psych 241 midterm 2 Flashcards
who is leon festinger
He was interested in the concepts of deeply held beliefs by people. So he joined a cult. The result was after an (magnificent) event there were urgent covert, the disconfirmation led to increased conviction
what is disconfirmation conviction
According to Festinger disconfirmation conviction is a firm belief held with conviction with theses characteristics
- high initial conviction and strong link to action
-high commitment
- specific and real world based belief
-disconfirmation is recognized
-social support
what is cognitive dissonance theory
According to Festinger, Dissonance is when people experience inconsistency in their thoughts, feelings, and action creating an unpleasant emotional states. To reduce the dissonance they rationalize their action or change their attitude to create greater consistency
ex: binging while on a diet than rationalizing with saying it is your cheat day
how do people reduce dissonance and rationalize their action using various strategies
- changing their attitude/ cognition ex: I don’t need to be on a diet
- changing perception of the action ex: i hardly ate any dessert
- adding consonant cognition ex: this dessert was actually quite nutritious
-minimizing the importance of the conflict ex: i don’t care if i am overweight since life is too short - reducing perceived choice ex: i had no choice, this dessert was served for a special occasion
what are the methods of dissonance induction
- induced compliance
- free choice
- effort justification
- induced hypocrisy
what is induced compliance
when an individual with upper power makes you complete a task that goes against your personal attitude or belief ex: usually a boring task
The study that corresponds with this concept is - the study that correspond with this concept is a group were given a boring task to complete. the experimental group were told to tell another participant the task were interesting and the the control weren’t given an instruction to pass on. some participant offered a dollar for lying to the next participant while others offered twenty dollar for doing so. then they were to evaluate their study experiences
- the people that were paid more money for the completion didn’t have a cognitive dissonance so they could justify lying. the people that weren’t paid well experienced cognitive dissonance, so they began to think the tasks is more interesting than what they think originally
The classical dissonance experiment concluded that dissonance is created if we say something we don’t believe with little justification. dissonance leads to attitude and cognition change
what is free choice
it is a choice between two equally attractive options arousing dissonance
So people reduce their dissonance by making decision of the positive aspect of the reject alternative to increase their liking for the chosen item and negative aspect of the chosen alternative to decrease their liking for the reject item
the study that corresponds with this concept is women asked to give a choice between two equally favourable items . The result was the women convinced themselves that the appliance they selected was better than they initially thought and the rejected option was not great after all
This can apply to choice for political candidates, vacation, restaurants and more, they distort subsequent information to support their decision
what is effort justification
it is engaging in negative behavior for a desirable outcome.in other words, it is believing an action is bad while doing it produce cognitive dissonance
ex: paying a high price for something that turns out to be disappointing
the study that corresponds with this concept is the study experiment had a group read very obscene and detailed sex scene and the other group didn’t read a detailed sex scene but read a material that is related to sex. Then were made to listen to very boring material. The result were the group that were given the most detailed sex scene described the boring material has interesting. This group placed more value on the boring material to justify the extra effort to avoid cognitive dissonance
in effort justification, people experience cognitive dissonance when they struggle to get something to be disappointed by it. To reduce their dissonance they change their cognition. This can help during difficult initiation rites, religious organizations through money and time and more. it can be described as a resource justification
what is induced hypocrisy
it is when an individual advocates for a belief then fails to uphold the belief. we all live with some sort of hypocrisy
The dissonance cognitions are not readily noticeable at the same time, but the hypocrisy paradigm will show it
the study that corresponds with this study This can be seen when a student gave a speech on the importance of condom use, and after didn’t use condom, it can create dissonance. To reduce dissonance there will be an increase of the buying of condom and condom use intention
when do people feel dissonance primarily
- when the inconsistent cognitions are noticeable/important
- highly accessible to consciousness
when does inconsistency produce dissonance
- dissonance is likely when it conflicts with an individual core sense of self. ex: people think of themselves as good and moral beings so when it goes against this belief, dissonance is created
- dissonance is likely when there are foreseeable negative consequences for our actions ex: student
what does aroused dissonance level depend on
- weak external justification
-perceived choice - commitment
- cultural influences
what is self-perception theory
when internal cues are difficult to interpret, people gain insight by observing their own behavior
what is the key differences between dissonance and self-perception
the key difference is the uncomfortable arousal involved in dissonance. if it is self-perception, misattribution should have no impact
The study corresponding to this was that students were told to give a essay then were given a placebo pill and examined their attitude change
People experience attitude change to high choice because they experienced aversive effect
what is misattribution of arousal
it is the process whereby people make a mistake in assuming what is causing them to feel aroused
ex: when an individual faces a physiological response related to fear, people mislabel those responses as romantic arousal.
