psych final Flashcards
what is social psychology
involves the use of scientific methods to explore the ways in which a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, implied, or imagined presence of others
what is social cognition
make it possible for anyone to engage in stereotyping, hold prejudice, and discriminate against others (controlled, or central route; automatic, or peripheral route)
what are stereotypes
schemas; set of beliefs that are commonly known but not necessarily endorsed; content is linked together; facilitates info processing; activation of one node facilitates accessibility to other info within the schema; bias memory and interpretation of events
what did Alport and Postman find in their study showing participants cartoons of a black and white man on public transportation
a white man was holding a switchblade in the photo while he was talking with a black man; they showed one participant the photo and asked them to explain it to the next; the other participants had to explain the photo down the line of participants without seeing the photo; at the end, most people said the black man was holding the switchblade
what was the Devine study of 1989
he primed participants by showing them words in four quadrants; either 20% of the words shown to the participants were related to black people or 80% was; after the priming, they read a scenario about Donald (who refuses to pay rent until his landlord paints his apartment) and were asked to rank him on his hostility; the people who saw 80% black people words said Donald was hostile without even knowing his race
what was the Correll, Park, Judd and Wittenbrink study of 2002
the task was to virtually shoot the target when he had a gun; The targets were either black or white, or holding a weapon or not holding a weapon; they measured the errors; they found that the same amount of errors were made for white people either armed or unarmed, but black people without guns were shot at significantly higher rates; they did this study on college students, people in the community, and cops
what was found in the Gaertner and Dovido study of 1989/1999
participants were showed either a black or white candidate with either low/moderate/exceptional qualification and they measured how often these people would be recommended for hire; the candidates with strong qualification were recommended at equal rates as well as the candidates with weak qualification regardless of race; the candidates with moderate qualification mainly recommended whites for hire
what is prejudice
unjustified or incorrect attitude (usually negative) towards an individual based solely on the individual’s membership of a social group.
what is discrimination
the ability to perceive and respond to differences among stimuli
what is the self-fulfilling prophecy
when a person unknowingly causes a prediction to come true, due to the simple fact that he or she expects it to come true. In other words, an expectation about a subject, such as a person or event, can affect our behavior towards that subject, which causes the expectation to be realized.
what was Muzafer and Carolyn sheriffs study at Robber’s Cave in Oklahoma
22 well adjusted all white 5th graders; split into rattlers and eagles, ignorant of each others presence; had competitions (discrimination and prejudice); they wanted to reduce the discrimination and prejudice so they brought them together and preached about the importance of kindness; that didn’t work so they brought them together just to cooperate; water tank problem, bus broke down, and finding a movie to show; by the end they were all friends
what is the Jigsaw classroom
mixed groups of children in a classroom regardless of race; gave each individual different information on Eleanor Rosevelt; were told to write a report and since they all had unique information, they were forced to share and talk about it; kids became friends with kids of other races as a result
what is attribution
the extent to which you believe why people act the way they do
what is internal attribution
locate the cause of someones behavior as being internal to them
what is external attribution
locate the cause of someones behavior as being situational to that person
According to the covariation model of attribution, how do people decide to make an internal or an external attribution?
Ask yourself is it distinct (how does the target behave toward other stimuli) is it consistent (does the target usually behave this way toward other stimuli) and is it consensual (how do others behave toward this stimuli)
what is the problem with the covariation model of attribution
hyper logical, people don’t always think that way
what is the fundamental attribution error
the tendency to make internal attributions instead of external one; overestimate personal factors; automatic process; salience of the information available to you
what is the actor-observer affect
others behaviors are due to internal attributions but your own behaviors are due to external attributions
what is self-serving bias
internal or external attributions that are most flattering to you; internal if something good but external if something bad
what are the features of an individualist culture and how do they think
individualist cultures think in terms of the individual; western countries; so the fundamental attribution error is more common because they have more internal attributions
what are the characteristics of a collectivist culture
eastern countries; they see themselves as tied to others so they have more external attributions
what is an attitude
is an expression of favor or disfavor toward a person, place, thing, or event; guide social interactions; help predict social behavior; partially socially constructed; influence social perceptions and memories
what role do your parents play in formation of attitudes
genes and socialization
what is the mere exposure effect
the more you are exposed to something, the more likely you are to like it
Describe the Elaboration Likelihood Model to attitude change/persuasion.
