Social Psychology

Question 1

altruistic behaviour

Answer 1

helping others without a benefit to ourselves

Question 2

Diffusion of Responsibility

Answer 2

when we feel less responsibility to act when other people are equally able to act

Question 3

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

Answer 3

it states that the main cause of anger and aggression is frustration, which is an obstacle that stands in the way of doing something or obtaining something

Question 4

Pluralistic ignorance

Answer 4

it is used to describe a situation in which people say nothing, and each person falsely assumes that others have a better informed opinion

Question 5

Prisoner’s dilemma

Answer 5

a situation where people choose between a cooperative act and a competitive act that benefits themselves but hurt others

Question 6

rape

Answer 6

a sexual activity without the consent of the partner

Question 7

social loafing

Answer 7

the tendency to work less hard or loaf when sharing work with other people

Question 8

social psychologists

Answer 8

They study social behaviour and how people influence one another

Question 9

What is Kohlberg’s view of moral reasoning and its limits?

Answer 9

Lawrence Kohlberg argued that we should evaluate moral reasoning on the basis of the reasons people give for a decision rather than the decision itself. However, Kohlberg concentrated on logical reasoning. In fact, people usually act first, based on an emotional urge, and look for a justification later. Also, many people, especially in non-Western cultures, base their moral decisions on factors Kohlberg ignored, including loyalty, authority, and purity.

Question 10

What are reasons for cooperation?

Answer 10

Studies of the prisoner’s dilemma demonstrate two rational reasons for cooperation: A cooperative person enhances his or her reputation and therefore gains cooperation from others. Also, people who cooperate punish those who do not

Question 11

Actor-Observer Effect

Answer 11

the tendency where people are more likely to make internal attributions for other people’s behaviour and more likely to make external attributions for their own. You are an “actor: when you try to explain the causes of your own behaviour and an “observer” when you try to explain someone else’s behaviour

Question 12

attribution

Answer 12

it is the set of thought processes we use to assign causes to our own behaviour and that of others

Question 13

consensus information

Answer 13

how the person’s behaviour compares with other people’s behaviour

Question 14

consistency information

Answer 14

how the person’s behaviour varies from one time to the next

Question 15

discrimination

Answer 15

the unequal treatment of different groups

Question 16

distinctiveness

Answer 16

how the person’s behaviour varies from one situation to another

Question 17

external attribution

Answer 17

they are explanations based on the situation, including events that would influence almost everyone. They are known as situational

Question 18

Fundamental attribution error

Answer 18

it is a common error to make internal attributions for people’s behaviour even when we see evidence for an external influence on behaviour. It is also known as the correspondence bias, meaning a tendency to assume a strong similarity between someone’s current actions and their dispositions

Question 19

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

Answer 19

it measures reactions to combinations of categories

Question 20

internal attribution

Answer 20

they are explanations based on someone’s attitudes, personality traits, abilities, or other characteristics. They are known as dispositional

Question 21

multiculturalism

Answer 21

it is accepting, recognising and enjoying the differences among people and groups and the unique contributions that each person can offer

Question 22

prejudice

Answer 22

it is an unfavourable attitude toward a group of people

Question 23

primacy effect

Answer 23

the first information we learn about someone influences us more than later information

Question 24

self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 24

expectations that alters one’s behaviours, hence increases the probability of the predicted event

Question 25

self-handicapping strategies

Answer 25

where people intentionally put themselves at a disadvantage to provide an excuse for failure to protect their images

Question 26

self-serving biases

Answer 26

attributions that we adopt to maximise credit for success and minimise blame for failure

Question 27

social perception and cognition

Answer 27

are the processes for learning about others and making inferences from that information

Question 28

stereotypes

Answer 28

it is a belief or expectation about a group of people

Question 29

What are some cultural differences in social perception?

Answer 29

People in Asian cultures are less likely than those in Western cultures to attribute behaviour to consistent personality traits and more likely to attribute it to the situation.

Question 30

How do you measure unconscious prejudice

Answer 30

the implicit association test finds evidence of subtle prejudice, even among many people who deny having such prejudices. However, most people are aware of their prejudices, even if they don’t like to admit them.

