social psychology Flashcards
What are causal attributions?
Inferences about the causes of one’s own behaviors and the behaviors of others.
What are the two types of causal attributions?
- Internal (dispositional)
- External (situational)
What is an optimistic explanatory style?
Attributing negative outcomes to external, unstable, and specific factors.
What is a pessimistic explanatory style?
Attributing negative outcomes to internal, stable, and global factors.
What is the fundamental attribution error?
The tendency to overestimate dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors in others’ behaviors.
How does culture affect the fundamental attribution error?
North Americans make more dispositional attributions, while Asian Indians make more situational attributions.
What is the actor-observer effect?
The tendency to attribute our own behaviors to situational factors and others’ behaviors to dispositional factors.
What is the self-serving bias?
Attributing our own desirable behaviors to dispositional factors and undesirable behaviors to situational factors.
What is the ultimate attribution error?
Attributing in-group negative behaviors to situational factors and out-group negative behaviors to dispositional factors.
What does the group attribution error describe?
Attributing individual group member’s beliefs and decisions to the group as a whole.
What are the two versions of the group attribution error?
- Belief that an individual group member’s beliefs reflect the group
- Belief that group decisions reflect the decisions of each individual member
What is Kelley’s covariation model?
A model proposing that attributions about behavior are based on consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness.
What does ‘consensus’ refer to in Kelley’s covariation model?
Whether others would behave the same way in the same situation.
What does ‘consistency’ refer to in Kelley’s covariation model?
Whether the person usually acts this way in this type of situation.
What does ‘distinctiveness’ refer to in Kelley’s covariation model?
Whether the person usually behaves differently in other situations.
When are external attributions likely to be made according to Kelley’s model?
When consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness are all high.
When are internal attributions likely to be made according to Kelley’s model?
When consensus is low, consistency is high, and distinctiveness is low.
What are the two types of cognitive processing distinguished in social cognition?
Automatic processing and controlled processing
Automatic processing is fast and efficient, while controlled processing is slower and effortful.
What is the confirmation bias?
The tendency to seek and pay attention to information that confirms our attitudes and beliefs and ignore information that refutes them
This bias is related to self-verification theory, which predicts individuals seek feedback that confirms their self-concepts.
What does illusory correlation refer to?
Overestimating the relationship between two variables that are not related or only slightly related
An example includes overestimating behaviors consistent with negative stereotypes of minority groups.
Define the base rate fallacy.
The tendency to ignore or underuse base rate information and be influenced by distinctive case features
Juries often rely more on anecdotal evidence than on base-rate information.
What is the false consensus effect?
The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our opinions, values, and beliefs
It affects judgments in various situations, such as estimating others’ performance on a test.
What is the gambler’s fallacy?
The belief that a particular chance event is affected by previous events and will ‘even out’ in the short run
An example is believing the next coin toss will be tails after several heads.
What does counterfactual thinking involve?
Imagining what might have happened but didn’t, often involving better or worse outcomes
It is more likely when the outcome is personally significant.
What is illusory control?
The belief that one can influence events outside their control
Examples include superstitious behaviors like blowing on dice or choosing ‘lucky’ lottery numbers.
Define the spotlight effect.
The belief that more people take note of one’s actions and appearance than is actually the case
It is especially common in individuals with social anxiety.
What is the illusion of transparency?
Overestimating the extent to which others can discern one’s internal thoughts and feelings
This occurs when individuals believe others can detect their emotional reactions.
What is the hindsight bias?
The tendency to believe one could have predicted an event after it occurs, also known as the ‘knew-it-all-along’ effect
It affects how people remember their pre-event predictions.
Define the sunk-cost fallacy.
The tendency to continue investing resources in an endeavor despite it not producing desired outcomes
This is also known as the Concorde fallacy, where the British and French governments continued funding the Concorde project.
What are heuristics?
Mental shortcuts that provide quick estimates about the likelihood of uncertain events.
What are the three types of heuristics distinguished by Kahneman and Tversky?
Representativeness, availability, and anchoring and adjustment.
What does the representativeness heuristic involve?
Ignoring base rates and other important information, focusing on how much an event resembles a prototype.
What is the conjunction fallacy?
When people estimate that the odds of two uncertain events happening together are greater than the odds of either event happening alone.