there are two modes to thinking about messages; central route and peripheral route; which mode depends on ability and motivation
what is the central route to thinking
conscious, deliberate, effortful, to content of the argument
what is peripheral thinking
non conscious, minimal effort, peripheral cues hold more sway
what is the cognitive dissonance theory
we dislike cognitive inconsistency; inconsistent cognitions cause negative arousal; cognitions include attitudes and knowledge about behavior; we are motivated to reduce negative arousal; we realign our attitudes and behaviors by changing them
what was Festinger and Carlsmiths study on Cognitive Dissonance
Do boring tasks for one hour; tell the next participant it was fun; there was a control group, $1 group, and a $20 group; the control group didn’t and the $20 group were less likely to tell the next participant that the study was fun; the $1 group felt guilty that they told the next group it was fun because they were only being paid $1- dissonance
what is the foot in the door effect
process by which the consumer commits to small steps and then they are more likely to commit to the bigger step
what is lowballing
surprise hidden fees; you get cognition and you want to be consistent with those cognitions so you are more likely to pay the hidden fees
how do foot in the door and lowballing relate to dissonance
both effects are a process in which the consumer is getting comfortable with the way they are doing things so when a hidden fee or a big ugly sign to put in the yard approaches them, they want to be consistent so they pay it
what is self-perception theory
you observe your own behaviors and come to conclusions about yourself
how is self-perception theory an alternative to cognitive dissonance
they are both explanations for attitude change
what is social facilitation
the enhancement in performance that is sometimes found when an individual performs in the presence of others
what is social loafing
the tendency to put out less effort when working in a group compared to when working alone
what is deindividualation
the loss of individuality, or depersonalization, that comes from being in a group
what is group polarization
the tendency for a groups dominant point of view to become stronger and more extreme with time
what is groupthink
the tendency for members of a group to become so interested in seeking a consensus of opinion that they start to ignore and even suppress dissenting views
describe the Milgram study
he had someone give electric shocks to a person in another room whenever they answered a question wrong: he found that 65% of the participants went all the way to the final voltage and killed the person because of obedience in the presence of an authority figure
why do people obey
they are given orders
what factors increase the chances of people obeying
presence of an authority figure, fast-paced experiment, foot in the door, other participants obey
what factors decrease the chances of people obeying
lack of authority, ordinary man gives orders, victim was in the same room, subject worked with peer who refused to continue
What role might culture play in obedience?
whether you are part of a collectivist or individualist culture affect obedience; if you are part of a collectivist culture you are more likely to do what the group as a whole is doing
what did the incident about the south korean ferry say about obedience in collectivist cultures
collectivist cultures are too obedient because they are tied together as a group; they all drown because no one else was moving
what is conformity
tendency to shape our perceptions, opinions, and behaviors so that they match those around us
what is public conformity
conform to thoughts and behaviors to those around you but don’t accept it is the right thing (caving and peer pressure)
what is private conformity
conforming to other people because you see them doing something and you think it is a good idea (other people give you ideas)
what is the bystander affect
tendency for people to be less likely to help people when others are around or when you think others are around
what is pluralistic ignorance
if one person doesn’t respond as if the event is an emergency, then no one will
what is the diffusion of responsibility
when there are others around, you assume someone else is taking care of it
what is the diffusion of responsibility
when there are others around, you assume someone else is taking care of it
what is attraction
the process of finding someone desirable as a relationship partner
what is the effect of proximity on attraction
the more you see someone socially often, the more you are likely to be attracted to them (study of girls going to class, study of MIT dorm); mere exposure effect
what is the effect of similarity on attraction
you like people who are more similar to you
what is perceived similarity in attractiveness
When we find someone who is similar to us, they usually share our beliefs and validate them to further help us believe that our beliefs are right
what is the effect of reciprocal liking
if you hear that they like you, then you are more likely to like them
What role does physical attractiveness play in affecting whether you want to be friends/romantic partners with someone?
strongest predictor of romantic attraction; everyone likes pretty people; average looking people and symmetric people are attractive
what is attractive in women
health (clear skin and symmetry), signs of maturity, waist to hip ratio, youthful traits (large eyes, full lips, smaller chin and nose)
what makes men attractive
waist to shoulder ratio, strong jaw, broad forehead
What do psychologists mean when they say that “average” faces are considered more attractive?
we like prototypical faces; faces that are a good representation of the category “faces”
According to evolutionary theory, what features will men find attractive in a sexual partner?
men are attracted to women who will give them healthy offspring
According to evolutionary theory, what features will women find attractive in a sexual partner?
women are attracted to men who will provide resources as they generate and take care of the baby
what is passionate love
an intensive emotional state characterized by powerful longing to be with a specific person; passionate love is marked by a combination of intimacy and commitment, but commitment may be lacking
what is compassionate love
a kind of emotional attachment characterized by feelings of trust and companionship; compassionate love is marked by a combination of intimacy and commitment, but passion may be lacking.
