Module 40 (Social Psychology)

Question 1

Social Psychology

Answer 1

the study of social interactions

Question 2

Attribution

Answer 2

people’s explanation for why events or actions occur

Question 3

Internal attribution

Answer 3

when we tend to look at the characteristics or the character of a person to judge their behavior

Question 4

Situational Attribution

Answer 4

-when we make judgments about behaviors based on the occurring situation
-Behavior due to external factors factors rather than internal

Question 5

Fundamental Attribution Error

Answer 5

the tendency to overemphasize traits and underestimate situational factors when explaining another’s behavior

Question 6

Action-observer bias

Answer 6

-tendency to attribute one’s own behavior to situational factors
-Actor attributes behavior to the situation, observer attributes behavior to the disposition of the actor

Question 7

Self-serving bias

Answer 7

tendency to take personal credit for success but blame external causes for failure

Question 8

Difference of attributions example

Answer 8

-Poverty
-Internal attribution: “if you work hard, you can get ahead”
-External attribution: “poverty is typically result of structural inequities”
-Internal vs external attributions can dictate which group is more likely to support legislation (such as one aimed at supporting people in poverty)

Question 9

Social Identity Theory

Answer 9

group membership is an important part of how we view ourselves

Question 10

Ingroup

Answer 10

groups we belong to

Question 11

Ingroup favoritism

Answer 11

-favoring those who are part of one’s own ingroup rather than those who are not
-Can be impacted by viewing outgroup members as less varied than ingroup members (ex. white vs asians)

Question 12

Outgroup

Answer 12

groups we do not belong to

Question 13

Minimal group paradigm

Answer 13

-studies how social categorization impacts ingroup relations
-Even arbitrary distinctions, such as color of shirts, can trigger a tendency to favor one’s own group at expense of others, even sacrificing absolute ingroup gain

Question 14

Ultimate Attribution Error

Answer 14

cognitive bias that occurs when people attribute negative behaviors to outgroup and positive behaviors to ingroup

Question 15

Ultimate Attribution Error example

Answer 15

-Ingroup members receive little blame for negative actions, while outgroup members receive little credit for positive actions
-Ingroup success is seen as due to internal attributions, while outgroup success is seen due to external attributions
-Ingroup failure is seen due to external attributions, while outgroup failure is seen due to internal attributions

Question 16

How groups affect behavior

Answer 16

deindividuation, groupthink, social facilitation, social loafing

Question 17

Deindividuation

Answer 17

-a psychological state where people lose their sense of self and personal responsibility when they are part of a group or crowd
-Causes lower self-awareness, less attention to personal standards, anonymity, low accountability, heightened arousal
-Crowds, riots, concerts, sporting events

Question 18

Groupthink

Answer 18

-occurs when a group prioritizes group consensus over critical thinking when making decisions
-Occurs typically under intense pressure (external threats, strong opinions initially expressed from group leader)

Question 19

Social facilitation

Answer 19

-the presence of other people changes performance
-Well-learned tasks are enhanced while poorly-learned tasks are impaired
ex.) in front of people, you may ride a bike well (well-learned task), but you may do worse than usual when riding a unicycle (poorly-learned task)

Question 20

Social loafing

Answer 20

-tendency for people to work less hard in a group than when working alone
-ex.) group members ins a group project often do not work as hard as they might if they were working alone