Social Psychology Flashcards
judgements about the causes of a personal behavior
- “why did they do that?”
attribution
behavior that was due to the situation
situational attribution
behavior that was due to the individual
disposal attribution
we tend to view behavior as a result of a personals disposition even when it can be explained by obvious situational factors
correspondence bias
failure to consider situational factors leads to overestimating the amount that disposition contributed to behavior
fundamental attribution error
emphasizing dispositional attributions to explain the behaviors of others while emphasizing situational attributions to explain out own behavior
actor-observer bias
we view out successes differently than our failures
success = dispositional attribution
failure = situational attribution
self-serving bias
the assumption that good things happen to good people, but bad things happen to bad people
just-world belief
- more emphasis on situational factors
- more likely to show group-serving bias
collectivist cultures
- more emphasis on dispositional factors
- more likey to use defensive attributions
individualistic cultures
a positive or negative evaluation that predisposes behavior toward an object, person, or situatio
attitudes
the uncomfortable state that occurs when behavior and attitudes do not match
cognitive dissonance
an attitude change in response to information provided by another person
persuasion
a model predicting responses to persuasive messages by distinguishing two pathways leading to changes in attitudes
- central route
- peripheral route
elaboration likelihood model (ELM)
when a person considers persuasive arguments carefully and thoughtfully
central route (deep)
when a person responds to peripheral (or external) cues, rather than carefully considering the quality of an argument
- rule of thumb
peripheral route (shallow)
a pre-judgement or attitude (usually negative) of another person based on group membership (the attitudes)
prejudice
simplified sets of traits associated with group membership (the thoughts)
sterotype
unfair behavior based no stereotyping and prejudice (the behavior)
discrimination
anxiety about confirming a negative group stereotype can prevent you from doing your best work
stereotype threat
usually unwritten or unspoken reels for behavior in social settings
social norms
matching behavior and appearance to the perceived social norms of a group
conformity
agreeing to do something because another person asks us, even if they have no authority over us
compliance
feeling obligated to give something back to people who gave something to us
- one of the most powerful tools of social influence
reciprocation
a large, unreasonable demand followed by a smaller request
door-in-the-face technique
a small request is followed up by a large request
foot-in-the-door technique
an initially favorable deal is revised upward once buyer appears committed
lowballing
compliance with the request (or demand) of an authority figure
obedience
a situation in which the presence of other people changes individual performance
social facilitation
the effect of arousal on performance depends on the complexity of the task
terkes-dodson law
performance improves with arousal
simple tasks
performance improves at first, then becomes impaired as arousal continues to grow
complex tasks
reduced motivation and effort shown by individuals working in a group
social loafing
immersion of an individual within a group leading to autonomy
deindividualization
the intensifying of an original attitude following discussion
group polarization
the intensifying of an original attitude following discussion
group polarization
a type of flawed decision making in which a group doesn’t question its decisions critically
groupthink