Social Flashcards
social psychology
the “scientific study of how individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people”
social perception
ways in which people try to make sense of themselves and others
self-perception theory (Bem, 1972)
when internal cues are weak or difficult to interpret, people make inferences about their own attitudes and feelings in the same way they make inferences about the attitudes and feelings of others;
people infer what they think or feel by observing their own behavior and the situation in which the behavior takes place
epinephrine studies (Schachter and Singer, 1962)
subjects were injected with epinephrine (adrenaline) and assigned to 1 of 3 groups:
1) informed group: told about the effects of the drug in advance;
2) misinformed group: given wrong information about the drug’s effects;
3) ignorant group: given no information about the drug’s effects;
subjects waited in room with confederate who acted either euphoric or angry;
misinformed and ignorant subjects adopted the affect of the confederate;
conclusion: subjects looked to the external environment to explain their own internal state when the situation was ambiguous
overjustification hypothesis
providing an external reward to people for performing an intrinsically rewarding activity reduces their intrinsic interest in that activity
Lepper, Greene, and Nisbett (1973)
3 groups of children who liked to draw with markers were told to use them:
1) receive reward for drawing with markers and subsequently given the reward
2) not told they would receive a reward but were given a reward
3) not told about or given the reward
during free play, children in group 1 showed less interest in markers than children in group 2 and 3
conclusion: children in the expected reward condition concluded that their interest in using the markers was motivated by the external reward rather than intrinsic interest
social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954)
people learn about themselves by comparing themselves to others, especially when objective information is not available;
people compare themselves to others who are similar in relevant ways
self-verification theory (Swann, Pelham, & Krull, 1989)
people seek confirmation of their self-concept regardless of whether their self-concept is positive or negative;
ppl interact with others who confirm their self-concept; pay attention to, recall, and believe information that is consistent with their self-concept
self-verification theory and depression
the tendency to verify negative self-views increases vulnerability to and perpetuation of depression (Joiner, 2000)
impression management
strategies that people use to manage or control the impressions that others have of them
types of impression management
self-promotion, self-monitoring, self-handicapping
self-Promotion
conveying positive information to others through one’s actions or statements (displaying awards or plaques for others to see or by telling people about one’s accomplishments)
self-monitoring (Snyder, 1987)
tendency to monitor and adjust one’s behavior to fit the situation;
ppl high are concerned about what other ppl think of them - good at determining what behaviors and opinions are socially desirable or expected in a situation and at concealing their true feelings and opinions;
ppl low are guided by their own beliefs, values, and feelings and, as a result, act similarly in different situations
self-handicapping
involves purposely sabotaging one’s performance to “save face” (provide an excuse for one’s failures);
student might put off studying for an important test so can attribute poor performance to a lack of preparation rather than a lack of ability
social judgments
judgments that people make about themselves and others
confirmation bias
tendency to seek, interpret, and remember information that verifies (and thereby strengthens) one’s existing beliefs
pseudopatient study (Rosenhan, 1973)
8 confederates admitted themselves to mental hospitals w/ complaint of hearing voices;
once admitted these “pseudopatients” acted normally;
patients knew they were lying but professionals didn’t
self-fulfilling prophecy effect
a person’s expectations about the behavior of others can lead to fulfillment of those expectations
Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968)
told elementary teachers that certain students (randomly selected) were on the verge of an intellectual growth spurt;
8 months later, found that only the “intellectual bloomers” had significant gains in IQ scores, apparently because their teachers had treated them differently
Barnum effect
tendency to accept vague descriptions of oneself (horoscopes and psychic readings) as accurate
false consensus bias
tendency to overestimate the degree to which others are similar to us in terms of their beliefs and behaviors
Ross, Greene, and House (1977)
asked participants if they would be willing to walk around campus wearing an advertising board;
after getting each participant’s answer, they was asked to estimate how many other students would make the same choice, and the majority of both groups (those who said either yes or no) predicted that other ppl would make the same decision they did
illusory correlation
tendency to overestimate the relationship between events or other variables that are unrelated or only slightly related;
attributed to the tendency to remember the times when events co-occurred but to forget the times when they did not co-occur
gambler’s fallacy
false belief that the likelihood of a random event is affected by or can be predicted from previous independent events
heuristics
