Social Psychology Flashcards
Triplett, 1898
Published first study of social psyc: found that competition influences performance (perform better on familiar tasks when others are present than when alone)
Social Psychology Direction of Influence
Social Psyc is concerned with social behaviors, including attitudes and behavior influenced in the following ways: Individuals influence one another, groups influence individuals, individuals influence groups, and groups influence one another.
McDougall &Ross, 1908
First textbooks in social psyc (separately)
Verplank, 1950s
Social approval influences behavior: Course of a conversation changes based on feedback
Reinforcement theory
Behavior is motivated by anticipated rewards
Bandura
Social Learning Theory: behavior is learned through imitation
Bindle, 1979
Role Theory: awareness of and adoption of expected roles; behavior can be attributed to adopting those roles
Consistency Theories
People prefer consistency; inconsistencies are irritants and if a person is aware of the inconsistency, they will try to resolve it, often by changing attitudes
Fritz Heider’s Balance Theory
Consistency theory:
Three elements: Person (P), Other Person (O), and a thing, idea, or third person (X)
All three must balance. If not, stress. When imbalance and stress is present, there is a tendency to resolve the imbalance. (Too simplistic)
Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Cognitive dissonance occurs when your attitudes are not in sync with your behaviors. Engaging in behavior that conflicts with attitude may result in changing attitude to match the behavior.
Free-choice dissonance
Person makes a choice between many desirable alternatives. However, dissonance still occurs because one or many of the desirable options was/were not selected. (Ex. S likes B and D but must choose one. Both are desirable, so dissonance arises from conflict: S still likes D but is not going out with D.)
Post-decisional dissonance
Dissonance emerging after free-choice dissonance choice is made (S likes D but is not dating D)
Spreading of Alternatives (Post-Decisional Dissonance)
Reducing dissonance by creating space between the alternatives by accentuating the positive of the selected choice or emphasizing the negative of the alternative choice
Forced-Compliance Dissonance
Forced (or coerced) into a behavior that is inconsistent with attitudes. (May come from anticipated punishment or reward)
Minimal Justification Effect
When external justification is minimal, reduce dissonance by changing internal cognitions (reporting the task as more enjoyable when you are paid less)
Two Main Principles of Cognitive Dissonance
- If coercion leads a person to behave in conflict with their attitudes, tendency is to change those attitudes to reduce dissonance
- The greater the pressure is though, the less likely to change attitudes. External pressure can be used to explain dissonance. Less pressure=more likely to change attitudes
Bem’s Self Perception Theory
Is used to explain forced-compliance dissonance. Attitudes are inferred based on observation of own behaviors
Bem’s Self-Perception Theory explains Festinger and Carlsmith’s results
$1 subject must attribute his attitude of liking to the behavior. $20 subject can attribute participation to external motivation.
How is Bem’s Self-Perception different from Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance?
Bem’s doesn’t recognize or consider dissonance, only the change in attitudes.
Overjustification Effect
If you reward people for something they already like, they may stop liking it. May attribute the behavior to the reward rather than their liking
Hovland’s Model
Attitude change as a process of communicating a message with the intent to persuade someone.
Hovland’s Three Components of Communication of Persuasion
Communicator (has taken a position and is trying to persuade), communication (presentation of argument), and the situation (surroundings in which the communication takes place)
Hovland’s Communicator & their Credibility
Greater perception of credibility –> the greater the persuasive impact
Credibility is related to how expert and trustworthy a source appears
Hovland and Weiss (1952)
Conducted study on source credibility:
Presented controversial articles authored by either by physicist “J. Robert Oppenheimer” or by Russian newspaper Pravda. Oppenheimer was more “trustworthy” and more “credible” AND more credible –> more effective in attitude change
Sleeper effect (Hovland and Weiss, 1952)
Persuasive impact of highly credible source decreased over time, while…
Persuasive impact of the low-credibility source increased.
Sources can increase their credibility by…
Arguing against their own self-interest.
Ex. A drug addict arguing against drugs is much more compelling than one who condones drug use
Two-Sided Messages
Contain arguments both for and against a position
Are often used for persuasion since it seems like a “balanced” communication.
Petty and Cacioppo’s elaboration likelihood model of persuasion
Two routes to persuasion: Central and Peripheral
Central Route of Persuasion
One of two routes of persuasion in Petty and Cacioppo’s elaboration likelihood model
The issue is close to the listener; follow the persuader’s argument closely, evaluate their arguments, and generate counterarguments of our own.
A strong argument is more likely to change our mind than a weak one.
Peripheral Route of Persuasion
One of two routes of persuasion in Petty and Cacioppo’s elaboration likelihood model
Don’t care very much about the persuader’s issue or can’t hear the communication clearly; aren’t paying attention (or can’t)
Strength of argument doesn’t matter, however the SOURCE and SITUATION does matter.