what is the brain area associated to dissonance
when making difficult choices, the Dorsal ACC is related (conflict). during emotional arousal anterior insula is related
what heightens dissonance
self-relevance heightened dissonance. we are driven to see ourselves as valuable, to bolster our self-esteem and to defend our positive view of ourselves. we are driven to appear competent and worthy to
what is the positive illusion about self
we see ourselves through a rose colored glass
we turn our attention away from negative outcomes and stimuli toward goals
The three types of illusion are self, control, optimism. if there is an error, it can be adaptive in the belief in ability to pursue a goal, belief that environment supports the goal, belief that goal is attainable
a positive illusion about protecting an individual from adversity, it is a psychological protection. However positive illusion can lead to chronic pattern of self defeating behavior
what are ways of maintaining positive illusions
- self-handicapping
- social comparison
what is self-handicapping
self-handicapping is behavior designed to sabotage one’s own performance in order to provide a subsequent excuse for failure
people engage in self-handicapping to provide an explanation for failure and way of protecting themselves due to a lack of ability
what is sandbagging
a form of self-handicapping. it is when an individual downplays their own ability, lowering expectation or openly predicting failure. even though it is a way to protect yourself, it can have a negative impact on performance. also others tend not to like people engaging in self-handicapping
what is social comparisons
we learn about our own abilities and attitude by comparing ourselves to other people who are similar on important attributes or dimensions
we compare ourselves to others when there is no objective standard
there are two types of social comparison
what is upward social comparisons
it is when an individual compares themselves with someone who is better. this can make us feel worse or inspire us
what is downward social comparisons
it is when an individual compares themselves to someone worse, making us feel better. after a tragic event we tend to afflict ourselves with someone in the same situation but we are adjusting well and compare ourselves to someone worse
what is past-self comparisons
we tend to subjectively distance past personal failure and to perceive past successes as subjectively closer in time
we do this to protect ourselves from negative implications of past failures
this allows us to capitalize on past successes
there was an experiment about remembering your best and worst grade
what is terror management theory
It originates from psychodynamics and existentialism
we have two observations which are that we are aware of our own mortality and we have a basic drive to stay alive. it is an existential conflict
what are the different types of immortality
various form of immortality are found in all cultures and suggest a human desire to minimize the terror of death
we have literal immortality which is afterlife like heaven
we have symbolic immortality which are biosocial immorality, creative immortality, natural immortality, experiential immortality
what are the defense we have against death
we have our cultural worldview defense and self-esteem
what is cultural worldview
it is human constructed, shared symbolic conceptions of reality that imbue life with meaning, order, and permanence
it is an antidote to death awareness
what does our cultural worldviews consist of
- a theory of reality
- institutions, symbols, rituals that support worldview
- standard of value
- the promise of actual or symbolic immortality
what is the basis of self-worth
it is living up to cultural value standards provides a sense of self-esteem
what is just world belief
it is the idea that good things will happen to the worthy and bad things will happen to the unworthy
what strengths our confidence in the correctness of our beliefs and values
the terror management theory strengths our confidence in the absolute correctness of our belief and values
social consensus ad validation implies correction
what plays a role in prejudice and intergroup conflict
doubt about a personal worldview after learning about another culture can play a role. as the existence of conflicting cultures can be profoundly threatening, the prejudice comes from trying to psychologically or physically removing the threat
what is the mortality salience hypothesis
- cultural worldview protects against death
- death reminders should cause people to strengthen their worldview or strengthen their self-esteem
the study that correspond with the concept of mortality reminder is when judges are reminders of mortality salience, the sentence are harsher
what are our psychological defense
- Terror management theory
- self-affirmation theory (SAT)
- Belonging
- Compensatory control
- meaning
what is self-affirmation theory
this is how an individual adapts to information or experiences that are threatening to their self-concept as a good and a moral person
the self-esteem threat was based on the personality feedback study modeled on the barnum effect. Based on this effect a positive personality would be characterized by clear thinking, able, resourceful and a negative personality would be characterized by a passive, narrow-minded, lack of insight
what does self-affirmation protect against
- stereotypes threat. the study that corresponds with this concept is examining if stereotype threat impairs women’s math performance and the result was stereotype threat impairs performance
- mortality salience threat
what does belonging entails
since we are social creatures,feeling belonging is very important. a sociometer measures self-esteem, as self-esteem serves a barometer of belonging. Our self-esteem serves as a barometer of belonging as it tracks acceptance . A high degree of inclusion matters for our self-esteem. The sociometer theory (Leary 1995) propose self-esteem is a sociometer of interpersonal relationship, he used the exclusion test
what is compensatory control
having a sense of control is important for humans. if control is taken away, people tend to look to get it back in themselves and in the world, this overlap with Terror management theory defense
in response to threat, we tend to turn to God and government for control
Based on the research by Kay et al, people who are not in favour of god, endorse god as the controller. Based on the illusion of control test, people who lacked control were more likely to perceive a variety of illusory patterns. people in need of control found it in illusory pattern perception
what does meaning entails
The meaning maintenance model proposes people have a basic need for meaning. meaning means connection between mental representation while threat is a meaning disruption and defense is a meaning affirmation. this explains TMT, self-esteem threat, belonging. Meaning disruption can occur when a doll has an uncanny appearance. uncanny valley is a term used to describe the relationship between the human life appearance of robotic object and the emotional response. In the transmogrifying experimenter, only 5% noticed the implicit expectation violation