mental shortcuts that people use to quickly form judgments or make decisions
representativeness heuristic
judging the likelihood of an event based on its resemblance to the typical case rather than on base rate information;
thinking that because one is wearing a suit and tie that they are a lawyer, b/c they look like the stereotype of a lawyer
availability heuristic
judging the likelihood of an event based on how easy it is to recall information about the event
Tversky and Kahneman (1973)
asked subjects if there are more words that begin with “r” or words that have “r” as the 3rd letter;
majority chose the former even though there are actually more words that have “r” as the third letter;
subjects made an incorrect choice b/c it was easier for them to recall words that begin with the letter “r”
simulation heuristic
judging the likelihood of an event based on how easy it is to mentally simulate (imagine) the event
Medvec, Madey, and Gilovich (1995)
Olympic athletes who had won silver were less happy about their win than athletes who won bronze b/c it was easier for silver medalists to imagine they could have won a gold medal
anchoring and adjustment heuristic
identifying an initial starting point (the anchor) and then making adjustments up and down from that point when estimating a frequency or other quantity;
accuracy or usefulness of this heuristic depends on the validity of the anchor
Epley and Gilovich (2002)
asked subjects to identify temp vodka freezes - most chose 32 degrees F (temp water freezes) as their anchor and adjusted downward because they knew that alcohol freezes at a lower temp than water;
the average temp identified was 1.75 degrees but actual temp is -20 degrees;
the subjects’ anchor was considerably above the actual temp and, as a result, their estimates were too high
causal attributions
specific type of social judgment that involves determining the cause of behavior
Attribution Dimensions
locus (internal or external), stability (stable or unstable), and scope (global or specific)
relationship-enhancing attributions
attribute a partner’s positive actions to internal, stable, and global factors (got me a great birthday gift b/c she’s considerate) but attribute a partner’s negative actions to external, unstable, and specific factors (yelled at me b/c of stress at work lately
relationship-diminishing attributions
attribute a partner’s positive actions to external, stable, and specific factors (got gifts only b/c kids reminded) but attribute a partner’s negative actions to internal, stable, and global factors (yelled at me b/c he’s an ornery person)
fundamental attribution error
underestimate the impact of situational (external) factors and overestimate the role of dispositional (internal) factors
Jones and Harris (1967) fundamental attribution error
read a speech presumably written by another student and either favored or opposed Fidel Castro;
some were told that the writer had freely chosen to take a position for the speech, while others were told the writer was assigned a position by the instructor;
after reading the speech, asked about the writer’s true attitude toward Castro;
majority attributed the content of the speech to the writer’s actual attitude, even when they knew the writer had no choice about which position to take
Actor-Observer Effect
ppl are likely to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional factors but often attribute their own behavior to situational factors
Saulnier and Perlman (1981)
asked prison inmates and their counselors to explain why inmates had committed their crimes;
prisoners cited transient situational factors (lost job and needed the money), counselors cited enduring personal characteristics (dishonest)
self-serving bias
people tend to attribute their failures to situational factors but their successes to dispositional factors;
some evidence that doesn’t apply to ppl who are depressed or have low self-esteem
impression formation
process of integrating information about a person to form an overall impression
central traits (Asch, 1946)
some traits have a greater impact than others on impression formation;
one group read a description of an individual that contained 7 traits including “cold” and another group read the same description except w/ “warm”;
perceived the “warm” person more positively than the “cold” person b/c “warm” and “cold” provide unique information about a person and are associated with many other characteristics
primacy effect (Asch, 1946; Lord, Ross, & Lepper, 1979)
information presented first usually has the greatest impact on impression formation, even when contradictory information is presented later;
one group read a list that described a person as being “intelligent, industrious, impulsive, critical, stubborn, and envious” and another group read the same list but in reverse order;
subjects who read the first list formed a more favorable impression of the person than those who read the second list
trait negativity bias
people often weigh negative information more heavily than positive information
affiliation
the desire to associate with others;
considered to be a fundamental motive or need
an innate tendency that helps people survive and reproduce (providing them with support in times of need)
Schachter (1959) anxiety & affiliation
1) student volunteers told they would receive either painful electric shock as part of the experiment (high-anxiety) or mild shock that would not be painful (low-anxiety);
asked whether they preferred to wait alone to begin or wait with another participant;
high-anxiety subjects were more likely than low-anxiety subjects to say they preferred to wait with another subject.