Question 31

attitude

Answer 31

it is a like or dislike that influences behaviour. It include an evaluative or emotional component (how you feel about something), a cognitive component (what you know or believe), and a behavioural component (what you are likely to do)

Question 32

bait-and-switch technique

Answer 32

someone first offers an extremely favourable deal, gets the other person to commit to the deal, and then makes additional demands

Question 33

Central route to Persuasion

Answer 33

it requires investing enough time and effort to evaluate the evidence and reason logically about a decision. Your emotions can still enter into the decision, but only if they are relevant → System 2

Question 34

cognitive dissonance

Answer 34

it is a state of unpleasant tension that people experience when they hold contradictory attitudes, especially if the inconsistency distresses them. It holds that a change in people’s behaviour alters their attitudes

Question 35

Foot-in-the-door technique

Answer 35

someone starts with a modest request, which you accept, and follows with a larger request

Question 36

forewarning effect

Answer 36

the tendency where simply informing people that they are about to hear a persuasive speech activates their resistance and weakens the persuasion

Question 37

inoculation effect

Answer 37

when people first hear a weak argument and then a stronger argument supporting the same conclusion

Question 38

Peripheral route to Persuasion

Answer 38

if for any reason you associate something with feeling happy, you form a favourable attitude toward it. When a decision seems unimportant, you form or change an attitude by the peripheral route to persuasion that is based mostly on emotions. → System 1

Question 39

sleeper effect

Answer 39

it is the delayed persuasion by an initially rejected message

Question 40

that’s-not-all technique

Answer 40

when someone makes an offer and then improves the offer before you have a change to reply

Question 41

What are some methods influencing persuasion?

Answer 41

• Someone you like or consider similar to yourself is more persuasive than other people are.
• Being told that most people favour some idea or action makes it appealing.
• You may feel obligated to perform a favour for someone who did a favour for you or gave you something.
• An item may appear more desirable because of its contrast to something else. In the foot-in-the-door, bait-and-switch, and that’s-not-all techniques, a first request makes you more likely to accept a second request.

Question 42

How can a minority influence?

Answer 42

Although a minority may have little influence at first, it can, through persistent repetition of its message, eventually persuade the majority to adopt its position or consider other ideas.

Question 43

coercive persuasion

Answer 43

Techniques designed to pressure a suspect into confessing decrease the reliability of the confession because, under these circumstances, many innocent people confess also

Question 44

Companionate love

Answer 44

marked by sharing, care and protection

Question 45

Exchange/equity theories

Answer 45

social relationships are transactions in which partners exchange goods and services

Question 46

Mere exposure effect

Answer 46

the principle that the more often we come in contact with someone or something, the more we tend to like that person or object

Question 47

passionate love

Answer 47

marked with sexual desire and excitement

Question 48

proximity

Answer 48

closeness

Question 49

How are relationships formed?

Answer 49

People generally choose friends and romantic partners who live near them. In the early stage of romantic attraction, physical appearance is the key factor, but similarity of interests and goals becomes more serious later. Relationships are most likely to thrive if each person believes that he or she is getting about as good a deal as the other person is.

Question 50

Why is physical attractiveness important?

Answer 50

Theoretically, physical attractiveness should be a cue to someone’s health and therefore desirability as a mate. Someone with approximately average features is attractive, presumably because average features have been associated with successful breeding in the past.

Question 51

conformity

Answer 51

it means altering one’s behaviour or expectations

Question 52

group polarisation

Answer 52

if nearly all the people who compose a group lean in the same direction on a particular issue, then a group discussion moves the group as a whole even further in that direction

Question 53

groupthink

Answer 53

it is an extreme form of group polarisation, when occurs when the members of a group suppress their doubts about a group’s decision for a fear of making a bad impression or disrupting group harmony

Question 54

what are cultural differences in society>

Answer 54

Although some cultures tend to be more collectivist or conforming than others, it is an overgeneralization to regard all Asian cultures as collectivist or to assume that all members of a society are equally collectivist.

Question 55

What are social influences?

Answer 55

People influence our behaviour by setting norms and by offering information. We also follow others’ examples just because they suggested a possible action.