social cognition and influence Flashcards
what is social influence?
the process whereby one person’s behaviour is affected by the words or actions of others
what is social cognition?
the mental processes associated with people’s perceptions of and reactions to other people
what are two important components of the self?
self-concept and self-esteem
what is self-concept?
how you think of yourself
what is self-esteem?
your evaluation of your worth as a person
what is social comparison?
using other people as a basis of comparison for evaluating oneself
if we use temporal comparison what are we considering?
the way we are now in relation to how we were in the past
if we use social comparison what do we evaluate ourselves against?
other people
what is relative deprivation in social comparison?
the belief that in comparison to a reference group one is getting less than is deserved
what is a reference group in social comparison?
categories of people to which people can compare themselves
what are social norms?
socially based rules that prescribe what people should or shouldn’t do in various situations
what is deindividuation?
a psychological state occurring in a group members, that results in a loss of individuality and a tendency to do things not normally done when alone
what is social identity?
the beliefs we hold about groups to which we belong
what is social perception?
the processes through which people interpret info about others, draw inferences about them, and develop mental representations
how do schemas influence first impressions?
influences what we pay attention to and what we ignore
why does it not take much negative info to changing our mind about people?
most of us don’t expect others to act negatively to us, when this occurs it captures attention and leads us to believe this behaviour reflects something negative about the person
what is one schema that has a particularly strong influence on our first impressions?
we tend to assume that people we meet will have attitudes and values similar to ours
what is attribution?
the process of explaining the causes of people’s behaviour, including our own
what are the three key variables for understanding behaviours?
- consensus
- consistency
- distinctiveness
what is consensus?
the degree to which people’s behaviour is similar to that of the actor
what is consistency?
the degree to which behaviour is the same across time or situation
what is distinctiveness?
concerns the extent to which the actor’s response to one situation stands out from responses to similar situations
in summary what does Kelley’s Theory about sources of attribution suggest?
people are most likely to make internal attributions about someone’s behaviour when there is low consensus, high consistency and low distinctiveness
what is fundamental attribution error?
a bias towards over-attributing the behaviour of others to internal causes
what are internal sources of attribution due to?
a persons’ basic characteristics
what are external sources of attribution due to?
situational variables
what does ultimate attribution error refer to?
in-group vs out-group
according to the ultimate attribution error what do we attribute behaviours of the in-group to?
when they do good deeds we attribute their behaviour to integrity or other internal factors. If they do something bad we attribute it to external causes
according to the ultimate attribution error what do we attribute behaviours of the out-group to?
when they do something positive we attribute their behaviour to luck or some other external cause. However we attribute negative behaviour to an internal cause such as dishonesty
what is the out-group of ultimate attribution error?
those who we perceive as being different form ourselves
what is the in-group of ultimate attribution error?
those whom we perceive as being similar to ourselves
what is the actor-observer effect?
the tendency to attribute other people’s behaviour to internal causes while attributing our own behaviour (especially errors and failures) to external factors
what is self-serving bias?
the tendency to attribute our successes to internal characteristics while blaming our failures on external causes
what does the self-serving bias occur partly to?
motivation to maintain self-esteem
what is attitude?
a predisposition towards particular cognitive, emotional or behavioural reaction to objects
what are the three components of attitudes?
- affective/emotional
- behavioural
- cognitive
what is the cognitive component of attitude?
a set of beliefs about the attitude object
what is the emotional/affective component of attitude?
includes feelings about the object
what is the behavioural component of attitude?
the way people act towards the object
what plays a major role in attitude formation?
what people learn from their parents and others
what are the three factors that determine the success of a persuasive message to change attitudes?
- person communicating message
- the content of the message
- the audience who receives it
what does the elaboration likelihood model of changing attitude suggest?
attitude change can be driven by evaluation of the content of a persuasive message (central route) or by irrelevant persuasion cues (peripheral route)
what are the two routes of the elaboration likelihood model?
central and peripheral routes
what is the peripheral route of the elaborative likelihood route?
are affected by persuasion cues such as confidence, attractiveness or other characteristics of the person delivering message
what is the central route of the elaborative likelihood route?
when activated the content of the message becomes more important than the characteristics of the person delivering
what is the cognitive dissonance theory?
theory asserting that attitude change is driven by efforts to reduce tension caused by inconsistencies between attitudes and behaviours
what does the self-perception theory suggest?
that attitudes can change as people consider their behaviour in certain situations then infer what their attitude must be
what is a stereotype?
a false assumption that all members of some group share the same characteristics
what does stereotyping often lead to?
prejudice
what is prejudice?
a positive or negative attitude towards an entire group of people
what is social discrimination?
differential treatment of various groups; the behavioural component of prejudice
what type of personality is most likely to show prejudice?
authoritarianism
what are the three elements of authoritarianism according to Altemeyer?
- acceptance of traditional values
- unquestioningly follow orders of authority figures
- inclination to act aggressively to threatening groups
what are the different theories about prejudice and stereotyping?
- motivational
- cognitive
- learning
what does the motivational theory of prejudice and stereotyping refer to?
- authoritarian personality
- social identity theory (in-group vs out-group)
what does the cognitive theory of prejudice and stereotyping refer to?
- schemas and cognitive shortcuts
- social categorisations
what does the learning theory of prejudice and stereotyping refer to?