what are the different types of motivational conflict
- approach-avoidance conflict (+,-)
- approach-approach (+,+)
- avoidance-avoidance (-,-)
what is approach-avoidance conflict
(+,-)
it is a psychological conflict that arises when a goal is both desirable and undesirable
ex: approaching a potential romantic interest then stopping suddenly due to anxiety
what is approach-approach
(-,-)
it is the intrapersonal conflict when a decision is to be made from two appealing choices
ex: two fun event that are on the same day
what is avoidance-avoidance
(-,-)
it is when a person has difficulty choosing between two unfavourable option
ex: choosing between surgery or radiation treatment for cancer
what is the third system
the third system deals with conflict which is a behavioral inhibition system. it is a risk assessment to conflict the right inferior frontal cortex is important in behavioral inhibition). The output will be anxiety, stop ongoing behavior, heightened attention to environment
what can be done to solve a conflict
- assessment reveals dangers is not a problem or too much of a problem
- resume approach or withdrawn
- easier in clear situation
what is displacement behavior
displacement behavior is done to displace anxious emotion
ex: animals in zoo, anxious dogs, rat running in wheels, people becoming unrealistic positive
can approach motivation be a cure to conflict
yes
what else can people look to
people can look to god, the government, celebrity, consumerism and more
why does people look to ideals for reliefs
- portable since it is always accessible because ideals ride in your head
- conflict free since it is a sanctuary
- pre-emptive resolution because future threats are no longer a threat
what are the three ways we make sense of the world
- we rely on imperfect memory
- we make causal attributions
- impression
what is the short term memory
it is information and input that is currently activated and maintained. It cannot be manipulated. also rehearsal maintain information
what is working memory
it is a type of short term memory that manipulate and pay attention to activated information
what is long-term memory
it is information from past experiences that may or may not be currently activated
what part of the brain is associated with the short term and working memory
the prefrontal cortex (PFC)
what part of the brain is associated with the long-term memory
the hippocampus
what is the process of memory
sensory information -> short-term memory -> consolidation <- rehearsal -> long term memory
who is henry molaison
he cut out the hippocampus, the individual was unable to form new memories . repetition maintained information, it was lost after stopping the repetition maintained. they could learn new skills through practice
How do we remember
since memory is a reconstructive process. information retrieval is influenced by biases, schemas, motives and goal
it is easier to remember schema consistent information. information that is not consistent with schemas are processed more thoroughly
what is mood-congruent memory
people are more likely to remember positive information when in a positive mood and negative information when in a negative mood
what is the misinformation effect
the process by which cues that are given after an event can plant false information into memory
this concept was illustrated by Loftus on how the phrasing of a question can lead someone to remember seeing something that actually was there
ex: when a detective was asking avilia about an accident when word like hit they remember there was no broken glass and when the detective used smashed they remember there was broken glass
what is the availability heuristics
judging the frequency of an event based on the ease with which it is brought to mind
This ensures we make fast assessment, it is meant to be a mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples
the study that relates to these concepts is the Tversky and Kahneman as they were quickly able to bring into remembrance with words starting with R than words with R in the middle causing them to think there was more word starting with R
what is the ease of retrieval effect
judge how frequently an event occurs on the basis of how easily they can retrieve a certain number of instances of that event
In the Schwean studies, participants were asked to give 6 and 12 examples of how assertive or unassertive they are. Since it is easier to provide 6 examples, they believe they are more assertive. Rather, providing 12 examples is much harder making people believe they are less assertive
what is attribution theories
describes how people explain the cause of their own and other’s behavior. we make causal attributions about many aspects of our own lives and others. it is often automatic and rapid
what are the two primary sources of causal schema
- personal experiences
- general cultural knowledge
what happens when a event doesn’t fit a causal schema
we rely on what is salient or highly accessible
top of the head phenomenon
what are the two types of attribution
- internal attribution (disposition)
- external attribution (situation)
what is internal attribution
AKA disposition
it is when a person’s behavior was caused by something internal such as their attitude, character or personality
what is external attribution
AKA situation
a person’s behavior is caused by external factors which are situational. it is assumed that people in similar situation will behave similarly
what is stability of cause
stable: when an individual behavior is caused by the same thing
unstable: when an individual behavior is not reliably caused by the same thing
why is the attribution theory important
it is important because they determine our behavior
why do we make internal and external attribution
- people try to infer from an action whether the act itself corresponds to an enduring personal characteristics of the actor
what are the three basic factors people make inference
- A person’s degree of choice: people make assumptions when their behavior is by choice rather than being coerced
- expectedness of behavior: we make inference about a person when their behavior deviates from the norm
- intended effect of someone’s behavior: we make inferences about someone’s motives when their behavior produces fewer desirable effects
how do we weigh the cause of behavior
since it is difficult to know what to conclude about someone behaving in a role but easy with someone who acts ‘out of role’
what is fundamental attribution error (FAE)
AKA correspondence bias
we tend to overestimate the role of internal attribution and underestimate the role of external attribution
This was shown in the Jones and Harris study where they told participant the debtor had no choice in their stand. The result was people would attribute freely chosen behavior to disposition and chance directed behavior to situation
people would attribute apparently freely-chosen behaviors to disposition (personality) and apparently chance-directed behaviors to a situation.