2) subsequent study: high-anxiety told they could wait with a subject who was participating in the same experiment or with a person who was not participating in a study;
preferred to wait with another subject
Kulik and Mahler (1989) anxiety & affiliation
patients about to undergo coronary by-pass surgery said they’d prefer to share a room with a postoperative patient than a preoperative patient to lower their anxiety by providing them with information about the procedure
personality & affiliation
extroverts more likely than introverts to seek affiliation with others which may be due to different levels of cortical arousal;
extroverts tend to have low arousal level and seek social interaction to increase their arousal to an optimal level, while introverts have a high arousal level and avoid social interactions to maintain a comfortable level of arousal (Johnson et al., 1999)
gender & affiliation
among children and young adults, females prefer to affiliate in dyads (with one other person), but males prefer to affiliate in larger groups;
women more concerned about intimacy in their relations with others, while men are more interested in power (Reis & Sprecher, 2009);
women demonstrate a “tend-and-befriend” response over “fight-or-flight” (Taylor et al., 2000);
women have more emotionally-intimate relationships, friendships between men endure longer than female ones as men have greater tolerance of same-sex peers (Benenson et al., 2009)
interpersonal attraction
tendency to evaluate another person in a positive or negative way
Physical Proximity & attraction
ppl tend to like others who are in close physical proximity;
friendship patterns were strongly influenced by the location of apartments or dorm rooms, with students living closer to one another being more likely to become friends (Newcomb, 1961)
mere exposure effect (Zajonc, 2001)
repeated contact with someone is sufficient to increase attraction, perhaps because the contact leads to a sense of familiarity and safety;
repeated contact can lead to dislike and contempt rather than attraction when initial contacts are unpleasant
attraction & similarity
people generally like others who are similar to themselves in terms of demographic characteristics, attitudes, and other important characteristics (Brehm & Kassin, 1990)
attraction & competence
tend to be attracted to people who are competent;
most attracted to competent people when they occasionally commit a small blunder, apparently because doing so “humanizes” them and makes them seem more approachable (Aronson, Willerman, & Floyd, 1966)
attraction & reciprocity
tend to like others who like us;
effect is moderated by a number of factors - more likely to be attracted to people who are moderately selective rather than nonselective or overly selective in terms of their liking for others
gain-loss theory (Aronson & Linder, 1965)
evaluations that change over time have a stronger impact on liking than do evaluations that are consistently positive or negative;
we’re most attracted to people who start off by disliking us but then gradually change their minds
physical attractiveness & attraction
tend to be attracted to and react more favorably to others who are physically attractive (Berscheid & Walster, 1978);
tendency begins early - attractive children usually more popular with peers
“what-is-beautiful-is-good” stereotype
belief that physically attractive people possess a variety of other desirable characteristics (Dion et al., 1972)
gender effects on attraction to romantic partner
1) men: physical attractiveness is a priority in choosing a mate (health, fertility); pass genes widely dispersing their genetic material
2) women: status, resources > physical appearance (offspring protected and cared for) - women invest in care of their children
social exchange theory (Thibaut & Kelley, 1959)
predicts that a relationship will continue as long as both partners believe that the benefits of the relationship exceed its costs;
dating couples who experience a large increase in rewards as their relationship progresses are more likely to stay in the relationship than are couples who experience a small increase or a decrease in rewards (Berg & McQuinn, 1986)
equity theory (Walster, Walster, & Berscheid, 1978)
person is more likely to be satisfied with a close relationship and to maintain it when the person believes that their input-outcome ratio is similar to the input-outcome ratio of their partner;
focuses on fairness in relationships as determined by the relative contributions and outcomes of the partners
emotion-in-relationships model (Berscheid, 1983; Berscheid & Ammazzalorso, 2001)
a person experiences strong emotions within a relationship when their partner’s actions violate the person’s expectations and affect progress toward achieving an important goal;
when partner’s violation facilitates progress toward a goal, experiences positive emotions, but when the violation hinders progress, experiences negative emotions
risk factors for divorce (Gottman and Levenson, 1992; 2000)
ratio of positive to negative interactions is a good predictor of the stability of a relationship;
during conflict and problem-solving discussions, couples in a stable relationship have about 5 positive interactions for every 1 negative interaction, while couples in an unstable relationship that is likely to end in divorce have about an equal number of positive and negative interactions
“Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”
1) criticism: statements that attack the partner’s character
2) defensiveness: denial of responsibility for problems
3) contempt: statements that express superiority and communicate disgust and disrespect
4) stonewalling: emotional withdrawal from interactions;
-contempt best predictor of divorce, rarely expressed by partners in a successful relationship
prosocial behaviors
“actions intended to benefit one or more people other than oneself”;
include helping and cooperation
reciprocity norm
requires people to help others who have helped or are likely to help them in the future
social responsibility norm
requires people to help others in need of assistance even when there’s no expectation that those individuals will ever help them
social learning theory of prosocial behaviors
prosocial behaviors (like other behaviors) are learned by observing the behavior of others
evolutionary theory of prosocial behaviors