- modelling by parents and peers
- media portrayals
what is contact hypothesis in regards to reducing prejudice?
the idea that stereotypes and prejudice towards a group will diminish as contact increases
what is one implication of cognitive and learning theories?
members of one group are often ignorant or misinformed about the characteristics of people in other groups
what is matching hypothesis in relation to physical attractiveness?
the notion that people are most likely to form relationships with those who are similar to themselves in physical attractiveness
what is a key aspect to popularity?
physical attractiveness
what is the proximity phenomenon?
an example of mere-exposure effect: people develop greater liking for an object that they are exposed to
what are two defining characteristics of intimate relationships?
interdependence and commitment
what does interdependence in an intimate relationship mean?
the thoughts, emotions and behaviours of one person affect those of the other
what does commitment in an intimate relationship mean?
the extent to which a party is psychologically attached to the relationship and wants to remain in it
what are the three types of love widely accepted?
romantic, passionate or companionate love
what is passionate love?
is intense, arousing and marked by both strong physical attraction and deep emotional attachment.
what is companionate love?
is less arousing but psychologically more intimate, marked by mutual concern for welfare of the other
what are the three basic components of love in Robert Sternberg’s Triangular Theory?
passion, intimacy and commitment
what does the triangular theory suggest romantic love involves?
high degrees of passion and intimacy but lacks substantial commitment
what does the triangular theory suggest companionate love involves?
marked by great deal of intimacy and commitment but little passion
what does the triangular theory suggest consummate love involves?
most complete and satisfying because relationship appears to depend not just on its perceived characteristics but also the degree to which those characteristics fit each partner’s ideal story of love
what is conformity?
changing one’s behaviour or beliefs to match those of others
what is compliance?
adjusting one’s behaviour because of an explicit or implicit request
what is an explicit request?
clear request
what is an implicit request?
subtle request (look)
what are four influential factors of why people conform?
- people want to be correct
- people want others to like and accept them
- may increase person’s sense of self-worth
- influence the distribution of social rewards/punishments
what are two types of conformity?
public and private
when are times where people conform?
- ambiguity of situation
- unanimity and size of the majority
- minority influence
- gender
how does ambiguity of a situation affect conformity?
as situation becomes less certain, people rely more on opinions and conformity is more likely
how does unanimity and size of the majority affect conformity?
people experience pressure to conform as long as the majority is unanimous, if one disagrees conformity drops
what is the social impact theory of unanimity and size of majority?
group’s impact on an individual depends not only group size but also how important and close the group is to the person. Impact of group depends on how big the majority was originally
how does minority influence affect conformity?
minority in a group influences that behaviour or belief of a majority
what are strategies of creating compliance?
- foot-in-the-door technique
- door-in-the-face technique
- low-ball technique
how does the foot-in-the-door technique work to create compliance?
people are more likely to comply with a request that costs little in time, money, effort, complying with small requests makes people feel committed
how does the door-in-the-face technique work to create compliance?
as they appear willing to compromise their request seems modest in comparison and it is more likely to be granted than if it had been made at the outset
how does the low-ball technique work to create compliance?
once people say they will do something they feel obligated
what is the door-in-the-face technique?
begins with a request likely to be denied, they then concede that asking initial favour was excessive and substitutes lesser alternative
what is the foot-in-the-door technique?
gets people to agree to a small request and then gradually presents larger ones
what is the low-ball technique?
first step is obtaining oral commitment, once this is made the cost of fulfilling increases
what is obedience?
changing behaviour in response to a demand from an authority figure
what are factors affecting obedience?
- experimenter status and prestige
- behaviour of other people
- behaviour of the learner
- personality characteristics
what are the two kinds of social power that are affected due to experimenter status and prestige?
expert and legitimate power
what is expert power?
ability to influence people because they assume that the person in power is a knowledgeable expert
what is legitimate power?
ability to influence because they assume that the person in power has the right or legitimate authority to tell them
what is aggression?
an act that is intended to cause harm to another person
what does Sigmund Freud propose is the cause of aggression?
is an instinctive biological urge that builds in everyone and must be released
what does the evolutionary perspective propose is the cause of aggression?
aggression is thought to have helped prehistoric people compete for mates, through natural selection tendencies are passed down
what are some theories and factors as to why people are aggressive?
- Frued’s thanatos
- evolutionary perspective
- genetic and biological mechanisms
what are some cultural differences that account for why people are aggressive?
- individualistic vs collectivistic culture
- culture of honour
what are some roles of learning in why people are aggressive?
- observational learning
- rewards and punishments
what is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
a proposition that frustration always leads to some form of aggressive behaviour
what is the aversively stimulated aggression theory?
proposed that it may be stress in general rather than frustration that can produce a readiness to act aggressively. Once readiness exists cues in enviro are associated
what does generalised arousal require to produce aggression?
some reason, opportunity or target
what are some enviro influences on aggression?
- weather
- noise
- living arrangement
how can weather affect aggression?
high temp is a source of stress and arousal so it may correlate to aggression
how can noise affect aggression?
tends to make people more likely to display aggression, especially if noise is unpredictable and irregular
what is altruism?
an unselfish concern for another person’s welfare
what are three major theories about why people help even when they cannot expect any external rewards?
- arousal: cost-reward theory
- empathy-altruism theory
- evolutionary theory
what is the arousal: cost-reward theory of helping?
theory attributing people’s helping behaviour to their efforts to reduce the unpleasant arousal they feel in the face of someone’s need or suffering
what is the bystander effect?
a phenomenon in which the chances that someone will help in an emergency decreases as the number of people present increases
what is an explanation for the bystander effect?
presence of others reduces helping because people think someone else will help, diffusion of responsibility
if people are strangers are they more or less likely to help?
less likely, due to poor communication and not knowing what the other intends to do
if people are friends are they more or less likely to help?
they are more likely, as they are more comfortable and willing to discuss problem
what does the empathy-altruism theory of helping suggest?
people help others because of empathy with their needs
what does the evolutionary theory of helping view as the approach?
views social behaviours as echoes of actions that contribute to the survival of our prehistoric ancestors
