Social Psych Flashcards
Minority Influence (within conformity research
Hollander: In order to successfully challenge majority opinion, person must first conform to establish credibility which allows for accumulation of Idiosyncracy credits (like brownie points)
Heider’s theory
Originator of attribution theory, proposed ppl either make Dispositional (internal cause of bx) or Situational (outside cause of bx) Attributions
Harold Kelley proposed that attributions are based on what 3 types of information?
Consistency-does person behave same way over time?
Distinctiveness-is the bx unique to a particular situation (high) or happen all the time (low)?
Consensus-would other ppl in situation behave similarly?
Kelley proposed that ppl make ____ attributions for behaviors high in consistency and low in distinctiveness and consensus
Internal
Kelley proposed that pp make ____ attributions for bxs that are all high in consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus
External
Weiner proposed the dimension of ____ to attributions
Stability (applied to internal & external factors)
Learned helplessness
When person attributes negative events to internal, stable, global causes, they are more like to feel depressed and helpless
Abramson & Alloy research on depressed persons appraisals
not necessarily more pessimistic than non depressed ind, but more realistic, proposed idea of “sadder but wiser.”
Fundamental Attribution Bias
*Only about another’s bx, when they fail
Attribute others’ bx to dispositional factors and underestimate impact of situational variables; contributes to blaming the victim
Actor-Observer Bias
*Attributions about one’s own and others’ bx-when both FAIL
Attribute own actions to situational factors, but others bx to dispositional factors
Self Serving Bias
*Only about your bx, but diff attribution for success vs. failure
Attribute own successes to dispositional factors, but failures to situational factors
Heuristic
Guidelines ppl use to categorize other ppl, situations or events
Availability Heuristic
Estimate the likelihood of a situation based on how easily they can recall it
Ex: ppl rate death by firearms as more freq than asthma b/c of news coverage
Representative Heuristic
Make judgments about others or situations based on what you believe is typical example of a particular category
Ex: assumption that victim of spousal abuse is female
Simulation heuristic
Ppl develop mental images of situations then use mental images to make judgments about real events in their lives
Ex: Jealous partner imagines cheating, believes it’s really happening
George Kelly’s theory
Personal Construct Theory
Personal Construct Theory
Fundamental postulate: We perceive the world according to what we expect to see, based on our experiences
Repertory Grid Technique
Assoc w/George Kelly’s Personal Construct theory, tech to map a person’s constructs w/o contamination of interviewer
3 components of an Attitude
Cognitive
Affective
Behavioral
LaPiere Study
He traveled throughout US w/a Chinese couple and only one restaurant refused service in spite of widespread prejudice at that time, by survey all of the restaurants said they would refuse to serve Asians
Situational Constraint
People may act against their beliefs to avoid making a scene
Balance theory
Heider- re:attitude formation & change; ppl change attitudes when there is imbalance between perspectives of ppl involved
Symmetry Theory
Newcomb, re: attitude formation & change; The stronger the bond between ppl, the more any imbalance will be felt, leading to stronger motivation to change attitudes
Congruity Theory
Osgood, re: attitude change: ppl will favor the object to which they feel greater affinity
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Festinger; re:attitude change; most popular theory, ppl motivated to change cognitions when become aware of discrepancy between beliefs & bx
Festinger & Carlsmith Study
Cognitive diss study: participants paid $1 (as opposed to $20) rated a dull task as more interesting after lying to incoming participants that task was interesting
Self Perception Theory
Daryl Bem; attitude change theory- contrast to cognitive diss theory & other consistency theories; proposes that ppl infer their attitudes by observing their own bx…“I did it, so I believe it”
Idea that ppl look outsides themselves when they don’t know reason for their bx
Overjustification Hypothesis
Ppl lose interest in previously desirable activities after performing for too much justification (decreased intrinsic motivation with reward)
Ex: child who likes reading will read less over time if she is rewarded for doing so
Self Verification Theory
Swann, re: self concept; ppl are motivated to confirm their self concept, even if it is (-); seems most robust
Bx Confirmation Theory
Self concept theory: ppl motivated to confirm others’ expectations of them. Not well supported by research, especially when expectations are neg
3 Self Concept Theories
Self Verification
Bx Confirmation
Self Enhancement
Self Enhancement Theory
ppl motivated to think favorably of themselves, want others to think well of them too
3 factors impacting persuasion toward attitude change
- Source of the communication
- Message itself
- Audience
For relatively unimportant matters, source of persuasion is most influential when they are ___, ___, and ___
Likable
similar to the recipient of info
Attractive
For deeply felt convictions, source of persuasion is most influential when deemed ____, which involves ___ and ___
credible
trustworthiness (person has little to gain)
expertise
For fear tactics to work in persuasion, they must ___, ____, ____
engender a lot of fear
be believable
provide specific instructions for avoiding the danger
Primacy Effect
Hint: Long gap—> speak first
When there is a long gap between when a message is presented & action, the speaker who speaks 1st will be remembered best.
