self-aspects
• Public self-awareness: awareness of how others see self

Question 4

Self-regulation

Answer 4

• The ways in which people direct and control their own actions

Question 5

How is self-regulation related to self-awareness

Answer 5

self-regulation is how people respond to discrepancies between their real and ideal selves (requires self-awareness)

Question 6

Strength Model of Self-regulation

Answer 6

• self-regulation operates by consuming limited energy sources
• results in temporary depletion
• ego depletion: self-control performance declines after performing initial self-control task

Question 7

Self-esteem

Answer 7

• subjective appraisal of oneself
• intrinsically negative/positive
• maintained in social relationships

Question 8

Social-reflection

Answer 8

• Basking in Reflected Glory (BIRG)
• associating oneself with successful others
• inverse of Cutting off Reflected Failure

Question 9

Social-comparison

Answer 9

• Assessment of oneself in comparison with others
• Downward social-comparison
• Upward social-comparison

Question 10

Attributions

Answer 10

Process of explaining one’s own behaviours and behaviours of others/ infering causes to behaviours and events

Question 11

Why do we attribute?

Answer 11

• it is of human nature to understand why people do certain things
• if no obvious cause, come up with own factors
• helps in predicting

Question 12

Attribution Theory

Answer 12

3 factors
- Locus of causality (dispositional/situational)
- Stability (relative permanence of attributions)
- Controllability (extent to which the cause can be controlled by humans)

Question 13

Fundamental Attributions Error

Answer 13

• tendency to overestimate dispositional factors and underestimated situational factors when determining causes of other’s behaviors

Question 14

Why susceptible to FAE?

Answer 14

• need for predictability (easier to predict future behaviors if causes are dispositional)
• perceptual salience (person is more salient than situations)
• individualists more susceptible (collectivists assume behaviors to be representative of social obligation)

Question 15

Actor-Observer Bias

Answer 15

• tendency to attribute dispositional factors to other’s behaviours and attribute situational factors to own’s behaviours

Question 16

Just-world belief

Answer 16

• believe that the world is fair
• therefore, if i do good, good things will happen to me
• illusion of control

Question 17

Self-serving Bias

Answer 17

• tendency to attribute positive events to own character
• attribute negative events to external factors

Question 18

Attitudes

Answer 18

• tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain person, object, idea, or situation
• 3 components: Affect, Behaviour, Cognition

Question 19

Attitude Formation

Answer 19

• Direct contact
• Direct instruction
• Interaction with others
• Vicarious conditioning

Question 20

Persuasion

Answer 20

• process of trying to change one’s attitudes through arguments, pleading, or explanation

Question 21

Predictors of successful persuasion

Answer 21

• source (credibility, expertise, attractiveness, familiarity)
• message (organized, present both sides, elicit moderate fear with solutions to avoid negative consequences)
• target audience
• medium (visual components enhance persuasion)
• Information processing (ELM)

Question 22

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

Answer 22

• Assumes people elaborate on what they hear or do not elaborate at all.
• Central-route Processing: attend to content
• Peripheral-route Processing: attend to surface characteristics

Question 23

Self-Perception Theory

Answer 23

• infer attitudes based on observations of own’s behaviours

Question 24

Cognitive Dissonance

Answer 24

• Psychological tension that occurs when there is discrepancies between behaviour and attitudes

Question 25

Reducing Cognitive Dissonance

Answer 25

• change attitude (diet is not directly linked to health)
• change behavior (i need to eat healthy)
• form new cognition (i have exercised so it is okay to eat the cake)
• alter importance of the discrepancy (it is only a small piece of cake)