Social Psychology Flashcards
Social Psychology
the study of how people influence other people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions
Social Brain Hypothesis
group size is correlated to neocortex size, our brain as humans is larger to accommodate for all the social knowledge we need to know in order to be successful specie members.
Ingroup
the group to which one belongs
Outgroup
the group to which one does not belong
Two critical conditions for group formation
reciprocity
transitivity
Reciprocity
if person A helps or harms person B, then person B will help or harm person A.
People treat others as others treat them
Transitivity
people generally share their friends’ opinions of other people
Outgroup homogeneity effect
the tendency to view outgroup members as less varied than ingroup members.
you may look at another group and think they’re but see diversity in your own group. The other group may do the same thing for your group
Social Identity Theory
Ingroup individuals perceive themselves to be members of the same social category and experience pride through their group membership.
Defining yourself by your group status is part of your social identity
Ingroup Favoritism
the tendency for people to evaluate favorable and privilege members of the ingroup
Minimal group paradigm
Even when people are randomly assigned to a group and there are no real connections (or the connections are arbitrary), they still show favoritism to their group members
Dehumanization
seeing outgroup members as less human than ingroup members
Mere presence effect
the presence of others generally enhances arousal and affects performance
Social facilitation
if the task is practiced and easy, the presence of others will improve the performance.
if the task is difficult, the presence of others will impair performance
Deindividuation
an individual in a group experiences a weakened sense of personal identity and diminished self awareness
-facilitated by being able to be anonymous
-facilitated by having an assigned role
-facilitated by the presence of other people.
Risky-shift effect
groups often make riskier decisions than individuals do
Group Polarization
the process by which initial attitudes of groups become more extreme over time
Groupthink
an extreme form of group polarization where groups make bad decisions as a result of trying to preserve the group and maintain its cohesiveness
- the group doesn’t process all the info
- dissent is discouraged
- group members assure each other they are doing the right thing
Social Loafing
the tendency for people to work less hard in a group than when working alone
Conformity
the altering of one’s behaviors and opinions to match those of other people or to math other people’s expectations
Normative Influence
the tendency for people to conform in order to fit in with the group
Informational Influence
the tendency for people to conform when they assume that the behavior of others represents the correct way to respond
Things that affect conformity
small group size
unanimity increases conformity
other group members dissenting from the majority reduces conformity
Compliance
the tendency to agree to do things requested by others
Factors that increase compliance
-being in a good mood
-failure to pay attention
-failure to fully consider options
Obedience
when a person follows the orders of a person of authority
Milgram’s research
(the shocking another person experiment)
ordinary people may do horrible things when ordered to do so by an authority
Agression
any behavior that involves the intention to harm another
MAOA in agression
-regulates serotonin
-serotonin affects amygdala activity
-NOT a violence gene
-appears to make individuals susceptible to environmental risk factors associated with antisocial behaviors
Testosterone and agression
-has a modest correlation with aggression
-may the the result and not the cause of aggression
-winners experience high levels of testosterone
-losers experience low levels of testosterone
Culture of Honoe
a belief system in which men are primed to protect their reputation through physical aggression
Bystander Intervention Effect
the failure to offer help when other people are present
Four major reasons for the bystander intervention effect
-diffusion of responsibility
-fear of making social blunders in ambiguous situations
-people are less likely to help when they are anonymous and can remain so
-people weigh the costs versus benefits of helping
Prosocial Behaviors
actions that tend to benefit others, such as doing favors or helping
Why are we prosocial animals
- motivated by empathy
- selfish motives (relieve one’s negative mood, maintain social status)
- inborn tendency to help others
Altruism
providing help when it is needed, without any apparent reward for doing so
Inclusive fitness
an explanation for altruism that focuses on the adaptive benefit of transmitting genes, such as through kin selection, rather than focusing on individual survival (the desire for family survival so your genes live on)
Group Cooperation
competition = hostility
cooperation = less hostility
Attitudes
people’s evaluations of objects, of events, or of ideas
Cognitive Dissonance
an uncomfortable mental state resulting from a contradiction between two attitudes or between an attitude and behavior
Cognitive Dissonance Study
the extremely boring task study
-20$ to lie thought it was less fun
-1$ to lie thought it was more fun
Attributions
people’s explanations for why events or actions occur
Personal Attributions
explanations of people’s behavior that refer to their internal characteristics such as abilities, traits, moods, or efforts (they’re smart)
Situational Attributions
explanations of people’s behavior that refer to external events, such as the weather, luck, accidents, or other people’s actions (they must have a family emergency)
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 while focusing on dispositions to explain other people’s behavior.
Stereotypes
cognitive schemas that help us organize information about people on the basis of their membership in certain groups
Prejudice
negative feelings, opinions, and beliefs associated with a stereotype
Discrimination
the inappropriate and unjustified treatment of people as a result of prejudice
Illusory Correlations
an example of the psychological reasoning error of seeing relationships that do not exist (all women are bad at math)
Subtyping
when people encounter someone who does not fit a stereotype, they put that person in a special category rather than alter the stereotype (they must be the exception)
Self-fulfilling prophecies
believing something should happen so you take actions so that it does (bank failure in the great depression - people thought the banks would fail so they withdrew their money causing the banks to fail) (placebo effect)
Stereotype Threat
when a person is influenced by negative stereotyped against them. they believe the worst about themselves and it affects their actions