In the Linda problem, which statement did most students choose?
Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement.
Why did students exhibit the conjunction fallacy in the Linda problem?
They relied on the representativeness of Linda’s description rather than on logic or probability.
What does the availability heuristic involve?
Basing judgments about the frequency of an event on how easy it is to recall relevant examples.
Give an example of the availability heuristic.
Overestimating the frequency of deaths due to shark attacks and plane crashes.
What is the anchoring and adjustment heuristic?
Estimating the frequency of an event by starting with a starting point and making adjustments.
Provide an example of the anchoring and adjustment heuristic.
Negotiating the price of a used bicycle at a garage sale.
What does the simulation heuristic involve?
Judging the likelihood of an event based on how easily it can be imagined happening.
How does the simulation heuristic affect emotional reactions?
Events that are easily imagined being undone lead to more extreme emotional reactions.
What is counterfactual thinking?
Imagining alternative actions or events that would have led to different outcomes.
In the airport scenario, who did subjects think would feel worse about missing the flight?
The man who missed the flight by only 5 minutes.
Fill in the blank: The representativeness heuristic can lead to _______.
Conjunction fallacy.
True or False: The availability heuristic can lead to accurate judgments if the recalled examples are representative.
True.
What is the relationship between attitudes and behaviors according to early research?
A weak relationship was found.
What affects the strength of the relationship between attitudes and behavior?
Conditions such as strength, accessibility, and specificity of attitudes.
When are attitudes better predictors of behaviors?
When a person’s attitude is strong.
What enhances attitudinal strength?
When the attitude is derived from direct experience and is relevant to self-interests.
How does accessibility of an attitude influence behavior prediction?
Easily accessible attitudes predict behavior better.
What increases the likelihood that an attitude predicts behavior?
When a person is well-informed or has been repeatedly asked about it.
What is the significance of specificity in attitudes and behaviors?
The link is stronger when attitudes and behaviors are at the same level of specificity.
What is the Theory of Planned Behavior?
A framework where intention to perform a behavior is the best predictor of that behavior.
What three factors determine a person’s behavior intention in the Theory of Planned Behavior?
- Person’s attitude toward the behavior
- Subjective norms
- Perceived behavior control
What does the Prototype/Willingness Model predict?
Health-related risk behaviors through reasoned and social reaction paths.
What is the reasoned path in the Prototype/Willingness Model?
It results from a person’s behavior intention.
What influences the willingness to engage in a behavior according to the Prototype/Willingness Model?
The perceived acceptability of the behavior and the person’s prototype.
What does the Health Belief Model identify?
Beliefs, attitudes, and factors predicting engagement in behavior to reduce disorder risk.
What are the components of the Health Belief Model?
- Perceived susceptibility
- Perceived severity
- Perceived benefits
- Perceived barriers
- Self-efficacy
- Cues to action
What does perceived susceptibility refer to?
A person’s perception of their likelihood of developing a disorder.
What is perceived severity in the Health Belief Model?
A person’s perception of the seriousness of the consequences of developing a disorder.
What are perceived benefits?
Beliefs about the likelihood that taking action will reduce vulnerability to the disorder.
What are perceived barriers?
Beliefs about the material and psychological costs of taking action.
What does self-efficacy refer to?
A person’s confidence in their ability to take action.
What are cues to action?
Factors that motivate the person to act.
True or False: The Health Belief Model suggests that targeting certain factors can increase willingness to engage in health-related behavior.
True
What are the two routes of processing in the Elaboration Likelihood Model?
Central route and peripheral route
The central route involves thoughtful evaluation, while the peripheral route involves automatic evaluation.
In the Elaboration Likelihood Model, when is the central route most likely to be used?
When the message is personally relevant, the person has cognitive ability, and/or is in a neutral or bad mood
This route leads to strong and enduring attitude change.
What factors influence attitude change through the peripheral route?
Peripheral cues such as source, message, and recipient factors
Examples include communicator’s attractiveness and message length.
What is the latitude of acceptance in Social Judgment Theory?
Positions the person finds acceptable because they are similar to their own position
This represents the degree of similarity that influences acceptance.
According to Social Judgment Theory, what happens to latitudes when ego-involvement increases?
