Social Psych Flashcards
Social Psychology
The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another
Attribution Theory
- Explaining someone’s behavior by crediting the situation or the person’s disposition
Dispositional attribution vs Situational attribution
Got cut off and the person is a jerk vs Cut someone off because you were late
Fundamental attribution error
Underestimating the situation and overestimating personal disposition
Attitude
Feelings, often influenced by our beliefs that predispose us to respond
Foot-in-the-door Phenomenon
Tendency to agree with a small request and later comply with a larger one
Role
A set of expectations that defines how one ought to behave in a particular social position
Philip Zimbardo
- Stanford prison experiment
- “The power of the situation was stronger than the individual” – Zimbardo
Cognitive Dissonance
The discomfort felt when two thoughts are inconsistent
To relieve Cognitive dissonance and tension
- Bring our attitudes into line with our action
- Avoid situations and information that increase dissonance
Solomon Asch’s Line Study demonstrated the idea of what?
Social Compliance
Conformity
Adjusting behavior to fit within group standards
Normative Social Influence
Influence gained by a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval
Informational Social Influence
Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept other’s opinions about reality
The Stanley Milgram Experiment
- Teacher shocked learner (all fake)
- Complying with AUTHORITY
Social Facilitation
Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others
Social Loafing
The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their effort toward a common goal
Deindividuation
Loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity
Group Polarization
The enhancement of a group’s prevailing indications through discussion within the group
Groupthink
When the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives
Prejudice
An unjustifiable attitude toward a group and its members
Stereotype
A generalized belief about a group of people
Discrimination
Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group
Targets of prejudice
- Racial and ethnic groups
- Gender
- LGBTQ
Just-world Phenomenon
The tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get
Minimal Group Identification
The minimal conditions required for discrimination to occur between groups
Scapegoat Theory
- The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame
