Social Psychology #1

Question 1

What is Social Psychology?

Answer 1

The way we think about others (social cognition) and the way we act towards them individually and in groups (social behaviour)

Question 2

Social Cognition

Answer 2

How people perceive their social worlds and themselves and how they attend to, store, remember and use information about other people and the social world

Question 3

Impression formation

Answer 3

How we form beliefs and attitudes about others (consciously)
We only need small snippets of people to make an impression, but it depends what you are trying to understand about a person and what they want you to think of them - not necessarily accurate

Question 4

Impression management

Answer 4

Our attempt to influence others beliefs and attitudes about us (unconsciously)

Question 5

Halo effect

Answer 5

Being physically attractive may lead to be judge more positively on other dimensions, a temporary effect

Question 6

Primacy effect

Answer 6

When we get a small piece of information on someone, and judge our conception of them off this. Primacy is the FIRST piece of information we get about the person.

Question 7

Self-Perception theory:

How we think about ourselves

Answer 7

The theory that people come to understand themselves by making inferences from their behaviour and the events surrounding their behaviour
NOTE: “self-perception theory” is not the only theory of ‘self-perception’

Question 8

HARRE STUDY: Driving Speed

Reasons for this finding

Answer 8

• Behaviour and self perception are not perfectly aligned, operate through different channels, although are related
• Thus, self-perception theory cannot be a perfect explanation for how we form self-perceptions

Question 9

RAY FULLER: Learned Riskiness

Harre Study Contin..

Answer 9

Children usually do behave safely, stay on footpath etc, which is something we have learnt through observation, therefore we have adjusted our behaviour unconsciously to reflect this (that children will look after themselves, unconscious cognition)

Question 10

Self-Serving biases

Answer 10

Self-serving biases are when self-perceptions are “distorted” in ways that protect our self-esteem.
e.g. we want to think of ourselves as moral, and it is not moral to endanger the lives of innocent children.

Question 11

HARRE, HOUKAMAU & BRANDT 2004 STUDY:

Young drivers + why they took risks on the road

Answer 11

70 Year 12 Drivers - Auckland
Attributes:
1. Fun, adrenaline buzz - feel like having fun, cheap thrill, adrenaline rush
2. Showing off, acting cool - to impress young drivers, show off skill to look cool
3. In a hurry, late - hurrying to get to somewhere
4. Peer pressure - friends influence

Question 12

Attribution:

Answer 12

An explanation for the cause of an event or behaviour

Question 13

Internal Attributions:

Answer 13

An explanation of someone’s behaviour that focuses on the person’s preferences, beliefs, goals or other characteristics (AKA Dispositional attribution)

Question 14

External Attributions:

Answer 14

An explanation.. that focuses on the situation (also known as situational attributions)

Question 15

Correspondence bias
or
Fundamental attribution error

Answer 15

We have a tendency towards external attributions of others behaviour. We also have a general tendency towards thinking well of ourselves. We often think we are better than others.

Question 16

Above average effect

Answer 16

The tendency of people to consider themselves better than others.
It is a self-serving bias
The above average effect is usually measured on a population basis and is indicated by a skewed distribution

Question 17

Above Average Effect: Reasons

Answer 17

People from individualist cultures are motivated to think of themselves as better than others, as this is part of the cultural definition of status.

Question 18

Individualist v Collectivist Cultures:

Markus & Kitayama (1991)

Answer 18

Japanese and American students were asked to rate their abilities in several areas.
70% of American students rated themselves as above average on each trait
50% Japanese rated themselves above average

Reasons:

• People from individualist cultures are motivated to think of themselves as better than others, as the is part of their definition of status
• We search our memories and that is often selective, so we remember more easily the occasions on which we did well than the occasions on which we did badly
• The meanings of the traits are often ambiguous, so allow us to interpret the evidence in a way that puts us in the best light

Question 19

Considering ourselves above average can have…

Answer 19

• Positive effects in terms of happiness and persistence at tasks
• Negative effects in term of complacency and risk-taking

Question 20

Crash-Risk Optimism:

HARRE, FOSTER & O’NEILL (2005)

Answer 20

• Were asked about their driving (judgement, skill, risk taking etc)
• Massive above-average effect

MEN showed more self-enhancement on driving ability - thought they were better
WOMEN showed more self-enhancement in driving caution

Repeated with 1st Year Psych students:

• Was still a bias, not as strong as o.g. study
• Neutral ability sometimes outweighed above average ability

Question 21

Body Size Study:

DONAGHUE 2008

Answer 21

30 AUS men and women photographed, everyone given photos of everyone (incl. self)
- Asked to judge their body size, attractiveness and sexiness of all.
- Above average effect present for both, when they judged themselves as more attractive and sexier than others judged them
BUT
- Both judged themselves as LARGER than others judges them - opposite to above-average effect
- Perhaps b/c they are unable to compare themselves with ‘naked’ others except those who are in media/models
- Bias may be a distorted sense of how then everyone is b/c of stereotypical visual images of perfect bodies