Latitudes of acceptance and noncommitment become smaller, and latitude of rejection becomes larger
This indicates a stronger resistance to opposing views.
What is the focus of Heider’s Balance Theory?
The relationships among a person (P), another person (O), and an attitude object or event (X)
It assesses whether these relationships are balanced or unbalanced.
What motivates people to establish balance in Balance Theory?
A sense of discomfort caused by unbalanced states
People seek to resolve inconsistencies in their attitudes toward others and objects.
What is cognitive dissonance according to Festinger’s theory?
A state of mental discomfort due to inconsistency between cognitions or between cognition and behavior
This discomfort motivates individuals to relieve the dissonance.
What are the four ways to relieve cognitive dissonance?
- Replace or subtract a dissonant cognition
- Add a consonant cognition
- Increase the importance of a consonant cognition
- Decrease the importance of a dissonant cognition
These strategies help individuals cope with conflicting thoughts.
What was the outcome of Festinger and Carlsmith’s 1959 study on cognitive dissonance?
Subjects paid $1.00 rated the task as more enjoyable than those paid $20.00
This demonstrated how insufficient justification leads to cognitive dissonance.
What does Self-Perception Theory propose?
People learn about themselves by observing their own behaviors and the circumstances surrounding those behaviors
This theory suggests self-assessment is similar to how we assess others.
What is the overjustification effect in Self-Perception Theory?
When external rewards decrease intrinsic motivation for an intrinsically rewarding behavior
This effect indicates that rewards can undermine genuine interest.
Fill in the blank: According to Self-Perception Theory, children rewarded for coloring spent less time coloring in a subsequent play period due to the _______.
overjustification effect
This illustrates how rewards can impact intrinsic motivation.
What is psychological reactance?
A response to social influence when individuals feel their freedom is threatened, leading them to do the opposite of what is requested
Brehm and Brehm (1981) identified this phenomenon.
Who conducted the best-known research on obedience to authority?
Milgram
Milgram’s research was conducted in 1974.
What was the main finding of Milgram’s obedience studies?
The majority of subjects were willing to deliver high levels of shock to a learner despite apparent harm
Subjects were told they would be ‘teachers’ administering shocks to a ‘learner’.
What is the ‘agentic state’ according to Milgram?
The condition when a person sees themselves as an agent carrying out another person’s wishes
Defined by Milgram in 1974.
What percentage of subjects in Milgram’s study delivered shocks at 150 volts?
82.5%
This was compared with 70% in Burger’s 2009 study.
What did Burger (2009) change in his replication of Milgram’s study?
He stopped the maximum shock level at 150 volts and followed APA’s guidelines for informed consent
Burger’s study aimed to ensure ethical standards.
What is the autokinetic phenomenon?
An optical illusion where a stationary point of light appears to move in a dark room
Studied by Sherif (1935) to investigate conformity.
What are the two types of influence that explain conformity?
Informational influence and normative influence
These influences explain why individuals conform in different situations.
What is informational influence?
Conforming because one believes others have more knowledge
It leads to private acceptance of others’ judgments.
What is normative influence?
Conforming to avoid ridicule or rejection from others
It leads to public compliance without real change in judgment.
What is the foot-in-the-door technique?
A two-step process where a small request is followed by a larger request
It plays on the desire for consistency in behavior.
What is the door-in-the-face technique?
A two-step process where a large request is followed by a smaller, more reasonable request
It utilizes perceptual contrast and the norm of mutual reciprocity.
True or False: Male and female participants in Milgram’s study showed different levels of willingness to deliver shocks.
False
Both genders showed similar levels of compliance.
What are the four effects that the presence of other people can have on an individual’s behavior?
Social facilitation, social inhibition, social loafing, and deindividuation
These effects are important in understanding how group dynamics influence individual actions.
Define social facilitation.
Improvement in performance on easy and well-learned tasks due to the presence of others
Social facilitation is linked to increased physiological arousal as per Zajonc’s drive theory.
Define social inhibition.
Decrease in performance on difficult and unfamiliar tasks due to the presence of others
Social inhibition is also explained by Zajonc’s drive theory.
According to Zajonc’s drive theory, what causes social facilitation and inhibition?
Increased physiological arousal due to the presence of others
This arousal strengthens the dominant response, which varies by task difficulty.
