Social Psych Flashcards
define social psych
the scientific study of the feelings, thoughts, and behaviours of individuals in social situations.
5 themes of social psych
- power of situation
- role of construal - different interpretations from person to person
- People follow intuitions. lazy judgements = cognitive miser
- attitudes and dispositions matter - individual has influence on their social situation.
- social processes are both unconscious and conscious
define attribution
assigning a cause to an instance of our own or other people’s behaviour.
internal attribution
attributing the causes of behaviour to person’s personality, skill, talent and ability
external attribution
cause of behaviour = situational factor
Fundamental Attribution Error
believe behaviour is due to person’s disposition rather than situation
two elements of Fundamental attribution error
- applies to others not ourselves
- error is not inevitable - with time, error is reduced.
self-serving bias
tendency to perceive yourself favourably. protect self-esteem.
self fulfilling prophecy
expectations affect behaviour towards others, causing expected behaviours that confirm expectations
define attitudes
set of beliefs that we hold in relation to people, places, things, events.
how do attitudes relate to behaviour
attitude relates to intention of behaviour, not always the end-behaviour.
three links between attitudes and behaviour
- specificity: attitude and behaviour on same level
2 strength: accesibility of attitude in situation - accessibility: extent to which attitude is accessible in the mind.
theory of planned behaviour
based on attitude, subjective norms (what’s ok to do), and perceived behavioural control (can they do behaviour - limitations) –> all three predict behaviour.
cognitive dissonance theory
inconsistencies between thoughts, feelings and behaviours => aversive emotional state.
leads to attitude changes to resolve dissonance.
self perception theory
form attitudes from our behaviour
ex: pen in mouth.
elaboration-likelihood model: two ways & what is it?
persuasive message causes attitude change
- central route: think carefully and deliberately –> naive scientist. may be more easily persuaded
- peripheral route: attend to superficial aspects of message – cognitive miser
central route of persuasion - what do they do?
look at strength and quality of arguments more critically
Peripheral route cues
- attractiveness
- similarity to self
- expertise -dr. pepper effect.
what is dr. pepper effect
in relation to peripheral cue of expertise. the word “dr.” makes the message seem more credible and valued causing people to be more likely to respond positively to it.
define social influence
how thoughts, feelings, behaviours change when in presence of others
4 levels of social influence
- mere presence
- conformity - change in behaviour in accord w others
- obedience - acting in accord w direct order
- compliance - publicly acting in accord with others wish, while holding other attitude
example of mere presence
people reel or yell faster with others than when alone