Social Psychology Flashcards
What is social thinking?
Involves thinking about others, especially when engaging in unexpected things.
What is attribution theory proposed by Fritz Heider?
The theory that we explain someone’s behaviour by crediting either the situation or person’s disposition.
What is fundamental attribution error theory?
Tendency to overestimate the impact of personal disposition and underestimate the impact of the situations in analysing the behaviours of others
What are the effects of attribution?
- How we explain someone’s behaviour influences how we react to it
- Likely to make error with people we don’t lknow
What is self-serving bias?
People tend to see themselves in a more positive light than others
-Excuse their failures, accept credit for our successes and see ourselves as better than average
What is an attitude?
A belief and feeling predisposes a person to respond in a particular way to objects, other people and events
What is peripheral route of persuasion?
Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cue
What is central route of persuasion?
Occur when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favourable thoughts
What is attitude strength?
Durability and impact of an attitude
1) Attitude importance: personal relevance
2) Attitude accessibility: ease with which an attitude comes to mind
What is the foot-in-the-door phenomenon?
Tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with larger request
What is door-in-the-face phenomenon?
Tendency to agree to a small request following a larger one
What is cognitive dissonance?
The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognition) are inconsistent
What is conformity?
Going along with the crowd/yielding to group pressure
What is obedience?
Behaving as instructed
What is normative social influence?
Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid rejection
What is informational social influence?
The group may provide valuable information or resources
What are conditions that strengthen conformity?
1) One is made to feel incompetent or insecure
2) The group has at least 3 people
3) Group is unanimous
4) One admires the group status and attractiveness
5) One has no prior commitment to a response
6) The group observes one’s behaviour
7) One’s culture strongly encourages respect for a social standard
What is social facilitation?
Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in presence of others.
What is social loafing?
Tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling with others toward a common goal than when individually accountable.
What is deindividualisation?
Loss of self awareness and restraint found in social situations fostering and anonymity.
What is prejudice?
An unjustifiable attitude toward a group and its members
-Prejudice is attitude component, discrimination is related behaviour
What is aggression?
Any physical or verbal behaviours intended to harm someone physically or emotionally.