What is social loafing?
The tendency for individuals to contribute less to a group’s output than when working alone
It is also known as the free rider effect.
What are two explanations for social loafing?
- Diffusion of responsibility
- Decreased evaluation apprehension
These explanations highlight how group dynamics can reduce individual motivation.
Under what conditions is social loafing less likely to occur?
- Group is small and cohesive
- Task is personally meaningful
- Individual contributions can be identified and evaluated
- Members believe they will be punished for poor performance
- Individual contributions are necessary for success
These conditions help maintain individual accountability in group settings.
What is deindividuation?
The loss of a person’s sense of individuality and reduction of normal constraints against deviant behavior
This often occurs in situations where individuals can act anonymously.
Give an example of deindividuation.
Crowds taunting a person threatening to jump off a building when the crowd is large and it is night
This example illustrates how anonymity in large groups can lead to increased deviant behavior.
What is minority influence?
The ability of individuals with a minority opinion to persuade the majority
This process relies on different strategies compared to majority influence.
How does minority influence differ from majority influence according to Moscovici?
- Majority has informational or normative influence
- Minority relies on behavioral style
This distinction highlights the different tactics used by majorities and minorities in persuasion.
What type of opinion change is more likely due to minority influence?
Private acceptance (conversion)
In contrast, majority influence is more likely to lead to public acceptance (compliance).
What are the five task types proposed by Steiner (1972)?
- Additive task
- Compensatory task
- Disjunctive task
- Conjunctive task
- Discretionary task
What characterizes an additive task?
Group performance is the sum of individual contributions. Group performance is better than the best member’s performance.
How does a compensatory task function?
Group members work independently, and the group’s output is the average of each member’s input. Group performance is usually better than individual performance.
In a disjunctive task, how is the group’s performance determined?
Group members choose the best solution from individual inputs, typically the one from the most competent member. Performance is equal to or less than the best member’s performance.
What defines a conjunctive task?
All members must contribute, and the group’s performance is limited by the least capable member.
What does a discretionary task involve?
Group members decide how to combine contributions, and performance depends on the method of combination.
What are the five stages of group development according to Tuckman and Jensen (1977)?
- Forming
- Storming
- Norming
- Performing
- Adjourning
Describe the forming stage of group development.
Members are uncertain about roles, rely on the leader, and act politely to avoid conflict.
What occurs during the storming stage?
Power struggles, conflicts over procedures, and a lack of trust emerge among group members.
What is the norming stage characterized by?
Growth of cohesion and commitment, conflict resolution, and establishment of rules and norms.
What is the focus of the performing stage?
Working efficiently and cooperatively to achieve group goals.
What happens during the adjourning stage?
Focus on completing tasks, recognizing accomplishments, and deciding on the group’s future.
Fill in the blank: In a _______ task, group members work independently, and the group’s output is the average of each member’s input.
[compensatory task]
True or False: In a disjunctive task, group performance is always better than the performance of the best group member.
False
Fill in the blank: The _______ stage is characterized by power struggles and conflicts over procedures.
[storming]
What is the relationship between group performance and the least capable member in a conjunctive task?
Group performance is limited by the contribution of the least capable member.
What is the need for affiliation?
The desire to establish and maintain many rewarding interpersonal relationships
Kassin, Fein, & Markus (2016) describe it as usually having an innate component, influenced by natural selection.
What did Schachter’s (1959) study conclude about affiliation?
Misery doesn’t love any kind of company, it loves only miserable company
Highly anxious subjects preferred to wait with others who were also anxious rather than alone.
What does social comparison theory predict?
In uncertain situations, people compare themselves to others to obtain information about their own abilities, feelings, and other attributes
This theory was introduced by Festinger in 1954.
What is the mere exposure effect?
The tendency for people to come to like things simply because they see or encounter them repeatedly
Baumeister & Bushman (2013) note it applies to mildly negative, neutral, or positive responses.
According to Byrne’s law of attraction, how does attitude similarity affect attraction?
There’s a positive relationship between attitude similarity and attraction
It reinforces feelings and validates views.
What is the pratfall effect?
The attractiveness of a competent person increases when they commit a blunder, while it decreases for a mediocre person
Research by Aronson, Willerman, and Floyd (1966) shows this effect humanizes competent individuals.
