Social Psychology Flashcards
Norman Triplett
conducted first official social psychology experiment in 1897 on social facilitation. cyclists performed better when paced by others than when on their own
Kurt Lewin
founded the field - applied Gestalt ideas to social behavior. field theory: total of influences upon individual behavior. life space = collection of forces upon individual, e.g. valence, vector & barrier
Fritz Heider
Attribution theory
Balance theory: making feelings & actions consistent to preserve psychological homeostasis
Lee Ross
subjects made to believe statement then later told it was false. subjects continued to believe statement
Richard Nisbett
we lack awareness of why we do what we do
Base-rate fallacy
overestimating general frequency of things we are most familiar with
M. J. Lerner’s just world bias
good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people
representativeness heuristic
typical assumptions override logic
availability heuristic
thinking there are more of something because those things come to mind easier
Leon Festinger
cognitive-dissonance theory
Daryl Bem’s self-perception theory
people look at their own behavior to figure out their beliefs if they are unsure of them -> overjustification effect: assumption that we must not like things we are paid to do
social exchange theory
people interact to maximize reward and minimize costs
social facilitation
Robert Zajonc: others will help with easy tasks but hinder complex ones
Morton Deutsch
cooperation vs. competition: prisoner’s dilemma & trucking company game (same but with economics)
Stanley Milgram’s stimulus-overload theory
urbanites less prosocial than country people because they don’t need any more interaction
conformity
compliance: going along publicly but not privately
acceptance: changing beliefs to conform
reactance: refusal to conform, possibly as a result of blatant attempt to control. people will also not conform if they are forewarned that others will attempt to change them
Stanley Milgram
“teacher” experiment where teacher was told to give shocks to the “learner” for wrong answers
Solomon Asch
which lines on a board are equal - Ps agree with clearly incorrect opinion about 33% of time
Sleeper effect
persuasive communication from a source of low credibility may become more acceptable after the fact
McGuire’s inoculation theory
people’s beliefs are vulnerable if they have never faced challenge
population density & antisocial behavior
Philip Zimbardo - antisocial behavior positively correlates with population density
Group polarization
James Stoner: group discussion strengthens already dominant POV. explains risky shift - groups will take greater risks than individuals
Pluralistic ignorance
most people privately disagree with something but incorrectly believe that most people agree
doll preference studies
Kenneth & Mamie Clark - African-American children thought white dolls were better. showed that group segregation negatively impacted self-esteem