what is the cause of fundamental attribution error
- we want to settle on disposition because it provides a sense of control
- we misunderstand a situation because we don’t understand the constraints of a situation or the ability for a situation to change a behavior
- we misperceive behavior because it is difficult to get a good estimate of behavior
- we fail to use information because disposition is the automatic attribution after we consider situational attribution
what is the three stage model of attribution
Identification of a behavior → automatic disposition inferences → effortful situational attribution correction
In a study by gilbert, pelham and krull they had cognitively busy and not busy participant, the busy participant fails to correct their characterization because they are too busy to use information situation context, it is not because they fail to notice, gather, or recall that information
what is observer attribution
it is the perceptions of others behavior
we tend to other people’s behavior to internal reasons and assume their behavior caused by their disposition
what is actor attribution
it is the perceptions of our own behavior
we tend to attribute our own behavior to eternal reason and assume that our behavior is caused by the situation
what is the cause of actor/observer attribution differences
- we want to see ourselves as flexible we change according to the demands of the situation because we use our estimate in a self-serving way as we associate our success to ourselves and give a excuse for our failure
- we understand the situation better because we realize the situation constrains our own behavior we know our behavior in different situations and are not due only to our disposition. This is the role of perceptual salience
- we fail to use information because the situation is the first automatic attribution and then only after do we consider disposition
what is the kelley covariation theory
people make attribution by considering potential cause that co-occur with the behavior
what is the three useful types of covariation information
- consensus: generalization across persons
- distinctiveness: how unique the behavior is to the particular situation
- consistency: describes whether a person acts in a similar way in a specific situation even if it occurs multiple times.
when is situational attribution more likely
when it is high on all three dimensions (consensus, distinctiveness, consistency)
when is dispositional attribution
when it is high on consistency but low on consensus and distinctiveness
what is the discounting principle
we should assign reduced weight to a particular cause of behavior if there are other plausible cause that might have produced it
ex: if a mom is yelling at her child, other might think she is a bad mother however if other are aware that the child ran out the street than other might be more understanding
what is augmenting principles
when a factor might encourage a behavior and a factor that might inhibit the behavior is present, we will assign more weight to the encouraging factor
If mom started yelling at little Jane with a police officer standing there, you might conclude that the mom really has a bad temper because the cop should be an inhibiting factor.
what does the attribution theory suggest
It suggests we are not accurate because of the following biases
-fundamental attribution error
-> actor/observer
-> defensive (self-serving) attribution
what does impression formation research suggest
it suggest we can be surprisingly accurate in our assessment of personalities from thin slices of information
what is bottom-up factors in relation to the impression formation dual process model
we watch their actions, gestures, facial expression and we listen to them
what is top-down factors in relation to the impression formation dual process model
we use our schemas, in others words we use our prior knowledge/expectation
what influences our impression of others
our impression of others are influenced by both bottom-up and top-down factors
what are the two ways human form impression of others
- impression from bottom up
- impression from top down
what is impression from bottom up
gathering individual observation of a person in order to form an overall impression
-> negativity bias
-> thin slices
-> theory of mind
what is negativity bias
evolutionary advantage to weighting negative behavior more strongly. in other words it is the tendency to pay more attention to negative information than positive information
what is thin slices
this is impression formation based on QUICK PEEKS at behavior or physical attributes
ex: from face, 30 sec video, personal space, website/social media
this is surprisingly accurate based on the ambady & rosenthal study
what is physiognomy
it is an old idea that body/face reflects personal characteristics
it is pseudoscience
what is theory of mind
it is a set of ideas about other people’s thought, desire, feelings and intention given what we know about them and the situation they are in
ex: Understanding someone’s feelings by their facial expressions.
Realizing that someone might have a different opinion based on their background
Based on face expert, we can read other’s mental state based on very little information
what is the mind in the eyes
it reveals a mental ability of using minutes facial cues to read another’s cognitive/emotional mental states
this is useful for quickly sizing up others (friends, information on environmental and social situations, romantic interest)
this ability predict emotional intelligence and belief in god
what part of the brain contributes to the impression of other in relation to the theory of mind
DMPFC
what part of the brain is related to the social brain
- DMPFC
- right temporal parietal junction
- precuneus/posterior cingulate
- anterior temporal pole
-inferior frontal gyrus - posterior superior temporal sulcus
what part of the brain is related to being self-referential
- MPFC
- PCC
what is mirror neurons
certain neurons that are activated both when one performs an actions oneself and the other observe the action. It is activated by intention, not just the action and encode the another person’s goals. This is useful for social judgement and impression
mirror neurons activity correlates with emotional empathy scales
what is ToM simulation theory
- ToM arises from mental rehearsal of behavior and states
- mirror neurons support this
- so does overlap between self-related and ToM-related brain regions
what is the impression from top down
it is using preconceived ideas and schemas as part of the basic for impression formation
-> transference
-> false consensus
-> implicit personality theories
what is transference
forming impressions of a feeling for an unfamiliar person using schemas of a familiar person
The freudian idea, he noticed how patients begin to treat him like someone else in their life
we apply positive or negative attributes to unfamiliar people from similar others
what is false consensus
it is a projecting attitude and opinion of self
this is another idea of Freudian
This works because we assume other people are like ourselves
what factors contributes to false consensus
- salience and accessibility (prominent schema)
- self-serving biases ( consensus supports a positive view of self
- close others are actually similar (we are attracted to similarity, friends are actually more genetically similar than stranger)
what is implicit personality theories
tries to explain how people form first impressions about others
The halo effect is the social perceivers tend to bias their assessments of an individual’s traits based on their overall impression of that individual ex of halo effect would assign positive qualities to an attractive person
what processing is used for stereotypes
the top-down processing. since it is quick due to the mental shortcut. it is based on schemas and the halo effect
when are we more likely to use bottom-up processing
we are more likely to use bottom-up processing and less reliance on stereotyping when we
- are highly motivated to get to know someone
- need to work with someone
- feel similar to someone
what are the method to measure top-down influences
- mouse tracking
- eye tracking
what is the eye gaze
There is greater attention to the eyes when there is a perceived similarity. As a greater focus on the eyes may indicate our willingness to know others and see them as individuals
what is the difference between ingroup and outgroup faces
The differences between ingroups and outgroups were drawn around the eyes. in the study, ingroup faces are given more positive qualities (trustworthy)
how does cultural influences person perception
-American culture tends to reinforce dominant behavior
-Japanese culture tends to reinforce subordinate behavior
The fMRI study showed the differences in posture outlines between japanese and american participants
what is counterfactual thinking
Our attributions and thoughts are also influenced by what might have, could have, or should have happened ‘if only’ minor details were different. Appears to influence the amount of responsibility people place on others as well as how much they kick themselves for their decisions.
