Social Psychology Flashcards
Conformity:
Altering one’s behaviors and opinions to match those of other people or to match other people’s expectations
Normative influence:
People conform in order to fit in with the group, even when they believe the group is doing the wrong thing
Informational influence
People conform when they think that the behavior of others is correct or appropriate
Social norms
-Set expectations about behavior and the consequences of deviating
from those expectations.
-People who go against the group risk criticism, embarrassment, and ostracism
Reciprocity
If Person A helps (or harms) Person B, then Person B will help (or harm) Person A
Transitivity
Sharing friends’ opinions of others; if Jim and Tom are friends, then if Jim likes Emily, then Tom will also tend to like Emily
Social identity theory
Ingroups perceive themselves to be members of the same social category and experience pride through their group membership
Ingroup favoritism:
People evaluate favorably and privilege members of the ingroup more than members of the outgroup
Group polarization:
The process by which initial attitudes of groups become more extreme over time
Attributions
Explanations for why events occur
Personal attributes
Explanations of people’s behavior that refer to their internal characteristics
Situational attributes
Explanations of people’s behavior that refer to external events
Correspondence bias
The tendency to expect that people’s actions correspond with their beliefs and personalities
Fundamental attribution error
In explaining other people’s behavior, the tendency to overemphasize personality traits and underestimate situational factors
Actor/observer discrepancy
People focus on situations to explain their own behaviors, and focus on dispositions to explain other people’s behavior
Stereotypes
Cognitive schemas in which group membership is used to organize information about people
Sub-typing
When people encounter someone who does not fit a stereotype, they put that person in a special category rather than alter the stereotype
Stereotype threat
Fear or concern about confirming negative stereotypes related to one’s own group, which in turn impairs performance on a task
Prejudice
Negative feelings, opinions, beliefs associated with a stereotype
Discrimination
The differential treatment of people as a result of prejudice against their group
Perspective taking
A technique involving people actively contemplating the
psychological experiences of other people
Perspective giving
A technique in which people share their experiences of being targets of discrimination
Differentiate between conformity and obedience
Obedience is obeying someone with a higher status; conformity is going along with people of equal status. Obedience relies on social power; conformity relies on the need to be socially accepted.
Discuss the relationship between social norms and conformity
Social norms are the accepted standards of behavior of social groups. These groups range from friendship and workgroups to nation-states. behavior that fulfills these norms is called conformity.
Describe the factors that influence formation of ingroups and outgroup
People can identify with ingroups and outgroups based on many factors, like ethnicity, gender, age, occupation, political affiliation, and even arbitrary criteria
