Social Psych 2 Flashcards
impression formation
forming of first knowledge a person has about another person
includes assigning other person to a number of categories and drawing conclusions about what that person is likely to do
primacy effect in impression formation
first time people meet someone, they form an impression of that person, often based on physical appearance alone, that persists even though they may later have other contradictory information about that person
social categorization
assignment of new person to category/group based on characteristics the new person has in common with other people or groups with whom the perceiver has had prior experience
mostly automatic, not conscious awareness often
stereotype
a belief that a set of characteristics is shared by all members of a particular social category
implicit personality theory
sets of assumptions that people have about how different types of people, personality traits, and actions are all related and form in childhood
schema
mental patterns/groups
attribution
the process of explaining both one’s own behavior and the behavior of other people
attribution theory
originally developed by header
explains why things happen and why people choose bx explanations they do
external causes and internal causes
situational cause
when the cause of behavior is assumed to be from external sources
observed behavior assumed to be caused by situation that exists for person at the time
dispositional cause
cause of behavior assumed to come from within the individual
person’s internal personality characteristics that are seen as the cause of the observed behavior
fundamental attribution error
tendency for people observing someone else’s actions to overestimate the influence of that person’s internal characteristics on behavior and underestimate the influence of the situation
actor observer bias
in explaining our own bx, the tendency to use situational attributions instead of personal
people tend to explain actions of others with dispositional causes rather than looking for outside causes, opposite for self
main takeaway in many studies
US is bad (more fundamental attribution errors, more implicit associations) and other countries better, especially in Asia
three main fields in social psych
social influence, social cognition, and social interactions
prejudice
when a person holds an unsupported and often negative stereotyped attitude about the members of a particular social group
discrimination
when prejudicial attitudes cause members of a particular social group to be treated differently than others in situations that call for equal treatment
prejudice v discrimination
prejudice is attitude, discrimination is bx that results from attitude
discrimination can be controlled/eliminated, but prejudice cannot (as easily, at least)
ethnocentrism
belief that your culture reigns supreme over all other cultures
in group
all the people with whom a person identifies
out group
people who person doesn’t identify with; everyone who’s not in the in groups
scapegoat
a person or group, typically members of an out group, who serves as the target for the frustrations and negative emotions of members in the in group
social cognitive theory
using cognitive processes in relation to understanding the social world
realistic conflict theory (of prejudice)
increasing prejudice and discrimination are closely tied to an increasing degree of conflict between the in group and out group when those groups are seeking a common resource
iowa jane elliot eyes experiment
blue eyes rule then brown eyes rule show kids about discrimination
social identity theory
three processes responsible for formation of a person’s identity within a particular social group and the attitudes, concepts, and behavior that go along with identification with that group
social categorization, identification, and social comparison
social categorization
people assign themselves to social categories to help determine how they should behave
identification
formation of social identity
social identity
the part of the self concept that includes the view of oneself as a member of a particular social group within the social category (typically the in group)
social comparison
festinger’s concept
people compare themselves favorably to others to improve their own self esteem
stereotype vulnerability
the effect that a person’s knowledge of another’s stereotyped opinions can have on that person’s behavior
could cause them to fit stereotype
self fulfilling prophecy
effect that expectations can have on outcomes
stereotype threat
members of a stereotyped group are made anxious and wary of any situation in which their behavior might confirm a stereotype
intergroup contact
best way to learn about others
having direct contact with others and having the opportunity to see them as people rather than outsiders
equal status contact
all in same situation, with neither group holding power over the other
shown to reduce prejudice and discrimination, along with ongoing, positive, cooperation
jigsaw classroom
students have to work together to reach a specific goal
each student given piece of the puzzle aka info necessary for solving the problem and reaching the goal
interaction between diverse groups increased