attributes prosocial behaviors to natural selection and proposes that “social behaviors that contribute to the survival of a species are passed on via the genes from one generation to the next”
bystander intervention & helping
a victim is most likely to receive help when there is only one bystander and that, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely the victim will be helped
3 factors of bystander apathy
1) Diffusion of Responsibility: bystander may not feel responsible to help because assumes that other bystanders will do so
2) Social Comparison: when the situation is ambiguous, a bystander may look to others for cues indicating the proper behavior - if others are not helping, the bystander may conclude that the situation is not an emergency and that help is not needed
3) Evaluation Apprehension: bystander may fear that taking action will be embarrassing or lead to social disapproval if that action is inappropriate
factors that increase the likelihood that a bystander will help a victim in an emergency situation
1) victim is obviously in distress
2) bystander believes he or she has the competence to provide help
3) another person has already intervened
4) the situation occurs in a rural rather than urban environment
non-zero-sum game
one player’s win does not necessarily result in another player’s loss
prisoner’s dilemma game
requires each player to decide whether or not to cooperate with another player;
when playing, pairs of players (subjects) role-play being suspects in a crime and are interrogated separately then offered to confess or remain silent;
told if both players remain silent, only minor charges will be brought against them but if one player confesses and the other remains silent, the confessor will receive immunity from punishment and the silent player will get a severe sentence; or, if both players confess, they will both get severe sentences
prisoner’s dilemma game has identified several factors that affect the likelihood that players will cooperate
players are more likely to use a cooperative strategy (to remain silent) when they’re able to communicate with each other before the game, when the importance of cooperation is emphasized at the beginning of the game, and when players play the game repeatedly (e.g., Sally, 1995; Yao & Darwen, 1994)
person perception
refers to how individuals process information about others
identifiability
extent to which one person can be differentiated from another
personality
individual characteristics related to how an individual thinks, feels, and behaves
internet communication
nonverbal cues are missing, less requirements may result in shallow interactions and difficulty with developing social supports;
tends to be impersonal, and could potentially have an adverse effect on how individuals perceive their overall life quality
aggression
“physical or verbal behavior intended to cause harm”
frustration
result of interference with attainment of an important goal
frustration-aggression hypothesis
1) Dollard et al. (1939) - frustration always leads to aggression and that aggression is always preceded by frustration;
2) Miller (1941) - frustration may lead to a number of responses, only one of which is aggression;
3) Berkowitz (1971) frustration creates a readiness to act aggressively by eliciting feelings of anger or hostility but that aggression occurs only in the presence of an aggressive cue
Berkowitz and LePage (1967)
found that frustrated research subjects delivered more electric shocks to a confederate in the presence of an aggressive cue (firearm) than in the presence of a neutral cue (badminton racket) or no cue
Bandura’s “Bobo doll” studies
saw either reward film, punishment film, or no consequence film;
watched the reward or no consequence film were more likely to imitate the aggressive behavior of the model than were children who watched the punishment film;
when children were subsequently offered a reward for acting aggressively, children in all three groups exhibited aggressive behaviors
observational learning & aggression
1) repeated exposure to media violence creates a hostile expectation bias (expectation that others are likely to act aggressively), which causes viewers to act more aggressively themselves;
2) exposure to violent porn increases acceptance of negative myths about rape by both male and female viewers and may increase the willingness of male viewers to act aggressively toward women
deindividuation
involves a loss of a sense of self-awareness that leads to decreased ability to monitor and regulate one’s own behavior, reduced ability to think rationally, and loosening of constraints against acting in deviant ways;
ppl are more likely to act in uncharacteristic ways (including more aggressively) when they can act anonymously
Zimbardo’s prison study (Haney, Banks, & Zimbardo, 1973)
social roles can have a powerful effect on aggressive behavior;
guards quickly became cruel and abusive toward the prisoners, and prisoners were initially rebellious but soon became helpless and submissive
gender effects on aggression
males more aggressive than females, with the gender difference being greater for physical aggression than verbal aggression (Eagly & Steffan, 1986);
females exhibit more indirect forms of aggression (relational aggression - harming a person’s relationships by saying negative things about the person or excluding the person from desired activities) (Crick & Rose, 2000; Huesmann et al., 2003)
catharsis hypothesis
performing or witnessing an aggressive act can reduce a person’s inclination to engage in future aggressive acts;
engaging in, watching, or reading about aggressive acts is more likely to increase aggressiveness than reduce it (Bushman, 2002)
temp & aggression
higher temperatures linked to increased rates of assaults, murders, rapes, and domestic violence;
up to 85 Fahrenheit but with decreasing assaults at higher temperatures
prejudice
negative attitudes and feelings toward people based solely on their membership in a particular group
discrimination
negative actions directed toward people due to their group membership
stereotypes
beliefs about members of a group that are overgeneralized, inaccurate, and/or resistant to change
authoritarian personality
characterized by a high degree of conventionality, rigidity in thinking, submissiveness to authority, and intolerance of difference
Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 1982)