Ex: Voting in an election following a debate or speeches
Recency Effect
Hint: Short gap—> speak last
Where there is a small gap between when a message is presented and action, audience will remember speaker who went last
Reactance Theory
Ppl will not respond to persuasion if they believe their freedom is threatened; explains why coercion is mostly ineffective for attitude change
Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion
2 ways in which ppl are persuaded:
Peripheral Route: Focuses on aspects of message that are not central to the message, for example attractiveness of the speaker
Central Route: Focus on relevant information & elaborates on message’s arguments; requires motivation to think deeply about ideas
Inoculation (within persuasion)
Hint: similar to mech of vaccines
Technique to increase resistance to persuasion. Person practices refuting mild arguments against a belief, which increases ability to refute stronger arguments against the belief
3 basic types of conflict
Approach-approach (choosing b/t 2 favorable choices)
Approach-Avoidance (choosing to do something w/both desirable & undesirable results- ex. having a child)
Avoidance-Avoidance (choosing b/t 2 undesirable choices)
Sources of Prejudice
Learned prejudice
Cognitive processes- ingroup favoritism & outgroup negativity; outgroup homogeneity effect (“they all look alike to me”)
Personality traits- high authoritarianism
Competition for limited resources- possibly explains why lower SES whites are more prejudice than higher SES whites
Displaced aggression
Sherif’s Robber’s Cave study
group of 11-12 year old boys at summer camp. 1st created strong ingroup/outgroup identification to create rivalry, then demonstrated how cooperation on shared difficult/rewarding tasks could eliminate prejudice
Superordinate goals
Deemed more important than individual goals, can reduce prejudice *Sherif Robber’s Cave study
3 Main Theories of Emotion
James-Lange
Cannon-Bard
Schacter’s 2 Factor Theory
James-Lange Theory of Emotion
Emotions result of perceiving bodily reactions or resp
My heart is racing—I must be afraid
*not well supported by research b/c body cannot perceive subtle diffs between emotional states i.e. fear vs. excitement
Cannon Bard Theory of Emotion
Emotions & bodily reactions occur at the same time as messages from environ go to diff brain areas
Bodily reactions are not necessary for feeling
Schacter’s 2 Factor Theory of Emotion
Emotion result of info from 2 systems:
Internal (hypothalamus & limbic system)
External (situational context)
Person experiences arousal then looks to environ for cues to explain
*Heart pounding on rollercoaster-excitement
*Heart pounding at EPPP- anxiety
Schacter & Singer’s Epinephrine Studies
Participants who were not told they were given epinephrine looked to environ cues to interp phys arousal. when w/happy confederate, intep happy emotions. when w/depress confed, interp sadness
Social Comparison Theory
When no objective standard exists, ppl compare themselves to others in order to eval their own bx & abilities
Can be “upward” or downward comparisons
Significant Factors in Interpersonal Attraction
Physical Attractiveness-Matching Hypothesis
Proximity-Prox promotes attraction over time
Similarity
Reciprocity Hypothesis- like those who like us
Social Exchange Theory
attraction is impacted by costs and benefits of being in a relationship- when costs outweigh rewards, attraction declines
Schacter study on arousal & attraction
*Hint: misery loves miserable company
ppl who believed they were about to receive a painful shock affiliated more than ppl who thought they were receiving a nonpainful shock
Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis
Dollard; Proposed that aggression is always due to frustration & frustration always leads to some kind of aggression
Sherif study of conformity
Studied the autokinetic effect (tendency to exp stationary light as moving in a dark room). Ind participant’s changed judgment to conform to group
Asch study of conformity
1/3 of subjects chose obviously incorrect response to a simple task when 6 confederates chose incorrectly before them
Conformity has been shown to peak in group with __ ppl that were unanimous
7
3 Factors affecting Conformity
- Normative social influence- peer group more powerful than knowledge
- Informational social influence-conform based on assump that others have more info (i.e. brad followed craig rec about a bike)
- Reference groups- go w/judgment of ppl we like & admire
The likelihood of a minority opinion influencing a group is enhanced when:
person persists in voicing their opinion, is logically coherent, firm yet flexible
Milgram Studies of social influence
Almost 65% of participants obeyed commands of experimenter and administered most severe level of shock to confederates
Key Factors in Obedience
Power of the authority figure
Placement of the responsibility/liability
Gradualism
Foot in the door technique
compliance with initial request increases likelihood of subsequent compliance
3 Types of Group Tasks
Additive
Disjunctive
Conjunctive
Additive Tasks
In group work, Individual contributions come together to produce a combined effect
Disjunctive Tasks
Outcome affected by performance of most effective group member
Conjunctive Tasks
Outcome limited by perf of least effective group member
Stanford Prison Study
Zimbardo; well adjusted students assigned as guard or inmate, had to stop study by day 6 due to guards taking on abusive role and prisoners becoming depressed
*Deindividuation
Deindividuation in groups
Induced by feelings of ANONYMITY (key factor); process of suspending personal identity and adopting that of the group, involves decreased self awareness/regulation
Barnum Effect
Find personal meaning in a statement that could be applied to anyone
Lenore Walker’s cycle of DV
3 stages: Tension building Acute Battering Incident Loving Contrition *stability result of balance btwn costs of abuse & benefits of the relationship
