Social Psychology Flashcards
Social Psychology
Study of how people think, feel, and behave in social situations
Conformity
Tendency for people to behave in line with group norms due to influence.
Informative - guidance from group when uncertain as to what to do
Normative - guidance from group to avoid social rejection
Privately conform
When person changes their personal behaviors to align with a group
Publically conform
Person outwardly changes behaviors but maintains their own internal beliefs
Group Polarization
Group Decision making amplifies original opinion of group members
Groupthink
Maintaining harmony among group members (group unity) is more important that problem at hand
Obedience
How individuals follow order and obey authority
Social anomie
breakdown of social bonds between an individual and community (where a society does not have the support of a firm collective consciousness) -AKA disintegration of existing social norms
Resolved through the redevelopment and strengthening of shared norms
Compliance
Tendency to do what is required/requested (typically for a reward or to avoid punishment)
Identification
When people act like someone they respect
Internalization
Integration of a belief or behavior into one’s own values
Asch
Gestalt Psychologist who believed it was not possible to understand human behavior by breaking it down into parts (need to analyze as a whole)
Asch Line Studies
To test effects of group pressure/peer pressure or normative and informative social influence on individuals
Compares subjects placed alone to in a group of people (that purposefully chose incorrect lines). People surprisingly conformed to others knowing the answer was wrong
Milgram Obedience Studies
Showed the power in authority in the compliance of people’s actions.
People were told to administer shock treatments (up to 450 volts) when another person answered wrong
Just World Phenomenon
Belief that the universe is fair, people receive what they deserve
In self serving bias - you would say that if you get an A you are smart, if you get an F the teacher doesn’t like you
Fundamental Attribution Error
Tendency for people to believe that others behave a certain way based on inherent personality flaws
Zimbardo Prison Study (Stanford)
Showed situational influences on behavior, the effect of de-individualization on behavior, and the roles of cognitive dissonance and internalization on behavior
People will conform to the social roles of which they are expected to play
Cognitive Dissonance
Guards knew they were being bad and abusive but did it anyways, justified it by saying prisoners were bad.
Prisoners also therefore internalized their role into their beliefs
Factors that Influence Conformity
Group size - more likely in smaller groups
Unanimity - more likely to conform due to unanimous opinions
Group status - more likely in higher status groups
Group cohesion - more likely if socially connected to group
Observed Behavior - more likely to conform if behavior is not socially observed
Public Response
Factors that influence obedience
Type of authority (more likely to obey orders from someone respected)
Physical proximity (more likely to obey when someone is closer)
Legitimacy of Authority
Victim distance (more likely to obey orders if victim is farther away)
Depersonalization (more likely to obey if victim is made less human)
Role Models (more likely to obey if others do the same)
Bystander effect
Large group process in which individuals observe an injustice being perpetuated and do not intervene
Diffusion Responsibility Theory
People feel less personal responsibility and less likely to take action when in a group
Social Facilitation
Occurs when individuals perform better in front of an audience due to an increase in arousal that causes dominant response for a behavior to be shown
Getting people to watch you while you are working makes you more likely to do the task better