McGuire’s Analogy of Inoculation
In inoculation against disease, a weak pathogen is injected into body. In response, body develops resistance to stronger forms of the pathogen. McGuire suggested that the mind behaves similarly in response to persuasive communications.
McGuire & Cultural Truisms
Cultural truisms: beliefs seldom questioned; vulnerable to attack because we have no experience practicing defending them.
Presented refuted counterarguments. Motivates people to practice defending their belief. McGuire found this psychological inoculation was effective in developing resistance to subsequent attacks and non-inoculated truisms were susceptible to attack.
Belief Perseverance
If you are induced to believe a statement and provide your OWN explanation for it, will tend to continue to believe that statement even when it is proven false.
Reactance (under persuasion)
When social pressure is so extreme that a person feels their freedom is threatened, they will reassertion their freedom by taking the opposite position
Festinger’s Social Comparison Theory
We are drawn to affiliate (to a person or group) because of a tendency to evaluate ourselves in relationship to others
Has three main principles.
Three Principles of Festinger’s Social Comparison Theory
- People prefer to self-evaluate by objective means. When not possible –> compare to others
- Less similarity between two people –> less likely to compare against
- When discrepancy is found, tendency is to change position to be in line with the group
Need for self-evaluation becomes need to affiliate
Schachter’s Research (on affiliation)
Greater anxiety –> greater desire to affiliate
Anxious people prefer the company of other anxious people
Need to compare oneself with other people plays role in determining with whom we affiliate
Reciprocity Hypothesis
Tend to like people that indicate that they like us.
Tend to dislike those that dislike us.
Solely the evaluation of qualities does not leads to liking. We take into account the other persons evaluation of us.
Aronson and Linder’s Gain-Loss Principle
Under reciprocity hypothesis, an evaluation that changes will have more of an impact than an evaluation that remains constant.
If liking increases, we will like that person more than someone who has consistently liked us.
We will dislike someone more if their dislike of us increases than if it had remained constant.
Social Exchange Theory
We weigh rewards and costs do interacting with another. The more that rewards outweigh costs –> the greater attraction to the person.
People attempt to maximize reward and minimize costs.
Equity Theory
We also consider the costs and rewards of the other person. We prefer the ratio of costs and rewards be equal to that of the other person.
Need Complimentarity
People choose relationships so that they can mutually satisfy each other’s needs.
Ex. The person who likes to talk is complimented by the person who likes to listen.
Spatial proximity is a factor of…
Attraction.
May be because, the closer people live to one another, the more accessible they are so –> more opportunity for the relationship to develop. May also increase the intensity of initial interactions.
Altruism & helping behavior
Altruism: Intend to benefit someone else at a personal cost.
Helping behavior can be altruistic, but can also be egotistically or selfishly motivated
Mere Exposure Hypothesis
Repeated exposure to a stimulus –> more liking towards it.
Explains spatial proximity as factor of attractiveness.
Zajonc: key figure in mere-exposure research
Pluralistic Ignorance
Leading others to define an event as a non-emergency.
Latané and Darley
Studied bystander intervention.
Specifically, social influence and diffusion of responsibility
Empathy
The ability to vicariously experience the emotions of another
Thought by some social psychologists to be a strong influence on helping behavior
Batson’s Empathy-Altruism Model
Explanation for the relationship between empathy and helping behavior.
People may feel empathy and/or distress when faced with situations in which another may need help.
Frustration-aggression hypothesis
When people feel frustrated –> they act aggressively (according to this hypothesis)
Some research has shown that the strength of frustration is correlated with the level of aggression
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
Aggression is learned through modeling (direct observation) or reinforcement
Children who had observed the aggressive model were more likely to behave aggressively towards an inflated rubber Bobo doll (than children who had been observing adults playing with tinker toys)
Bandura also believed that aggressive behavior is…
Selectively reinforced.
People act aggressively because they expect some kind of reward
Sherif’s Conformity Study
Conducted a classic study on conformity in which he evaluated the concept of norm formation. Used the autokinetic effect.
Individual estimate of light movement conformed to the group. Individual estimates converged to one group norm.
Autokinetic effect
If you stare at a point of light living room that is otherwise completely dark, the light will appear to move.
Asch’s conformity study
Participants were given task of obvious line comparisons. When the confederates agreed on the correct line without misleading the participant, subjects selected the wrong line less than 1% of the time.
Strong tendency to conform to the incorrect response of the confederates (37% of the time)
Milgram’s Obedience Experiment Setup
Subjects believed that they were taking part in an experiment on the effect of punishment on learning.
The subject was instructed to give an electric shock to Mr. Wallace (c) whenever he gave an incorrect answer. (The experimenter explained that the shocks could be extremely painful but would cause no permanent damage)
Milgram’s Obedience Experiment Process
The subject was instructed to give a shock after every wrong answer. Each time, the shock level was to be increased by 15 V. After a 150 V shock Mr. W asked to be freed from the experiment. His protest intensity mounted as the volts increased. After 330 V Mr. W fell silent. Subjects were told that no answer was a wrong answer and that they should continue shocking.