people seek to maintain and enhance their self-esteem, which is affected not only by their personal identity but also their social identities;
people enhance their self-esteem by viewing in-groups in positive ways and relevant out-groups in negative ways, which can lead to prejudice and discrimination against members of the out-groups
realistic group conflict theory (Levine & Campbell, 1972)
describes prejudice as the result of competition between groups for scarce resources that group members need or desire
Sherif’s (1966) Robber’s Cave study
11- and 12-year-old boys attending a summer camp were divided into 2 groups and assigned to cabins in different areas of the park;
members of each group were given tasks designed to increase group cohesiveness;
2 groups then met and competed for valued prizes in activities and quickly became very competitive and hostile;
to reduce conflict, introduced superordinate goals that could be accomplished only when the groups worked together cooperatively
aversive racism (Gaertner & Dovidio, 1986)
combination of a belief in egalitarianism and unacknowledged negative feelings toward members of minority groups.;
deny being prejudiced but avoid interacting with minority group members
symbolic racism (Sears, 1988)
combines negative racial affect with the belief that members of racial minority groups (esp African Americans) violate traditional conservative values such as individual responsibility and self-reliance;
reject overt forms of discrimination but don’t support such policies as affirmative action and welfare
ambivalent racism (Hass et al., 1991)
not overtly prejudiced, recognize that there are racial inequalities;
believe in meritocracy - willing to accept different outcomes for members of majority and minority groups because they believe that outcomes are due to differences in taking advantage of available opportunities
old-fashioned sexism
believe that women are inherently inferior to men and support traditional gender roles
modern sexism
believe that women are no longer discriminated against and resent women’s demands for special treatment
ambivalent sexism
combines hostile and benevolent sexism but still maintains gender inequality
hostile sexism
characterized by a negative view and resentment of women as opponents who try to deceive and control men
benevolent sexism
characterized by a more positive but patronizing view of women as needing protection and deserving of adoration
Rubin et al. (1974) gender stereotypes
interviewed parents of 15 girls and 15 boys within 24 hours after their birth;
although all newborns had been matched in terms of size, weight, and level of activity, the parents of girls used terms like small, delicate, quiet, and soft to describe their children, while the parents of boys used terms like large, strong, active, and alert
other research investigating the effects of gender stereotypes
1) men are generally viewed as more competent by both men and women - evaluate the content and writing style of professional articles - “John McKay” got higher ratings than “Joan McKay”
2) males and females both tend to devalue the performance of women who engage in tasks usually performed by men and attribute the achievement of women on those tasks to luck rather than ability
3) male and female mental health professionals use similar adjectives when asked to describe “a healthy adult” and “a healthy male” but use different and less positive adjectives to describe “a healthy female”
contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew, 1971)
direct contact between members of hostile groups can reduce prejudice and discrimination as long as the contact occurs under the following conditions:
1) contact includes interactions between individual members of the groups
2) members have equal status
3) opportunities are provided for the groups to work together to achieve mutual goals
4) cooperation and equality are supported by social norms and/or authority figures
superordinate goals
a goal that can be attained only if the members of two or more groups work together by pooling their skills, efforts, and resources
jigsaw classroom (Aronson, 1978)
students in newly desegregated schools to work together on an assignment by dividing students in each classroom into groups, dividing the material to be learned into subtopics, and having each student in each group be responsible for learning one subtopic and teaching it to the other students;
students in jigsaw classrooms were less prejudiced, liked school more, and had higher self-esteem;
academic achievement test scores of minority students improved
privilege
when specific rights or benefits are afforded to one group
ADDRESSING framework (Hays, 2001)
Age, Developmental and acquired Disabilities, Religion, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, Indigenous heritage, National origin, and Gender
ethnocentric monoculturalism
belief that the individual holds superiority or that others are inferior, that the individual holds power to impose standards upon others, and that their experiences are the same for all others
social influence
occurs when “one person’s attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors are changed as a result of interaction with another individual or with a group”
conformity
a change in attitude, belief, or behavior that is caused by social pressure
compliance
a change in behavior that occurs at the request of another person or group of people
autokinetic effect
an optical illusion that occurs when a stationary point of light appears to move in a darkened room
Sherif (1936) conformity
first session: estimated the distance the light had moved while alone in the room;
in 3 subsequent sessions, stated their estimates one at a time in groups of 3;
estimates varied considerably during the individual sessions but converged toward a similar estimate quickly (often within 3 trials) when participants stated their estimates in a group;
each group established and conformed to a group norm
Asch (1951) conformity
identify which of 3 vertical lines on 1 card matched the line on another card in terms of length;
6 confederates, 1 subject took turns giving answers aloud, with subject giving answer last - confederates initially gave the correct answer but, after several trials, they all gave the same wrong answer;
subjects gave the same answers 37% of the time
normative social influence
conformity is driven by a need to belong to the group
informational influence