ex:If I started studying three days ago, instead of last night, I could have done better on my test
what is social influences
social influences refers to the effect of other people on an individual’s beliefs, attitude, values or behavior
what are the types of social influences
- social learning
- conformity
- compliance
- obedience
what is social learning
it is the capacity to learn from observing others. we can either be encouraged or discouraged from engaging in both new or know behavior
who is albert bandura
he looked at observational learning, he looked into how bagged emotion can overfill and come over in the wrong way. He wants to know how people learn without a direct outcome. modeling means observed S-R can be learned through observation. modeling of good and bad behavior can be learned, if there is a social acceptance of a behavior, the behavior will be encouraged and otherwise
what is the bandura’s bobo doll
this study is the opposite of catharsis. this concept believes people learn behavior by first enacting them
ex: media and learning people tend to recreate the behavior they learn from the media whether it is movie, video games and more
what is conformity
it is altering behavior or belief to bring them in accordance with others
what are the two different influences leading to conformity
- informational influences
- normative influences
what is informational influences
influences producing conformity when a person believes others are correct in their judgment. when there is lack of information available so they look to other people to correct their judgment
what is normative influences
influences that produce conformity when a person wants to fit in or fears the negative consequences of appearing deviant
what is private conformity
change in beliefs when a person truly accepts the position taken by others
what are the two different types of conformity
- private conformity
- public conformity
what is public conformity
superficial change in behavior produced by real or imagined group pressure without change in opinion
what is the sherif’s conformity research
he conducted studies examining how groups influence behavior by shaping how reality is perceived. They asked people how much the dot move in the screen, they had a group complete a tasks then sit with others and make the same estimates
when do we conform to informational social influence
- when the situation is ambiguous
- when there is a crisis
- when others are expert
what is normative social influences
Conforming in order to be liked and accepted or to fulfil others’ expectations. This type of conformity results in public compliance (but not private acceptance) of the group’s beliefs and behaviours.
Conformity when we use others to know how to fit in.
the study relating to this concept is the social pressure study (asch 1951) when people conform to the group to say the obvious wrong answer even if they know the answer is wrong
what factors affecting conformity
- group size: larger group exert more influence
- group unanimity: any dissenter can reduce conformity
- culture: people in collectivist societies tend to conform more than those in individualistic societies
- gender: a weak factor but often in public conformity. as women tend to conform more in stereotypically male domains and men conform more in stereotypically female domains
- individual differences: people with a strong sense of self as reflected in high self-esteem, motivation to achieve, leadership ability and minimal concern conform less
- age: conformity is higher among teenagers, it tends to slightly decrease with age among adults 18-25
what is compliance
it is change in behavior elicited by direct requests from others
we have different techniques such as the foot in the door, free gift, door in the face, liking, scarcity, that’s not all, low balling
what is the foot in the door technique
compliance techniques in which one makes an initial small request followed by a larger request. ex: asking to sign a petition and then request donation
This works because when they comply with a small request they feel helpful and are motivated to maintain self-image. Also they believe refusing the larger request will create public inconsistency
what is the free gift technique
It is giving a small gift to increase the likelihood of complying with the subquest request. These techniques also work because of the norm of reciprocity in which the norms dictate people that people should provide benefit to those who benefit them. These tend to work because people are in a good mood after giving the gift so they compliance
what is the door in the face techniques
compliance techniques in which one makes an initial large request an the other will request then followed by an modest request. This technique works because the pressure to respond to change in position of the requester. the second request may be seen as a concession. this techniques work best when:
- first request is larger but not enough to be considered illegitimate
- requests made close to each other in time
- requests made by same person
what is the liking techniques
compliance techniques in which one is likely to compliance to request to those who are likelable,similar or attractive
what is the scarcity techniques
strategy in which appeal of an items increased by making it appear rare or temporary
what is the That’s not all techniques
strategy in which something is added as a bonus or reduced as a discount from the original form
what is the low balling techniques
strategy in which the person secures agreement with a request but then increases the size of the request by revealing hidden costs.
