Social Behaviour Flashcards
social psychology
way individuals thoughts, feelings, behaviours are influenced by others, study how people are affected by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others
6 topics of interest in social psych
person perception attribution process interpersonal attraction attitudes conformity and obedience behaviour in groups
person perception
process of forming impressions of others
attitudes
+ or - evaluations of objects of thought, may include up to 3 types of components: cognitive, affective, behavioural
what are the dimensions that attitudes vary on
strength: how strongly it is held
accessibility: quick to think about it
ambivalence: conflicted evaluations, more ambivalent then more neutral
how do the dimensions respond to behaviour and attitudes
strong, accessible,stable over time attitudes more reliable for behaviour prediction. attitudes do not always predict specific behaviours, behaviour depends on situational constraints
average correlation between behaviour and attitudes
when there is high social pressure
- 75
0. 30
implicit vs explicit attitudes
explicit: held consciously, overt
implicit: expressed in subtle automatic responses, little conscious control, covert
dissonance theory cognitive dissonance
inconsistency among attitudes propels people in the direction of attitude change: counterattitudinal behaviour
cognitive dissonance: when related cognitions are inconsistent, effort justification, changing attitudes to justify means
self-perception processes
people often infer their attitudes from their behaviour, Daryl Ben critic of dissonance theory, paid boring work example
components of persuasion process
source
message
receiver
what makes a good source
if they are credible, either thru trustworthiness or expertise
what makes a good message
two-sided arguments, when message goes against own beliefs, instill fear
mere exposure effect: repeating gives illusion of credibility and increases liking of stimulus
receiver
forwarning and initial position more influential than personality
stronger attitudes more resistant to persuasion, if successfully deter, strengthens attitude
attributions
inferences people make about causes of events, other’s behaviour, and own behaviours
internal vs external attribution
internal- causes ascribed to personal dispositions, trais, abilities and feelings
external- situational demands and environmental constraints as causes
stable vs unstable for attributions
stable- fixed
unstable- random, temporary
name the 5 common attributional errors and biases
fundamental attribution error: internal rather than external
actor-observer bias: actor says its external and observer says its internal
defensive attributions: blaming victims for misfortunes
self-serving bias: attribute one’s success to internal and failures to external
self-effacing bias: self-critical, success due to others not self
4 behaviours in groups
social loafing: less individual output in a group
bystander effect: less likely to help with more people, in groups 53% help, alone 75%
group polarization: after discussion group views shift more in direction of dominant view
groupthink: sacrifice critical thinking in arriving to decision, likely when isolated, high pressure, and with a strong directive leader, affected by group cohesiveness which is strength of liking relationships linking group to eachother within
normative influence
conform to social norms for fear of social consequences, being criticized or rejected
obedience vs conformity
obedience- form of compliance, following direct commands usually from authority figure, ex Milgram shock, Burger replicated with same results
conformity- when people yield to real or imagined social pressure, ex Asch line test in groups, group size and group unanimity key determinants of conformity
prejudice vs discrimination
prejudice- having a - attitude towards a member of a group
discrimination- behaving different, especially unfairly around a member of a certain group
how can prejudicial attitudes form
operant conditioning
media
observational learning
stereotypes
giving a member of a group certain characteristics