when people use others as a source of information because the task is ambiguous or very difficult
think Sherif
normative influence
when people “go along” because of group pressure – want to be accepted by the group and avoid criticism
think Asch
Factors That Affect Conformity to a Majority
1) Group Size: conformity increases as group size increases to a point
2) Unaimity: subjects more likely to conform if all give same wrong answer
3) Ambiguity: greatest when the task is ambiguous
4) Cohesiveness: greater the group cohesiveness, the greater the conformity to group norms
5) Personality Characteristics: low self-esteem, low intelligence, a high need for approval, authoritarianism
Factors that Affect Conformity to a Minority
to influence the majority, minorities must present their position in a consistent manner without appearing to be inflexible and close-minded;
cause others to reassess their position and, as a result, lead to an actual change in their underlying beliefs
idiosyncrasy credits
accumulated by having a history of conforming to group norms, contributing something special to the group, or being the group leader
foot-in-the-door technique
gaining compliance by starting with a small request and, after the person agrees with that request, making a larger request;
ppl more willing to put a “Drive Carefully” sign in front yards when they had already signed a “safe driving” petition or put a smaller sign in their car window (Freedman and Fraser, 1966)
door-in-the-face technique
first making a large request that is likely to be refused and following it with a smaller, more reasonable request;
asked if willing to volunteer at a counseling program for juvenile offenders for 2 hrs/ week for 2 years. after refussal, asked to take group of offenders on a 2hr zoo trip. 50% of students complied with the second request, compared to 17% who complied to first request (Cialdini et al., 1975)
obedience to authority decreases (Milgram)
Yale campus to a run-down office building in town, experimenter gave instructions to the learner by telephone, learner was in close proximity to the subject, or another confederate who was playing the role of co-teacher refused to obey the experimenter
six bases of social power
reward, coercive, legitimate, referent, expert, informational
RCLREI
reward power
based on the person’s ability to provide desired outcomes
coercive power
derives from the person’s ability to provide unwanted outcomes
legitimate power
based on the person’s role or status as a legitimate authority
referent power
arises from the desire of others to identify with the person and their respect and attraction to them
expert power
based on the person’s special knowledge or experience
informational power
derives from the person’s access to information that is needed by others
identification reaction to social influence
when people change their behaviors because they’re attracted to the source of the influence and believe the change will help them establish or maintain a relationship with the source;
change in attitude lasts for only as long as the relationship continues to be desirable
internalization reaction to social influence
people change their behaviors and attitudes because doing so is consistent with their basic beliefs and values
psychological reactance
when a person perceives that their freedom-of-choice is being threatened, they will attempt to re-establish their freedom by acting in a way that is opposite to what has been requested
attitudes
relatively stable and enduring predispositions to act, think, or feel in a certain way toward a particular idea, person, object, or situation
Relationship Between Attitudes and Behavior
inconsistency between attitudes and behavior (Chinese restaurants);
attitudes are fairly good predictors when measures of attitudes and behaviors are: specific rather than general, based on strong beliefs or personal experience with the attitude object, readily accessible to awareness
theory of planned behavior
behavior is preceded by a behavioral intention which, in turn, is affected by 3 factors:
1) person’s attitude toward the behavior (whether the person thinks the behavior will have positive or negative consequences)
2) person’s subjective norms related to the behavior (whether the person believes that others approve or disapprove of it)
3) person’s perceived behavioral control (whether or not the person believes that he or she has the ability to perform the behavior);
to accurately predict a person’s behavior, it’s necessary to consider all 3 components of their behavioral intention rather than just the person’s attitude toward the behavior
Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger, 1957)
people strive for cognitive consistency, or a state of consistency between two or more attitudes or between an attitude and a behavior;
when there is inconsistency, a person experiences dissonance and, to eliminate it, the person changes their attitude or behavior, acquires new information that eliminates the inconsistency, or reduces the importance of the inconsistency
Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) cognitive dissonance
subjects work on a boring, repetitive task and then asked the subjects to help recruit additional participants by telling them that the task was interesting and fun;
half paid $1.00 for lying while other half paid $20.00;
those paid $1.00 expressed a more positive opinion than those paid $20.00;
$1.00 subjects had insufficient justification for lying to potential participants and resolved their dissonance by changing their evaluation of the experiment;
$20.00 subjects didn’t experience dissonance b/c they could attribute the lie to the $ they received and weren’t motivated to change their negative evaluation of the experiment
balance theory (Heider, 1958)
people desire consistency, but it focuses on consistency between 3 entities, which can be either 3 people or 2 people and an issue, object, or event
social judgment theory (Sherif & Hovland, 1961)
people are more likely to be persuaded by a message when the position it advocates is in their latitude of acceptance than when it is in their latitude of rejection or latitude of noncommitment;
size of the 3 latitudes is affected by a person’s level of personal involvement in the issue addressed by the message
latitude of acceptance;
latitude of rejection;
latitude of noncommitment
consists of all positions a person considers acceptable;