This technique is effective when
- once people make a commitment to something, they focus on its positive aspect and choice more favorably
- people feel obligated to follow a course of action if they make a public commitment
what is obedience
behavior change produced by the commands of authority
in many ways, social order depends on respect to authority
The study represented to obedience is the milgram study
explanation for why we obey according to the milgram obedience study
- we are socialized to obey
- increased in small increment (foot in the door techniques) self-justification
- hard to say no to authority figures; hard to face and challenge situational norms
- on automatic pilot to”obey the experimenter” we may adhere to norms in a mindless way. fast-pace doesn’t allow for much thought
- it is a bad situation, we are not evil people
what are the cross-cultural differences in obediences
there are evidence of even higher rates of obediences in most countries compared to the US
what is attitudes
attitudes are evaluation of a target expressed with some level of intensity
attitudes represented by how we evaluate a person, a group, an object, an issue or an ideology
Attitudes vary in strength along positive and negative dimensions leading to attitudes that are positive, negative, ambivalent, or indifferent.
what is behavior attitudes
- cognitive dissonance : brings out attitudes in line with our behaviour
- self-presentation: infer our attitude based on observing our own behaviour
- intuitive assumptions: that attitudes or how we evaluate an object will influence how we behave towards it
what is intuitive assumption
attitudes or how we evaluate an object will influence how we behave towards it
this was seen in the La pierre study is La Piere traveled around US with Chinese-American couple visiting 251 establishments and only denied service at one.
However, Lapiere found that 90% of these services in later survey indicated refusal to serve Chinese-Americans.
LaPiere contraindicated that attitudes don’t predict behavior
does attitudes predict behavior
it is suggested that attitudes weakly predict behavior
what factors impact the relation between attitudes and behavior
- attitudes sometimes conflict with other determinants of behavior
- attitudes based on direct experiences more strongly predict behavior than those based on second hand experiences
- attitudes less predictive when assessing general attitude and behavior toward specific target
this was seen in the birth control study, the result was that women attitudes predict the likeliness to use the pill
what factors affect how well attitudes predict behavior
- matching attitude to behavior
specific attitudes predict specific behavior
general attitudes predict general classes of behavior - self-presentational concerns
- measuring implicit attitude spontaneous behavior prediction) and explicit attitudes (deliberate and reasoned behavior prediction)
- attitude accessibility
- attitude strength
what is attitude accessibility
Accessible attitudes predict behavior, but attitudes are not always accessible
-self awareness
- priming as a reminder of attitudes brings behavior in line
what is the theory of planned behavior
Planned behaviour best explained by combined influence of
- attitudes: attitudes toward specific behavior more important than general attitudes
- subjective norms: beliefs about how people around them view their behavior
- perceived behavioural control: ease with which people think they can engage in particular behavior
These three factors combine to influence behavioral intentions which in turn influence behavior
(attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavior control) -> intention -> behavior
what is the problem with the theory of planned behavior
- It is very rational and deliberative.
-Intentions are not great predictors of behavior.
-Behaviors are sometimes spontaneous and unintentional. For example, habits are very non deliberative actions and intentions do not predict habits.
-It does not take into account implicit attitudes and how behavior can be influenced by implicit associations that may be different from explicit attitudes.
is attitudes a strong predictor of behavior
yes, attitudes are a strong predictor of behavior
explicit is a better predictor low presentation domain (The sentence means that being explicit or clear is more effective at predicting outcomes in areas where people are less focused on presenting themselves in a favorable light.)
what is persuasion
A shift in attitude or behavior as the result of the influence of appeals by other people or other sources.
how does commercial persuade an individual
by creating a positive, favourable attitude toward the product in the consumer
-if attitude is created, it leads to behavior (purchasing the product
what is salience
Salice describes how prominent and emotional striking something is
- repetition
- complexity -> less likely in the beginning but more over time, longer lasting ex: might not like novel art but then start to love it
- simpler -> more liking quicker -> but less likely in future ex: liking a catchy song on the radio -> then hating them over time
what is positive association
it is not just an evaluation of the product, but a cognitive link between product and positive event
Janis, 1965 Pepsi & peanuts
Had subjects sit down and view several persuasive messages (speeches)
Allowing subjects to have pepsi & peanuts while watching the appeals (vs. not) increased the general appeal of each of the messages because subjects were in a better mood
what are the two routes to persuasion
elaboration likelihood model (dual process model)
1. central or systemic route: Process by which people think carefully about the content of a message and are influenced by the strength and quality of the argument.
2. peripheral or heuristic routes: Process by which people are influenced by superficial cues in a message such as the length of the message, the attractiveness of the communicator, or the theatricality of the message
what routes is it if they are able to process and are motivated
central
ability to process: yes
motivated: yes
Ability to process: no
motivated: yes
peripheral
ability to process: yes
motivated: no
peripheral
ability to process: no
motivated: no
peripheral
what is central routes influenced by
- Personal relevance of the message – i.e. whether it bears on our goals, concerns, and well-being.
Knowledge about the issue – i.e. the more we know, the more we scrutinize thoughtfully.
Whether the message makes us feel responsible for some action – i.e. we use it more when we have to explain it to others.
SUM: Increased motivation and ability
what is the peripheral route triggered by
- Factors that reduce our motivation.
- Factors that interfere with our ability to attend to the message (e.g. multitasking or cognitive load).
what three components are involved in persuasive communication
- message
- source
- audience
what is a message
it is informational strategies
When people use a central route, the more information the better as long as the information is factual and not comprising weaker arguments.
When people use a peripheral route, the longer the message, the better.
the message tone matters, as in order to be persuasive, better to take a less extreme position and convey moderate amounts of discrepancy (upside down U).