Milgram’s Results
All 40 subjects administered at least 300 v.
Mr. W pounded on the wall after 300 V. At this point, five subjects refused to continue.
26 of the 40 subjects continued to the last switch on the board marked “XXX”
The results indicated that the drive to obey was stronger than the drive not to hurt someone.
Milgram’s modified experiment & results
When subjects did not directly shock the learner 37 out of the 40 subjects participated until the very end.
(Subjects would pull a switch and then a confederate would deliver the shock.)
Three key experiments on conformity and obedience
Sharif, Asch, & Milgram.
Sharif: autokinetic effect; individuals’ estimates of movement conform to groups’
Asch: comparing lengths of lines; subjects yield to group pressure and choose incorrect line
Milgram: experimenter prods subject to give electric shock to other person; subjects shock other person; majority continued shocking up to max voltage
Foot-in-the-door effect
Demonstrates that compliance with a small request increases the likelihood of compliance with a larger later request
Door-in-the-face effect
People who refuse a large initial request are more likely to agree to a later smaller request
Clark & Clark Study
Famous doll preference task. The majority of white and black children preferred the white doll. Highlighted the negative effects of racism and the minority group status on self-concept. Used to bolster the 1954 Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education Supreme Court case against school segregation.
Social perception
The ways in which we form impressions about the characteristics of individuals and of groups of people
Primacy effect
Occasions when first impressions are more important than subsequent impressions
Recency effect
Most important information when forming our impression about an individual is the most RECENT information
Attribution Theory
Focuses on the tendency for individuals to infer the causes of other people’s behavior. Heider divided these causes into two main categories: dispositional and situational.
Dispositional Causes (attribution theory)
Causes related to the features of the person being considered, including the beliefs, attitudes, and personality characteristics of that person
Situational causes (attribution theory)
External; related to features of the surroundings
Ex. Threats, money, social norms, and peer pressure
Fundamental attribution error (attribution theory)
There is a general bias toward making dispositional attributions rather than situational attributions (when inferring the causes of another’s behavior)
Halo effect
Tendency to allow a general impression about a person to influence other, more specific evaluations about that person.
Belief in a Just World (Lerner)
Lerner studied the tendency of individuals to believe in a just world, or BJW (good things happen to good people & bad things happen to bad people)
Strong BJW –> increases the likelihood of “blaming the victim” (since this view denies the possibility of innocent victims)
Newcomb’s Study on Political Views
Two-thirds of the students’ parents were Republican, but the college was very liberal. Each year of a students’ career –> increased individual liberalism.
Over time, students increasingly accepted the norms of the group.
Hall & Proxemics
Cultural norms govern how far away we stand in interpersonal interaction
Zajonc’s Theory
Presence of others increases arousal and consequently enhances the omission of dominant responses.
Whatever behavior is dominant in a situation… Presence of others will increase that behavior.
During training, presence of others impairs.
During expert tasks, presence of others enhances performance
Social loafing
Group phenomenon; tendency for people to put forth less effort when part of a group effort than when acting individually.
Zimbardo Prisoner Setup
Sent police department to arrest the mock prisoners; they were handcuffed, searched, then blindfolded en route to university basement. They were stripped, deloused, dressed in prison uniform & identification numbers
Zimbardo Guards
No training. Told to maintain order; physical violence was prohibited. Wore khaki uniforms and silver reflector sunglasses. Given clubs, whistles, handcuffs, & keys to three cells and a storage closet for solitary.
Zimbardo’s Experiment & Deindividuation
Loss of self awareness and of personal identity. Sense of self was overcome by the roles they were playing.
Janis (Group decision-making)
Developed the concept of groupthink
Groupthink
Tendency to not consider discordant information when trying to reach a consensus in group decision-making
Risky shift
Group decisions are riskier than the average of the individual choices.
Value hypothesis suggests that the risky shift occurs in situations in which riskiness is culturally valued. (Ex. Business)
Stoner (1968)
Found that in group decisions regarding a controversial situation, group decision shifted toward caution. So, content of the item can determine the direction of shift. May suggest Group decisions tend to be more extreme, but not necessarily more risky than individual decisions.
Group polarization
Tendency for group discussion to enhance the group’s initial tendencies towards riskiness or caution.
If, for example, the average of the individuals tends towards risky, then the group decision will enhance the original riskiness of the group of individuals
Lewin’s Study on Leadership
Studied the effects of different leadership styles.
Three different styles were used: autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire.
Lewin’s Results
L-F groups were less efficient, less organized, and less satisfying than D groups.
A groups more hostile, more aggressive, and more dependent on their leader.
D groups were more satisfying and more cohesive than A groups, and motivation and interest were stronger (D)
Prisoner’s Dilemma
Classic method of investigating people’s choices to compete or cooperate.
Sherif; Robber’s Cave experiment
Found that superordinate goals increased intergroup cooperation and also dramatically improved intergroup relations.