consists of all positions the person considers unacceptable;
consists of all positions the person neither accepts nor rejects but is willing to consider
elaboration likelihood model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986)
a persuasive message can change a person’s attitude through one of 2 routes – a peripheral route (focusing on cues unrelated to the message) or a central route (careful processing of the message)
Factors That Affect Attitude Change
certain characteristics of the communicator (source), communication (message), and audience (target)
communicator’s credibility
depending on the communicator’s competence (intelligence, knowledge, credentials, etc.) and trustworthiness (motivation for delivering the persuasive message);
increased when communicator is arguing against their self-interests and has nothing to gain by being persuasive or when the communicator’s message was not intentionally directed to the audience
Hovland and Weiss (1951) communicator credibility
over several weeks, the attitude change initially produced by a high-credible communicator decreased while the change produced by a low-credible communicator increased so that the amount of attitude change produced by the two communicators was about the same;
“sleeper effect” was because, over time, people tend to remember a message but forget its source
one-sided message
a message that presents only the side of the argument favored by the communicator;
most effective when the audience initially favors the communicator’s position, is relatively uninformed about the issue, and is unlikely to hear the other side of the argument
two-sided message
a message that presents both sides of an argument;
most effective when the audience initially disagrees with the communicator’s position and is relatively well-informed about the issue
discrepancy & communication
greater amount of attitude change when message presents a moderately discrepant position from audience’s initial position than by very high or very low discrepancy;
too much discrepancy - audience likely to reject without giving it much thought;
too little discrepancy - message already close to the audience’s current position;
affected by communicator’s credibility - high producing more attitude change than low at high levels of discrepancy
primacy effect
when both sides of an argument are presented, the side presented first has a greater impact on attitude change when the other side immediately follows and the attitude measure is administered after a period of time
recency effect
when a period of time elapses between presentation of the first and second messages and the attitude measure is administered immediately after the second message, the second message has a greater impact
fear & communication
messages that elicit high levels of fear are ineffective unless they include information about how to avoid the danger and/or increase the audience’s sense of vulnerability to the danger
personality characteristics that have been linked to increased susceptibility to persuasion
low self-esteem, high self-monitoring, and a low need for cognition
mood & persuasion
ppl more easily persuaded by a message when in a good mood b/c want to maintain their positive feelings and, as a result, are less likely to carefully process the information contained in the message;
weak argument more likely to persuade ppl in a good mood, but a strong argument more likely to persuade ppl in a neutral or bad mood
inoculation theory
person’s resistance to persuasion is increased when provided with a weak version of the persuasive argument and counterarguments before hearing the persuasive message
5 stages of group development
1) forming stage: members aren’t committed to the group, uncertain about the group’s purpose and goals, and rely on the leader to provide guidance
2) storming stage: power struggles and conflicts develop as members disagree about the best way to accomplish the group’s goals and about their roles and responsibilities, members may split into subgroups and some may drop out
3) norming stage: cohesion begins to develop, establish group norms, begin to work together to accomplish the group’s goals
4) performing stage: focus effort on accomplishing the group’s goals and can successfully work through any problems
5) adjourning stage: group concludes its activities and members may express mixed feelings about ending the group
additive task
members work on the task individually and the group product is the sum of the contributions of all group members;
family painting fence
complementary task
members contribute different abilities or knowledge to the task and the final product is more than any one member could have produced alone;
orchestra
conjunctive task
the group product or performance is determined by the least competent member; mountain climbing team
disjunctive task
the group product or performance is determined by the most skilled or knowledgeable member;
advertising professionals
compensatory task
group members average their input to derive a final judgment or solution;
employee’s final performance rating is the average of the ratings assigned by the four raters
social facilitation
when the presence of others improves performance
social inhibition
when the presence of others causes a decrement in performance
social loafing
tendency of people to exert less effort when working on a task as part of a group than when working on the task alone
Ringelmann (1913) social loafing
compared the effort that people exerted when pushing a cart alone or with others;
the greater number of people pushing the cart, the less effort each person exerted
group polarization
each group member shifts their position toward a more extreme view (more cautious or riskier) as the result of the group discussion
Myers and Bishop (1970) group polarization
ranked high or low in terms of racial prejudice based survey answers;
students with similar levels of prejudice met to discuss racial issues;
students low in prejudice expressed even less prejudice after the discussion while those high in prejudice expressed higher levels of prejudice
groupthink
a suspension of independent, critical thought
groupthink antecedents, symptoms, and outcomes
1) antecedents: external stressors, high group cohesion, problems related to group structure
2) symptoms: sense of invulnerability, belief in the inherent morality of the group, self-appointed “mindguards” who discourage dissent, self-censorship, and an illusion of unanimity
