Social Psychology Flashcards
What are social psychologists?
The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another
What is the attribution theory which was proposed by Fritz Heider?
We can explain someone’s behavior by either:
-attributing it to the person’s disposition (their character or nature), this is called dispositional attribution
-attributing their behavior to the situation, this is called ** situational attribution**
Ex.: in class, we notice Juliet barely talks. At the game, Jack talks non stop. That must be the sort of people they are, we decide. Juliet must be shy and Jack outgoing. These attributions to their disposition are valid, because people do have enduring personality traits.
What is fundamental attribution error?
When we analyze other’s behaviors, we overestimate the influence of personality and underestimate the influence of situations.
Ex.: in class, Jack may be as quiet as Juliet. Juliet may be the lead in the high school musical; you would definitely not recognize her as your quiet classmate
What are attitudes?
They are feelings, often influenced by beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events
Ex.: if we believe someone is threatening us, we may feel fear and anger toward the person and act defensively. Our attitudes affect our actions and our actions affect our attitudes.
What are the two forms of persuasion? Explain both
Peripheral route persuasion: does not engage systematic thinking, but produces fast results as people respond to incidental cues (such as endorsements by respected people) and make snap judgements.
Ex.: a perfume ad may lure us with images of beautiful or famous people in love
Central route persuasion: offers evidence and arguments that aim to trigger favorable thoughts. It occurs mostly when people are naturally analytical or involved in the issue.
Ex.: environmental advocates may show us evidence of rising temperatures, melting glaciers, rising seas, and northward shifts in vegetation and animal life. Because it is more thoughtful and less superficial, it is more durable and likely to influence behavior.
Considering the fact that actions affect attitudes, what is the foot-in-the-door phenomenon?
The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to find it easier to comply later with a larger request.
Basically, start small and build
How does role playing (action) affect attitude?
When you adopt a new role, for example starting a new job, your behaviors may feel phony, because you are acting a role. However, after some time, the playacting becomes real life
What is the cognitive dissonance theory developed by Leon Festinger?
We act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent.
Ex.: you might agree to give a measly $2 to help a researcher by writing an essay that supports something you don’t believe in. Feeling responsible for the statements (which are inconsistent with your attitudes), you would probably feel dissonance. To reduce the uncomfortable tension, you might start believing your phony words
The more dissonance we feel, the more motivated we are to find consistency, such as changing our attitudes to help justify the act
What is automatic mimicry? What does it help us to do?
We replicate or act out behaviors that we are exposed to
Ex.: if someone yawns or laughs, we will soon do the same.
We are natural mimics, unconsciously imitating others’ expressions, postures, and voice tones
Automatic mimicry helps us to empathize- to feel what others are feeling.
What is conformity?
Adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard
Ex.: if a teacher proposes a question in class where you must migrate to one of the four corners; highly agree, agree, disagree, highly disagree, and most people go to highly agree while you thought of disagree, you choose to follow the crowd to highly agree.
Describe Asch’s conformity experiment
You sit at a table with five other people. The experimenter displays three comparison lines to a standard line, you must choose the line most identical to the standard line. Seems pretty easy. However, on the third trial, as people answer around the table which line is most identical, they are all saying the wrong answer. You feel nervous, torn between the agreeing unison of the 5 other people or the literal correct answer that is right in front of your own eyes.You feel unsure and tense. You choose to agree with everyone else.
Asch found we are more likely to conform when we:
-feel incompetent or insecure
-in a group with at least three people
-in a group where everyone else agrees
-have not made a prior commitment to any response
-know others in the group will observe our behavior
What is normative social influence?
Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval
We are sensitive to social norms, or understood rules for accepted behavior. We need to belong
What is informational social influence?
Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept other’s opinions about reality
Who tends to prize individualism?
Western Europeans and people in most English speaking countries
Who places a higher value on honoring group standards?
People in Asian, African, and Latin American countries
Describe Milgram’s obedience experiment
The experiment was to study of the effect of punishment on learning.
You and another person were asked to draw slips from a hat to see who will be the teacher, and who will be the learner. If you draw the teacher slip, you would be sat down in front of a machine which had a series of labeled switches. The learner is led to an adjoining room and strapped into a chair. From the chair, wires run through the wall to your machine. You were given your task: teach, and then test learner on a list of word pairs. If the learner gives a wrong answer, you flip a switch to deliver a brief electric shock. For the first wrong answer, you will flip the switch labeled 15 Voltz – slight shock. With each succeeding error, you will move to the next higher voltage.
After the 10th switch, 150 Volts– strong shock, the learner begins shouting to let him out, and he does not want to continue with the experiment. You draw back, but the stern experimenter prods you: “please continue the experiment requires that you continue.” You resist, but the experimenter says, “it is absolutely essential that you continue.”
More than 60% complied toward the experimenter fully – right up to the last switch of 435 to 450 V.
What were some situations that Milgram found contributed to the highest level of obedience?
The person giving the orders was close at hand and was perceived to be a legitimate authority figure
The authority figure was supported by prestigious institution
The victim was personalized or at a distance, even in another room
There were no role models for defiance
What is social facilitation?
Improved performance on simple or well learned tasks in the presence of others
But on other tasks, like learning nonsense syllables or solving complex multiplication problems, people perform worse when observers or others are working on the same task are present.
What you do well, you are likely to do even better in front of an audience. What you normally find difficult may seem all but impossible when you are being watched.
What is social loafing?
It is the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable.
What three things causes social loafing?
People acting as part of a group feel less accountable, and therefore worry less about what others think.
Group members may view their individual contributions as dispensable
When group members share equally in the benefits, regardless of how much they contribute, some may slack off. Unless highly motivated and strongly identified with the group, people may free ride on others efforts.
What is deindividuation?
It is the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.
Ex.: tribal warriors, who depersonalize themselves with face paints, or masks are more likely than those with exposed faces to kill, torture, or mutilate captured enemies.
What is group polarization?
The enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.
Discussion among like-minded people tends to strengthen pre-existing attitudes
By linking and magnifying the inclinations of like-minded people, the Internet can be very, very, very bad, but also very very good.
What is groupthink?
The mode thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives
What is social control and personal control?
Social control is the power of the situation
Personal control is the power of the individual
Both of these interact with each other
The power of one or two individuals to sway majorities is called what?
Minority influence
If you are the minority, you’re far more likely to sway the majority if you hold firmly to your position and don’t waffle. This tactic won’t make you popular, but it may make you influential, especially if your self-confidence stimulates others to consider why you react as you do.
What is prejudice? Prejudice is a three-part mixture of what?
Prejudice means prejudgment. It is an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude towards a group – often a different, cultural, ethnic, or gender group.
Beliefs, in this case, called stereotypes (a generalized or over generalized belief about a group of people)
Emotions, for example, hostility or fear
Predispositions to action; to discriminate
What is ethnocentrism?
It is assuming the superiority of one’s ethnic group
It is one example of prejudice
What is the difference between discrimination and prejudice?
They are related, however, prejudice is cognitive and nature.
Discrimination, on the other hand, is behavior motivated by prejudice
What is the difference between overt prejudice and subtle prejudice?
Overt prejudice is conscious and deliberate acts of discrimination
Subtle prejudice is automatic, unconscious attitudes towards a group or its members
