Social Psychology Flashcards
What is social psychology?
the study of how individuals behave, think, and feel in social situations
What is a social role?
a pattern of behaviour that is expected of a person when functioning in a given setting
Are social roles usually good or bad? Why?
good, provides order in society
Explain Zimbardo’s prison experiment.
had participants screened for mental maturity and health, randomly assigned to either being a prisoner or a guard, after 6 days of role playing guards had created cruel routines and prisoners were breaking
What is conformity?
adjusting our behaviour or thinking to fit in with a group standard
What are some factors that promote conformity?
group size, group unanimity, ambiguity of the situation, and group pressure
Explain Soloman Asch’s experiment?
particpants were shown lines taht were different lengths and asked which was shorter, placed in group with actors who gave wrong answer, 70% also gave this wrong answer because they conformed
Explain Milgram’s study?
assigned participants as a teacher and ordered them to shock the student when they make a mistake and increase the voltage each time
Does judgment of others get distorted by appearance? How?
yes
we tend to associate desirable personality traits and competence with attractive people
What are stereotypes?
widely held beliefs that others will have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group
Why do evolutionary theorists think we categorize people?
because we needed to be able to quickly tell who was a friend or an enemy
What are attributions?
inferences that people make about the causes of events/behaviours
What are internal attributions?
we attribute the causes of behaviour to personal traits, abilities, and feelings
What are external attributions?
we attribute the causes of behaviour to situational demands/environmental factors
What is the fundamental attribution error?
people’s bias in favour of internal attribtuions in explaining others’ behaviour
What is the self-serving bias?
tendency to explain your successes with internal attributions and your failures with external attribution
What is individualism vs collectivism?
putting personal goals ahead of group goals vs putting group goals ahead of personal goals
Are individualistic or collectivistic cultures less prone to fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias?
collectivism
What is a key factor in romantic attraction for both gender?
physical attraction
What is the matching hypothesis?
that males and females of about equal attractiveness are likely to choose eachother as partners
How many types of love are there according to Sternberg’s triangular theory of love?
three main types: intimacy, passion, commitment
two can combine which creates three more types
all three can combine for a total of seven
According to Sternberg what is intimacy alone considered? What about intimacy+passion? What about intimacy+commitment?
liking, romantic love, companionate love
According to Sternberg what is passion alone considered? What about passion+commitment?
infatuation, fatuous love
According to Sternberg what is commitment alone considered?
empty love
According to Sternberg what is intimacy+passion+commitment considered?
consummate love
What is the cognitive component of attitude?
the beliefs that people hold about the object of their attitude
What is the affective component of attitude?
the emotional feelings that are brought on by the object of their attitude
What is the behavioural component of attitude?
of a predisposition to act in a certain way towards the object of their attitude
What does attitude strength refer to?
how firmly your attitude is held
What does attitude accessibility refer to?
how often and how quickly an attitude comes to mind
What does attitude ambivalence refer to?
how conflicted you feel about an attitude
Are attitudes good predictors of peoples behaviour?
they are mediocre predictors
What are explicit vs implicit attitudes?
explicit attitudes are ones we hold consciously and are aware of and can describe
implicit attitudes we are not aware of and are expressed through subtle automatic responses, can influence behaviour
When does persuasion tend to be more successful?
when the source trying to persuade is credible, can depend on expertise or trustworthiness, and likeability
Are two sided arguements or one sided presentation more effective at convincing people?
two sided arguements
When do fear appeals tend to convince people?
if you succesfully arouse fear
What is the learning theory of attitude change?
the affective component of attitude can be changed through classical conditioning or strengthened through operant conditioning
What is dissonance theory? What can it explain?
inconsistency between attitudes motivates attitude change
why people sometimes believe their own lies
What is the elaboration likelihood model?
the central route to persuasion depends on their logic and the peripheral route to persuasion depends on emotions
both routes can lead to persuasion but the central route tends to last longer
What is the self-perception theory?
people often infer their attitudes from their behaviour
What is the bystander effect?
people are less likely to help when they are in groups because of diffusion of responsibility (feel like someone else will help)
Does productivity increase or decrease when working as a group? Why?
usually decrease
loss of coordination and social loafing
What is social loafing?
the reduced effort seen when people work in groups
What is group polarization?
discussion leads a group to shift toward a more extreme decision in the direction it was already leaning
What is groupthink?
cohesive group suspends critical thinking in a misguided effort to promote agreement
How is prejudice different today?
tends to be subtle and often manifested in inconspicuous microaggressions
What can contribute to prejudice?
attributional biases
What is the foot in the door technique?
involves getting people to agree to a small request to increase the chance they will agree to a large request later
What is the reciprocity norm?
the rule that we should pay back in kind what we receive from others
What is the door in the face technique?
when people are presented with a very large request, turn it down, and then comply with a more moderate request
What is the lowball technique?
getting someone to commit to an attractive proposition before its hidden costs are revealed
What is the actor observer bias?
Actors tend to use external attributions for their behaviour and observers use internal attributions for the same behaviour
What is the defensive attribution?
Tendency to blame victims for their misfortune so they feel more secure and less likely to be similarly victimized