3) outcomes: failure to identify alternatives, failure to consider the risks of the chosen alternative, and biases in information processing
strategies for preventing groupthink
group members are encouraged to be skeptical and critical;
at least one member is asked to play “devil’s advocate” at each meeting;
group members are encouraged to consult with outside experts before making a final decision;
leader refrains from stating their preferences at the beginning of the decision-making process
brainstorming
group members are instructed to express as many ideas as possible (even when they seem crazy), to avoid criticizing the ideas of other members, and to build on each other’s ideas
environmental psychology
study of the effects of the physical and social environment on perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors
Lewin’s field theory (1936)
a person’s behavior is a function of interactions between the person and his or her perception of the physical and social environment and that these interactions occur within the person’s “life space”
4 types of intrapersonal conflict
1) approach-approach conflict: person must choose between 2 equally desirable goals - easiest to resolve
2) avoidance-avoidance conflict: person must choose between 2 equally undesirable goals
3) approach-avoidance conflict: there is only 1 goal but it has both desirable and undesirable qualities
4) double approach-avoidance conflict: 2 goals and both have desirable and undesirable qualities - hardest to resolve
Zeigarnik effect
based on field theory and predicts that people tend to remember uncompleted tasks better than completed ones
effects of crowding
affected by the person’s pre-existing mood: in a good mood, crowding is likely to increase positive feelings but, when a person is already in a bad mood, crowding will increase negative feelings;
depend on whether or not the person is distracted;
crowding adversely affects performance on complex tasks but not on simple tasks
individual, situational, and cultural differences in the need for personal space
North Americans, the British, and Scandinavians require more personal space than Arabs, Latin Americans, and the French do;
men prefer more personal space than women in most social situations
health belief model (Stretcher & Rosenstock, 1997)
predict the likelihood that a person will engage in a health-related behavior
health belief model assumptions
- perceived susceptibility: person’s estimate of their risk of contracting an illness
- perceived severity: person’s beliefs regarding the seriousness of the illness
- perceived benefits: person’s appraisal of the of the positive consequences of engaging in the behavior
- perceived barriers: person’s beliefs about the difficulties of performing the behavior (expense, inconvenience, side effects)
hardiness
personality style that is characterized by 3 traits:
1) personal control (the belief that one can influence events in one’s life)
2) commitment (a sense of purpose and involvement in one’s activities, events, etc.)
3) challenge (a tendency to view life as a series of challenges that can make one stronger)
stress-buffering hypothesis
a high level of perceived social support can protect a person against the harmful effects of stress on their physical and psychological health
Ellen Berscheid’s Emotion-in-Relationships Model
positive and negative emotions are most likely to occur in a relationship when the partner’s behavior interrupts the individual’s typical on-going behaviors
internalized racism
acceptance of negative messages about the abilities and intrinsic worth by members of the stigmatized races;
manifests in embracing “whiteness”, self-devaluation, and resignation, helplessness, and hopelessness
personally mediated racism
prejudice and discrimination at the individual level, whether intentional or unintentional;
manifests as lack of respect, suspicion, devaluation, scapegoating and dehumanization
subtle racism
the beliefs, attitudes, and actions of individuals (rather than institutions) and is a less obvious form of racism, which has been proposed to have replaced overt or “old-fashioned” prejudice and discrimination
institutional racism
“the structures, policies, practices, and norms resulting in differential access to the goods, services, and opportunities of society by race”; often evident as inaction in the face of need”;
manifests in restriction or denial of material conditions and access to power to members of minority groups
development of altruism
responsibility for the welfare of others was the most important factor;
altruism linked more to a nuclear than an extended family structure
studies on heterosexuals attitudes toward gay and lesbians
predictors of higher levels of sexual prejudice include: older age, high levels of authoritarianism, fundamentalist religious views, and male gender, especially toward gays (versus lesbians)
subjective validation
process of validating words, initials, statements or signs as accurate because one is able to find them personally meaningful and significant
Forer effect
the tendency of people to rate such statements as highly accurate for them personally
projective identification
a defense mechanism in which the individual projects qualities that are unacceptable to the self onto another person, and that person introjects the projected qualities and believes him/herself to be characterized by them appropriately and justifiably
hostile attribution bias
tendency to believe that others are trying to cause harm even in neutral or unclear situations;
may be due to deficits in social information processing
proactive (relational) aggression
when behaviors are a means for achieving a goal, such as excluding someone from a group to maintain one’s own social status
reactive (relational) aggression
behavior that is in response to provocation, with the intent to retaliate
reactance
tendency to react in a way that is opposite of what is requested or desired;
most likely to occur when the individual feels that his/her personal freedom is being restricted
terror management theory (TMT)
individuals utilize two things to manage the terror associated with the fear of death: a cultural worldview and self-esteem
descriptive stereotypes
those that involve generalizations about what women are
prescriptive stereotypes
generalizations about what women should be