Extreme arguments may be counterproductive because people spend more time scrutinising points of contention and judge them as weak.
the strength of the message and repetition matters as strong messages are persuasive. also the frequency of exposures to the message can lead to attitude change
fear appeals can be quite helpful and effective when it includes strong but not extreme message and offers advice on how to cope with danger however fear appeal doesn’t always work because
-People perceive danger, but feel capable of acting against it.
-People believe in a just world and think bad things happen only to those who deserve it.
-People assess the severity of the situation and the probability of something bad
emotion appeal and objective statistics
-Personal narratives and vivid images are more effective than abstract statistics.
ex: E.g., story of ‘welfare queen’ more likely to change attitudes toward welfare than those given objective statistics or those who heard story and given statistics
primary effects: information presented first has the most influence. immediate decision
recency effect: information presented last has the most. delayed decision
why does the source of the message matter
the credibility of the source matter as it refers to the combination of expertise and trustworthiness
the attractiveness and similarity of the messengers to themselves. the attractiveness especially effective when people are not motivated or not knowledgeable
what is the sleeper effect
a delayed increase in the persuasive impact of non credible source
the study that looked at this was Read an essay by Oppenheimer or a propaganda newspaper -> shared attitudes -> over time, people dissociate the source of the message and the message itself
Immediately -> trusted Oppenheimer more
4 weeks later -> people trusted propaganda more too
Sleeper effect emerges specifically when people only learn the source after processing the info (read the essay first and then get told of the author)
It appears that over time, people dissociate the source of the message and the message itself.
However, sleeper effect emerges specifically when people only learn of the source after processing the information.
what are the role of the audience in persuasion
-various characteristics about the receiver influence persuasion
- need for cognition as people most in need for cognition are more persuaded by high quality argument but less influenced by peripheral cues
- mood as people are most persuaded when they are in a good mood
-age as younger people tend to be more susceptible to persuasion than older adult
what is the media effect on persuasion
the media effects are weak. there is a weak correlation between these media method and persuasion
- consumer advertising
- political advertising
- public service announcement
what is the third person effect
it is the assumption that other people are more prone to being influenced by persuasive messages than we are
what does media shape
It shapes what we think is important. what the media emphasizes become the things we are persuaded by and find important
it shape general attitude, which then shape general behavior
what are the resistance factors to persuasion
- attentional biases: people are inclined to selectively attend to information that confirms their original attitudes
-people also selectively evaluate information that agree vs disagree with - inoculation: exposure to weak versions of a persuasive message increases later resistance to that agreement. because we can build up resistance to persuasion
-previous commitment: when people make public commitments to their attitudes they are more resistant to subsequent counterattitudinal messages - reactance: people react to threat to their freedom or sense of self by asserting themselves and perceiving the freedom as even more
what is a philosopher king
- thought a philosopher king was needed
- most people are trapped in the matrix, so we need a navigator to guide us. A navigator is someone who is interested in the truth
- karl popper blamed this for 20th century totalitarian leaders like hitler and stalin
what is the wisdom of the crowds
- individuals are biased, limited , corporeal so we can’t depend on an individual
- however if we put the individuals together, the biases will cancel out
- the group can collectively ascertain truth, this concept can be associated with democracy, wikipedia, and more
what is group
3 or more people who interact and influence each other. groups can vary in sizes, tightness, longevity
what are the benefit of a group
Groups can be beneficial to individuals because they allow us to feel belonged, advantages for protection, food acquisition, mating, child resting. Also Groups provide an individual with a sense of self and identity,
what are the characteristics of group
- social norms: what are the acceptable norms and behavior in the group. There are strong penalties for deviance in the threat, excision, hatred
- social roles: groups create expectations on how a certain individual should behavior. However this can be dangerous because people lose their sense of individuality
- group cohesiveness: qualities of a group that bind members to others. group cohesiveness leads to better performance if close cooperation is required but backfires when people focus on maintaining close relations rather than finding the best answer. This is strong evidence that performance influences group cohesiveness ( people will want to stick with groups that are working)
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what is social facilitation
it is the process that occurs in the presence of others influencing our performance
Normal Triplette was interested in this question and found evidence for the presence of other enhanced performance of an individual. This also works in animals
There are times when social facilitation doesn’t work and the presence of others inhibited performance.
