Social Psychology Flashcards
Attributions
Are judgements about the casues of our own and other people’s behaviour and outcomes
Personal (internal) attributes
People’s characteristics cause the behaviour
Situational (external) attributions
Aspects of the situation cause a behaviour
What are the three types of information that determine an attribute
Consistency
Distinctiveness
Consensus
How to determine an attribute
If two out of the three types of information used to determine an attribute are low and the other one is high that means it is a personal attribute.
If all three of the types of information that determine an attribute are high that means it is a situational attribute
Fundamenental attribution error (attribution bias)
People underestimate the impact of the situation and overestimate the role of personal factors when explaining other people’s behaviour
Social psychology
The scientific investigation of how thoughts, feelings and behavious of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of others
Self-serving bias
The tendency to over emphasise personal characterisitics for our own successes but situational factors for our failures
Culture and attributions
Attributions are affected by a persons culture because cultural influences have an affect on how people percieve their social world
Primary effect
Refers to peoples tendency to attach more importanct to the initial information that we learn about a person. People tend to be most alert to information they first recieve and initial information can also shape how people percieve subsequent information.
Stereotypes
Is a generalised belief about a group or category of people
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Occurs when people’s expectations lead them to act toward others in a way that brings about the expected behaviours, thereby confirming their original impression
Attitude
Is a positive or negect evaluative reaction toward stimulus, such as a person, action, object or concept. They are learned and shaped via socialisation and experience and are relatively enduring.
Theory of planned behaviour
Intention is to engage in a behaviour that is strongest when people have a positive attitude toward that behaviour, when subjective norms (our perceptions of what other people think we should do) support our attitudes and when we believe that the behaviour is under our control
What do attitudes do?
- Attitudes influence behaviour more strongly when situational factors that contradict peoples attitudes are weak
- Attitudes have a greater influence on behaviour when people are aware of them and when they are strongly held
- General attitudes best predict general classes of behaviour, and specific attitudes best predict specific behaviours
Theory of cognitive dissonance
People strive for consistency in their cognitions. Predicts that to reduce dissonancy and restore the state of cognitive consistency people will change on of their cognitions or add new cognitions.
Cognitive Dissonance
Is when two or more cognitions contradict one another causing the person to experience an uncomfortable state of tension.
Counterattitudinal behavour
Behaviour is inconsistent with one’s attitude.
Self-perception theory
People make inferences about their own attitudes in much the same way: by observing the way people behave.
Communicator credibility
How believable people perceive the communicator to be. This is often key to effective persuasion
Credibility
Contains two major components: expertise and trustworthiness
The central route to persuasion
Occurs when people think carefully about the message and are influenced because they find the arguments compelling
The peripheral rout to persuasion
Occurs when people do not scruntinise the message but are influenced mostly by other factors such as a speaker’s attractiveness or a message’s emotional appeal
Two-sided refutional approach
Is the most efffective way to persuade someone especially if the audience initially disagrees with the communicators viewpoint
Social norms
Are shared expectations about how people should think, feel and behave
Social role
Consists of a set of norms that characterises how people in a given social position ought to behave
Social norms and roles
Can influence peoples’ behavour so strongly that they can compel a person to act uncharacterisitically.
Information social influence
Following the opinions or behaviours of other people because people believe that they gave accurate knowledge and that what they are doing is right
Normative social influence
Conforming to obtain the rewards that come from being accepted by other people while at the same time avoiding their rejection
Factors that affect conformity
Group size and presence of a dissenter
Factors that influence obedience
- Remoteness of the victim
- Closeness and legitimacy of the authority figure
- Diffusion of responsibility
- Personal characteristics
Norm of recipocity
Involves the expectation that when others treat people well, they should respond in a kind way
Door-in-the-face technique
A persuader makes a large request, expecting you to reject it and then presents a smaller request
Foot-in-the-door
A persuader gets a person to comply with a small requet first and later presents a larger request
Lowballing
A persuader gets you to commit some action and then-before you can actually perform the behaviour- he or she increases the ‘cost’ of the same behaviour
Social loafing
Is the tendency for people to expend less individual effort when working in a group than when working alone
Social compensation
Working harder in a group than when alone to compensate for other members’ lower output
Group polarisation
When a group of like-minded people discuass an issue, the ‘aerage’ opinion of group members tends to become more extreme
Groupthink
The tendency of group members to suspend critical thinking because they are striving to seek agreement
Deindividuation
A loss of individuality that leads to disinhibted behaviour
Social identity theory
Prejudice stems from a need to enhance our self-esteem
Realistic conflict theory
Competition for limited resources foster prejudice