What does the principle of reciprocity state?
We like people who like us, and vice versa
This principle is modified by the gain-loss effect, which influences attraction based on initial feelings.
What are the two types of reciprocity identified by Kenny (1994)?
- Generalized reciprocity
- Dyadic reciprocity
Dyadic reciprocity tends to have a stronger correlation.
What does Berscheid’s emotion-in-relationships model explain?
Strong emotions are elicited in close relationships when a partner interrupts usual behavioral routines
Positive outcomes lead to positive emotions, while negative outcomes lead to negative emotions.
How do men and women differ in their responses to sexual and emotional infidelity?
Men respond more strongly to sexual infidelity; women respond more strongly to emotional infidelity
This difference is explained by evolutionary theories regarding paternity certainty and resource support.
What is the double-shot hypothesis?
Men and women have different expectations about the co-occurrence of sexual and emotional infidelity
Research by DeSteno and Salovey (1996) supports this hypothesis.
What did Buss (1989) discover about gender differences in mate preferences?
Women prioritize earning capacity; men prioritize physical attractiveness
This reflects differing reproductive goals.
What is a preferred physical trait for women according to men?
A low waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) of about 0.7
This is considered a marker of good health and reproductive abilities.
Fill in the blank: The primary reproductive goal for women is to _______.
raise children
Women prefer men with resources to support them and their children.
Fill in the blank: The primary reproductive goal for men is to _______.
maximize the number of offspring they produce
Men are attracted to women whose appearance suggests health and fertility.
True or False: The preference for a low waist-to-hip ratio is universal across cultures.
True
Cross-cultural research has largely confirmed this preference.
What are prosocial behaviors?
Prosocial behaviors are intended to help others and include helping and cooperation.
What incident highlighted bystander apathy in 1964?
Kitty Genovese was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death outside her New York City apartment.
What did Latane and Darley (1970) study?
They studied factors affecting a bystander’s willingness to intervene in emergencies.
What is the first step in the decision-making process for bystanders in emergencies?
Noticing the Event.
What can hinder a bystander from noticing an event?
Being preoccupied with thoughts or stimulus overload.
What does stimulus overload refer to?
A condition where attention is restricted to stimuli that seem personally relevant.
What is the second step in the bystander intervention process?
Interpreting the Event.
What is pluralistic ignorance?
A misperception of how others are thinking or feeling, leading to inaction.
What is the third step in bystander intervention?
Assuming Responsibility.
What does diffusion of responsibility mean?
A reduced sense of personal responsibility due to the belief that others will help.
What is the fourth step in the bystander intervention process?
Determining How to Help.
What might prevent a bystander from providing assistance?
Feeling incompetent or unable to determine how to help.
What is the fifth step in bystander intervention?
Deciding Whether or Not to Help.
What is evaluation apprehension?
Concerns about being judged negatively by others, also known as audience inhibition.
True or False: Bystander apathy is more likely to occur in rural areas than urban areas.
False.
What is the empathy-altruism hypothesis?
It posits that empathic concern provides an altruistic motive for helping.
What does the negative state relief model suggest?
People help others to reduce their own distress.
Which hypothesis has received the most empirical support regarding helping behavior?
The empathy-altruism hypothesis.
What was demonstrated in Sherif’s (1966) Robbers Cave study?
The effectiveness of cooperation to overcome intergroup conflict.
What are superordinate goals?
Goals that can only be accomplished when members of different groups work together.
What is the jigsaw classroom?
A classroom design that requires cooperation among students from different ethnic backgrounds.
What positive effects did the jigsaw classroom have?
- Reduced prejudice and discrimination
- Improved self-esteem and empathy
- Enhanced academic performance of ethnic minority students
What does Realistic Conflict Theory explain?
Prejudice and discrimination result from direct competition between different groups for scarce resources
Evidence from Sherif’s Robbers Cave study supports this theory.
Who developed Social Identity Theory and what does it emphasize?
Tajfel and Turner; emphasizes the tendency to categorize people into groups and favor in-groups
In-group favoritism can lead to prejudice against out-groups.
What is the main premise of Scapegoat Theory?
Members of dominant groups use discrimination against weaker groups to vent frustration
This theory explains discrimination during socioeconomic hardships.
