module 52-54: social psychology Flashcards
what is social psychology?
the study of how individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others
what is personality psychology?
individuals’ characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
define social cognition.
how we interpret social information
what is social influence?
process by which social groups exert pressure onto an individual, either intentionally or unintentionally
what is person perception?
processes by which we use social stimuli to form impressions of others
what are attributions?
explanations of the causes of behavior
define the self-as-social-object concept.
how we think of ourselves in relation to other people
what are attitudes?
opinions and beliefs that affect how we react to other people and events
describe the importance of the face in person perception.
- automatic processing of information about trustworthiness and friendliness
- we often assume positive characteristics about those who are attractive
define self-fulfilling prophecies.
social expectations that cause a person to act in a way that aligns with those expectations.
(refer to Rosenthal and Jacobson experiment with students)
what is the attribution theory?
the view that people are motivated to discover the underlying causes of behavior
what is situational attribution?
focuses on features of the situation
what is dispositional attribution?
focuses on features of the person
what is the fundamental attribution error?
overestimation of the dispositional factors when judging the negative behaviors of others
what is the self-serving bias?
attributing success to dispositional factors and failures to situational factors
what is the just-world bias?
good people are always rewarded, and bad people are always punished
what is the false-consensus effect?
the tendency to think other people share our attitudes more than they actually do
describe self-objectification.
- the tendency to see oneself as an object in the eyes of others ( how you appear to other people)
- associated with body shame and appearance anxiety
what is social comparison?
the process by which individuals evaluate their thoughts in relation to the thoughts of others ( comparing ourselves to others)
what is the self-perception theory?
individuals make inferences about their attitudes by observing their behavior.
what is cognitive dissonance?
psychological discomfort caused by having two inconsistent thoughts
ex: 1. I smoke
2. smoking leads to cancer
what is persuasion?
trying to change someone’s attitude and behavior
what is the central route?
goes through the rational mind, attitude is changed through evidence and logic
what is the peripheral route?
appeals to fears, desires, emotions, and associations
who created the mock prison experiment related to social roles?
Philip Zimbardo
what is conformity?
adjusting behavior/thinking to fit in with a group’s beliefs or standards
describe the Solomon Asch study.
- judging the length of lines
- look at the line on the left, which one is the same length?
- subject denies his belief and goes with the others
- 75% of the participants conformed at least once
what is normative social influence?
influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval
what is informational social influence?
influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept other’s opinions about reality
what is groupthink?
group members share such a strong willingness to share a consensus that they do not critically evaluate other points of view.
what is entrapment?
people committed to their failing sense of view so much, that they have to continue investing in that idea since they have already invested so much time into it.
what is obedience?
people follow direct commands, often from a person in authority.
describe Stanley Milgram’s experiment.
- 40 males between 20-50
- told that they need to deliver shocks when people get the wrong answer
- kept shocking even after hearing screams of people getting “shocked”
