Social Psychology Flashcards
Social cognition
- Information processing affects social behaviour
- Attribution Theory: explanations of behaviour
- Attitudes: evaluations of people/things
- Cognitive dissonance: attitude/behavioural change
Implicit vs Explicit social conventions
Implicit social conventions: eg drinking on the right side; handshake (not written)
Exlplicit rules: eg drinking and driving prohibited (written)
- Norms vary by region and overtime
Descriptive norms
defines what is commonly done in a situation (what is done)
ex. binge drinking in universities
Injunctive norms
describes what is commonly approved or disapproved in situation (what should be done)
- Proscriptions: Should return favours (should do)
- Prohibitions: Shouldn’t steal (shouldn’t do)
- Reciprocity norm: return the favour
Social roles; what are they governed by
Social position governed by norms and expectations
- sex roles, family roles, occupational roles
Weiner’s two dimensional attribution model
Dispositional vs Situational: (1st dimension)
Stable vs. Unstable (2nd dimension)
Success vs. Failure
Dispositional vs Situational ; sources of behaviour
Internal attributions: individual’s disposition, traits, skills, feelings
External attributions: environmental demands and constraints
Stable vs Unstable: sources of behaviour
Temporary causes (change over time)
Permanent causes (do not change overtime)
Attributions of high achievers vs low achievers
High achievers: attribute success to internal stable causes and failures to external causes
Low achievers and those suffering from depression do the opposite (success external and failure internal)
Fundamental Attribution Bias
Tendency to overestimate internal factors and underestimate external factors when explaining other’s behaviour
- more likely to occur when cognitive load is high
Difference between dispositional and situational attributions
dispositional attributions are automatic; situational attributions require effort
self-serving bias
Tendency to attribute personal successes to dispositional factors but failures to situation factors
- more likely to occur when cognitive load is high
Defensive Bias
belief in “just world”: tendency to believe that people reap what they deserve
- Need for predictability (reduce uncertainty)
- Tendency to blame the victim
- Calamity threatens this belief: “bad things can happen to good people”
Cultural differences in attributions: Individualist cultures
personal goals are prioritized; unique identity; emphasize independance, self esteem (North America and Western Europe)
Cultural differences in attributions: Collectivist cultures
group goals prioritized; group identity; emphasize shared values, cooperation, and interdependence (Asia, South America, Africa)
Cultural differences in attributions: Self-serving bias
is weaker in collectivist cultures
- Self efficacy bias: external attributions of successes (cultural norm)
- Self criticism: Internal attributions of failures
Culture and the Self; Independent Self
autonomous and distinct
- defined by distinct traits and preferences (i like soccer, i am honest)
- “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”
- Individualistic insults: “You are a pig”
Culture and the Self: Interdependent self
connected and overlapping
- defined by shared traits and preferences; duties and roles (we are japanese, I am a father)
- “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down”
- Relational insults “Your mother is a pig”
Components of attitudes
- Cognitive (a thought): People on twitter are deceptive jerks
- Affective (feelings): Twitter makes me angry
- Behavioural (actions): Use twitter as an example for negative attitude
Attitudes predict behaviour
Attitudes predict behaviour when attitudes are strong, explicit and there is a vested interest
- Attitudes should be at the same level as behaviour (ex. people who don’t like smoking dont smoke)
Dissonance
unpleasant physiological arousal due to inconsistency in cognition/behaviour (motivates change)
Counter attitudinal action
behaviour inconsistent with existing attitudes
- changed their attitude to be consistent with their behaviour
Cognitive Dissonance
the discomfort a person feels when their behavior does not align with their values or beliefs.
Resolved when attitude is consistent with behaviour
Contradicts operational conditioning
Contradict expectations about cause and effect
Forbidden Toy experiment
Children given a warning not to play with a favoured toy
- Mild warning: “be annoyed”
- Severe warning: “would be very angry”
Children given the stern warning played with the toy more later than children given the mild warning
When children can finally play: (brings attitude and behaviour together)
- Mild ; less inclined to play
- Severe ; more inclined to play
Postdecisional Dissonance
Dissonance arising from the knowledge that one has made a decision and the possibility that they did not choose well
- attitudes towards chosen option improves; attitude towards unchosen option deteriorates
ex. betters feel more confident after placing a bet
Voter feel more strongly in favour of candidates after voting
Is arousal experienced when cognition and behaviour are inconsistent
Physiological recordings measured while writing voluntary counter attitudinal essay indicate yes
Does arousal motivate changes in cognition
Tranquilizer to eliminate arousal during counter-attitudinal essay writing followed by little or no attitude change
Arousal is important in motivating them to change their attitude
Elaboration likelihood Model and its two components
Dual process model of persuasion that predicts whether factual information or other types of information will be most influential
1. Central Route
2. Peripheral Route
Central Route of the ELM
- message content (facts, logic, details) is persuasive
- rational: deliberate, conscious processing
- internalizing the message as a belief (strong and long-lasting)
- requires motivation and time
Peripheral Route of the ELM
- Features of the message (number of arguements; attractiveness of the messenger) are persuasive
- Quick positive impression: automatic, nonconscious processing
- Motivation/time are lacking
- Even very weak arguments can become persuasive
Construal level Theory (central Route of ELM)
Information affects us differently depending on our psychological distance from the information
- Info that is specific, personal, uses concrete details feel closer to us which increase motivation
- Geographic distance, temporal distance, social distance
One sided vs two sided messaging (central route)
- more persuasive to acknowledge opposing arguments and counter them (unless they are unlikely to hear opposition)
- Attitude inoculation (straw man arguments): present weak or fabricated arguments that are easily countered
- Sound objective and trustworthy
- Listeners become more resistant to change later when encountering oppsing arguments
Attitude Inoculation
Small attacks on attitudes enable one to counter larger subsequent attacks
- Participants first rate attitude towards a set of cultural truisms on a 15 point scale
- Those inoculated with the small attack remained most supportive of the truism
Authority (peripheral route)
- Authorities can be a good source of information (central route)
- Authorities can wield influence outside their area of expertise (status over experience)
- Dressing with authority
Attractiveness (peripheral route)
Physically attractive messengers are more persuasive
- Halo effect: tendency to perceive physically attractive people as possessing positive traits
Norm of reciprocity (peripheral route)
obligation to repay others
ex. free samples, free trials
Foot in the door technique and door in the face technique
Foot in the door: asking for something small, then following with a request for something more substantial (cognitive dissonance)
Door in the face technique; asking for something big then following with a request for something more reasonable