According to Authoritarian Personality Theory, what traits are associated with extreme prejudice?
Nine traits including conventionalism, authoritarian submission, and destructiveness
Developed by Adorno and colleagues; assessed using the F Scale.
What are the two assumptions of Terror Management Theory?
Humans have a biological drive to stay alive and cognitive awareness of mortality
Awareness of mortality leads to terror, managed through cultural worldviews.
How does mortality salience affect prejudice according to Terror Management Theory?
Increases negative evaluations of out-group members and positive evaluations of in-group members
Studies show that it also increases stereotypic thinking.
Define Dehumanization.
An evaluative stance that draws a line between in-groups and out-groups based on assumptions of humanity
Can be blatant or subtle; infrahumanization is a specific form.
What is the focus of Allport’s Contact Hypothesis?
Contact between majority and minority groups reduces prejudice when certain conditions are met
Conditions include equal status and working towards common goals.
Differentiate between overt and covert racism.
Overt racism is openly hostile; covert racism is indirect and subtle
Covert racism can be intentional or unintentional.
What characterizes Symbolic Racism?
Belief in egalitarianism while denying the existence of prejudice and discrimination
Justifications for opposing policies aimed at promoting equality.
What is Aversive Racism?
Belief in egalitarianism with negative, often unconscious feelings about minority groups
Individuals avoid interaction with minorities and justify discriminatory actions.
Describe Ambivalent Racism.
Combination of positive and negative attitudes towards minority groups leading to emotional tension
Responses may vary significantly based on context.
What is structural racism?
Structural racism refers to laws, policies, and practices that produce cumulative, durable, and race-based inequalities.
An example is funding schools through local property taxes, tied to historical practices like redlining.
What is an example of structural racism?
Funding schools through local property taxes.
This practice is linked to historical redlining and the overvaluation of white residential property.
What is institutional racism?
Institutional racism results from policies, practices, and procedures of institutions that marginalize diverse racial groups.
Examples include zero tolerance policies in schools that disproportionately affect racial/ethnic minority students.
What is interpersonal racism?
Interpersonal racism occurs when individuals from dominant racial groups behave in ways that harm people from other racial groups.
Microaggressions are a common form of interpersonal racism.
What are microaggressions?
Microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities that communicate negative racial slights toward people of color.
These can be intentional or unintentional.
What is internalized (intrapersonal) racism?
Internalized racism refers to the acceptance by diverse racial populations of negative societal beliefs about themselves.
This can lead to feelings of being devalued or worthless.
What is colorism?
Colorism is the acceptance of negative stereotypes and beliefs about skin color by members of racial/ethnic minority groups.
It exemplifies internalized racism.
True or False: Systemic racism is synonymous with structural racism.
False.
Different authors define systemic racism in various ways; some see it as synonymous with structural racism, while others do not.
What does sexism refer to?
Sexism refers to negative attitudes toward individuals based solely on their sex, combined with institutional practices that support unequal status.
While both men and women can be targets, women are the most common due to their nondominant position.
What are the two components of ambivalent sexism theory?
Hostile sexism and benevolent sexism.
Hostile sexism involves antipathy toward women seen as usurping men’s power; benevolent sexism offers protection to women adhering to traditional roles.
What is self-stereotyping?
Self-stereotyping refers to a person’s unconscious internalization of stereotypes applied to their own group.
It can have both negative and positive effects.
What is stereotype threat?
Stereotype threat occurs when situational factors activate group stereotypes, inducing assimilation to stereotypes or self-stereotyping.
It can impair performance related to negative stereotypes.
What is shooter bias?
Shooter bias is the tendency to decide to shoot armed Black suspects more quickly than armed White suspects and to mistakenly shoot unarmed Black suspects more frequently.
It is measured through response time and accuracy in simulation studies.
How did police officers perform in shooter bias studies compared to civilians?
Police officers were better at detecting weapons but showed racial bias in decision speed.
They decided to shoot armed Black suspects more quickly than armed White suspects.
What was a key finding of Correll et al. (2002) regarding shooter bias?
Participants’ familiarity with cultural stereotypes of Black men was a better predictor of shooter bias than personal prejudice.
This highlights the influence of societal stereotypes on decision-making.