Zajonc offered a solution: presence of others from own species creates arousal. The increased arousal increase tendency for dominant response. For easy or well-learned tasks, the dominant response is the correct response for difficult or novel tasks the dominant response is an incorrect response
Zajonc tested this theory and the experiment match his prediction that in the presence of others for simple tasks we are better and performanced worse in the complex tasks
what are the alternatives to social facilitation
- evaluation apprehension theory: the presence of others will produce a social facilitation effect because we are concerned how we appear in the eyes of others
- distraction conflict theory: the presence of others is distracting and creates attentional conflict. However mere presence was found to be sufficient in other works
- All these theories may be all accurate but in different context
what is social loafing
it is the tendency for people to relax in the presence of others when their individual performance cannot be evaluated
Ringelmann was interested in individual performance in presence other, he found that people produce less effort in presences of others
In this studies showing social loafing, the result was the cheering was getting smaller as the group was getting bigger
Sometimes social loafing intentional and other times is unintentional
what influences social loafing
- the sizes of the group
- perceived anonymity
- importance of group
- values of individual effort
- negative consequences to group
what is deindividuation
it is the process of an individual feeling anonymous in large group. there are less constraints on behavior when people can’t be identified and there is a loss if an individual identity
Le bon and trade proposed that in groups, individual mind give way to less reflective group mind as there are two different types of mind
The results of the study were children were more likely to take lots of candy when they feel anonymous in the group
what is the result of deindividuation
- deindividuation may lead to antisocial acts because they feel less accountable for their action
- deindividuation may lead to antisocial tendencies because it shifts attentional cues from the self to the situation thereby
- deindividuation may lead to greater reliance on social norms who could lead to prosocial or antisocial behavior
is the brutality of wars be related to deindividuation
yes. deindividuation is strongly correlated with aggressiveness in war. on the internet, people tend to be extremely rude and harsh due to deindivation
what does group versus individual performance depend on
- additive tasks: activities in which the group output reflects the total of all individual members’ contribution
ex: idea generation, manual tasks
the group tend to be more productive than single individuals, However, the efficiency of a group’s output may not necessarily be equivalent to the sum of what each individual could achieve separately. - conjunctive task: activities in which the performance of the group depends on the least talented member as all the group needs to contribute to the end product of the project
ex: challenge physical tasks, study groups. groups usually perform worse than individuals on such tasks - disjunctive tasks: activities in which the performance of the group depend on the most talented member
ex: tasks involve single correct answers or certain decisions
the group usually performs better than individuals on such tasks
what are two problems faced in group dynamics
- groups think
- group polarization
what is groupthink
A group decision-making style characterized by excessive pressure among group members for consensus leading to inadequate appraisal of options and poor decisions
Suspected to play a role in several real world events such as the bay of pigs, pearl harbor, swissair collapse, umpires in MLB
how does groupthink occur in group
- are cohesive and desirable – want to be liked by others in groups and keep groups together
- are relatively isolated from dissenting viewpoints
- have a directive leader who signals a favoured decision
-try to reach consensus
-high stress
what are the symptoms of groupthink
-Illusion of invulnerability
-Rationale
-Unquestioned belief in group’s morality
-Stereotyped view of opponent
-Conformity pressure
-Self-censorship
-Illusion of unanimity
-Mindguards
Members who protect the group from information that calls into question the quality or morality of their decision.
what are the consequences of groupthink
Groupthink results in defective decision-making procedures
- A poor information search
- An incomplete survey of alternative perspectives
- A failure to examine risks of the favoured alternative
- A failure to develop contingency plans
what can be done to prevent groupthink
- Leaders should be non-directive as they should not expressed their own opinion until after others have expressed own views
- A norm of openness should be established.
-People from outside of the group should be included in the decision-making process. - Seek anonymous opinions from group members.
wisdom of the crowd vs groupthink
humans tend to conform, leading to “groupthink,” which defeats the purpose of the diversity needed in wisdom of crowds.
how does groupthink relate to the bay of pigs invasion
Many officials, according to their notes, expressed concerns about many aspects of the plan, as the group came to consensus, no one wanted to be sole dissenter
what is group polarization
Group produced enhancement of groups’ pre-existing tendencies
Risky Shift: Group decisions are riskier than individual decisions (Stoner, 1961)
Cautious Shift: Group decisions are more cautious than individual decisions
Strengthening of the members’ average tendency.
in other words, it occurs when a group of like-minded people reinforce each other’s opinions, positive or negative, and these opinions become more extreme as they’re discussed.
why do we polarize after a group discussion
- persuasive argument as the Groups generate more arguments that support the position endorsed by the majority of the group. The group persuades itself.
Active participation leads to rehearsal and validation
- social comparison as Individuals spontaneously compare themselves to others and if they find a difference they move toward the group’s view. Discover the group norm and then take a view that exceeds this norm
What are social dilemmas
Situations in which a self-interested choice by most people will lead to harmful effects for everyone
ME vs WE
One example of a social dilemma would be the prisoner’s dilemma. In this example, two parties will receive a benefit if they cooperate. However, if one acts selfishly and the other does not, the selfish person benefits extensively while the person who sought cooperation suffers.
Another social dilemma is illustrated by the common dilemma.
If people take as much as they want of a limited resource, nothing will be left for anyone.
This is evident in concerns about deforestation, pollution, over consumption of resources by richer nations, etc.
Related social dilemma seen with the public good dilemma.
Individuals expected to contribute to common pool (e.g. taxes, donating blood, etc) but if no one gives, services cannot be provided.
what is approach as palliative
-Approach ‘Tunnel Vision’
-Sensitive to positive outcomes/stimuli
- Less sensitive to negative outcomes/stimuli
- Promotes unconflicted action/relieves anxious state
goal conflict -> anxiety -> focus on goals
what is risk-taking as approach
Often reward focused
insensitive to negative outcomes
Related to approach phenomena
(Lerner & Kelt)
Risk-taking reflects approach-related anxiety-regulation?
what are the neural mechanisms in decision making
Ventromedial PFC: positive evaluation, reward, risk-taking
Anterior Insula: negative evaluation, punishment, risk-aversion
what makes group get risker
- Polarization
- individual shifts towards risk in decision-making during wide-scale, anxiety inducing event
