Social Psychology

Question 1

Social Psychology

Answer 1

concerned with the way that individuals’ thoughts. feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others

Question 2

Social Cognition

Answer 2

the study of how people makes sense of others

Question 3

How skilled are we in evaluating others?

Answer 3

Judgements can be made quickly and with some degree of accuracy

Question 4

Drawbacks of Stereotypes

Answer 4

-inaccurate
-overused
-can lead to bias
-self-perpetuating (stereotype threat)

Question 5

Stereotype Threat

Answer 5

fear of confirming a negative stereotype about their group

Question 6

In an impression formation task, why did participants tend to have a more positive view of group A member than group B?

Answer 6

Although the ratio of positive to negative was the same for each group, we saw more statements about group A members

Question 7

Illusory Correlation

Answer 7

when people estimate that they’ve encountered more confirmation of an association between social traits then they’ve actually seen

*negative events and minority groups are attention grabbing, so when they occur together, our perception of their frequency is skewed to make us think they happen more frequently

Question 8

How can we reduce the negative impact of stereotypes?

Answer 8

Through contact and friendship

Question 9

Obedience

Answer 9

the tendency to do what an authority figure tells you to do

Question 10

Conformity

Answer 10

the tendency to do what others do simply because they’re doing it

Question 11

Solomon Asch Experiment: What was it and what was the outcome?

Answer 11

-conformity
-confederates gave incorrect answer to which line on the right matched the one on the left
-75% of participants conformed to the confederates at least once
-on average people conformed on 1/3 of the 12 trials

Question 12

Why do people conform in the Asch experiment?

Answer 12

-normative influence
-informational influence

Question 13

Normative Influence

Answer 13

conformity results from a concern for what other people think of us

Question 14

Informational Influence

Answer 14

conformity results from feeling the group is giving them useful information (maybe the group knows something that I don’t)

Question 15

What factors influence conformity?

Answer 15

-presence of an ally decreases conformity
-conformity decreases when confederates won’t hear their response
-more confederates leads to higher levels of conformity

Question 16

Milgram Experiment: What was it and what were the results?

Answer 16

-obedience
-teacher (participant) administered shocks to learner (confederates)
-65% of participants were obedient and continued to the end

Question 17

Factors that influence the Milgram experiment

Answer 17

-closeness to confederate
-closeness to experimenter
-respectability of the environment
-number of teachers

Question 18

Stanford Prison Experiment conclusions

Answer 18

-power of social roles; roles made people do things they would’ve never imagined

Question 19

Stanford Prison Experiment issues

Answer 19

-statement in ad may have primed people to behave a certain way
-demand characteristics: indirectly asking people to play the role
-more like a movie than an experiment

Question 20

The bystander effect

Answer 20

the failure to offer help by those who see someone in need when other people are present

*case of Kitty Genovese

Question 21

Describe the Darley and Latané study

Answer 21

subject ‘experiences’ a seizure over intercom when talking about college
-independent variable: # of people believed to be on the call
-dependent variable: % of people who responded by end of 6 minutes
-results: responses drop as the # of people in group increases

Question 22

Possible explanations for the bystander effect

Answer 22

-Diffusion of responsibility: tendency for people to feel diminished sense of responsibility
-uncertainty of bystanders