Social Psychology Flashcards
attributional theories
focus on the causal explanations that people generate to explain why a particular event or outcome has occurred
Heider’s Attribution Theory
originator of attributional theory
proposed that people make dispositional or situational attributions
dispositional attributions
Heider’s Attribution Theory
aka internal attribution
locates the cause of a behavior within a person
situational attributions
Heider’s Attribution Theory
aka external attribution
locates the cause of the behavior outside of the person
Kelley’s Attribution Theory
proposed that when people make attributions, they consider three types of information
consistency
distinctiveness
consensus
consistency
Kelley’s Attribution THeory
refers to whether the person behaves the same way over time
e.g. if person is constantly rude and obnoxious at work, high in consistency
distinctiveness
Kelley’s Attribution Theory
refers to whether a person’s behavior is unique to the specific situation or stimulus
e.g. if person is rude and obnoxious only at work, behavior is high in distinctiveness
consensus
Kelley’s Attribution Theory
refers to whether people in the same situation tend to respond similarly
e.g. if most people at work are rude and obnoxious, behavior is high in consensus
internal attributions (Kelley)
people tend to make internal attributions for behaviors that are high in consistency and low in distinctiveness and consensus
external attributions (Kelley)
people tend to make external attributions when the behavior is high in all three areas of consistency, distinctiveness, and consensu
Weiner’s Attribution THeory
added a second dimension to study of attributions (in addition to internal vs. external)
looked at whether attributions are made to STABLE vs. UNSTABLE factors
e.g. unemployed person unable to find work for 6 months
internal + stable (ability)
stable + external (poor economy)
unstable + internal (effort)
unstable + external (bad luck)
depression learned helplessness according to attribution theory
person more likely to experience depression, helplessness, and hopelessness when a person attributes negative events to internal, stable, and global causes
attributional style and physical health and coping
pessimistic style associated with more endorsement of illness, poorer health, less active coping, and more problematic lifestyle patterns for preventing and managing medical problems
Abramson and Alloy - research on depressed people
non-depressed persons have unrealistic positive assessments of their ability to control outcomes, phenomenon termed “illusion of control”
depressed persons “sadder but wiser”
Fundamental Attribution Bias
bias toward attributing the behavior of others (the actor) to internal or dispositional causes, while underestimating the influence of situational variables
Actor-Observer Bias
persons attribute their own actions to situational factors while minimizing the role of dispositional elements and attribute others’ behavior to dispositional factors
Self-Serving (Hedonic) Bias
proposes that when we explain our own behavior, we tend to attribute our own successes to internal or personal factors and our failures to external or situational factors
Heuristics
shortcuts or guidelines that people use to categorize other people, situations, or events
can result in incorrect judgments
availability heuristic
people estimate the likelihood of a situation by how easily they can recall it
representative heuristic
people make judgments about other people or events based on what they believe in is a typical example of a particular category
e.g. people assume rape victim is female and perpetrator is male
simulation heuristic
suggest the people determine the likelihood of an event based on how easy it is to picture the event mentally
George Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory
we perceive the world according to what we expect to see
expectations are based on our past experiences
Repertory Grid Technique - widely used by organizational consultants; maps a client’s conceptual model of the world (i.e. constructs) without contamination by the interviewer’s constructs
three components of attitudes
cognitive
affective
behavioral
do not always correspond - only a weak positive relationship between thoughts and feelings, and subsequent behaviors
Consistency Theories
Attitude formation and change are organized by a need to impose structure and order on one's understanding of the environment Balance Theory Symmetry Theory Congruity Theory Cognitive Dissonance Theory **
Balance Theory
Heider
Balanced state exists when all elements are positively related or when one is positive and two are negative
e.g. Joe and Beth - two friends both really liked a political candidate (all elements positively related) or both had very negative feelings about the candidate (one positive element and two negative elements)
Unbalanced state exists when all the elements are negative or when one element is negative and two are positive
When system unbalanced, people involved will move toward changing their feelings
Symmetry Theory
Newcomb
Extends Balance Theory by considering the intensity of the relationship
Strong the bond between the two people, the more intense any imbalance (lack of symmetry) will be felt and the stronger the motivation will be to change attitudes
e.g. Strong friendship between Joe and Beth will lead to greater attitude change than weak friendship
Congruity Theory
Osgood
Extends Balance Theory
posits that a person will favor the object toward which he or she already feels the most affinity
e.g. if Joe’s affinity for Beth is stronger than his affinity for the candidate, Joe is likely to decrease his support for the candidate and thus bring the relationship into more balance
Cognitive Dissonance
Festinger
People change their attitudes to reduce the aversive arousal they experience when they become aware of inconsistency in their cognitions
Classic Cognitive Dissonance experiment
subjects performed dull task
when leaving, asked to tell incoming participant task was interesting
paid $1 or $20
subjects paid $1 reported greater liking for task than subjects paid $20
Postdecisional dissonance
occurs when a person is faced with two good choices and he/she becomes upset at not choosing one of the alternatives
person then emphasizes positive features of the alternative he/she did choose
Effort Justification
occurs when a person is upset at having spent significant effort on a goal that turns out not to be very worthwhile
person then emphasizes the positive qualities of the goal
Insufficient Justification
occurs when a person performs an undesirable behavior for a small inducement
person then emphasizes the positive qualities of the behavior
Insufficient Difference
occurs when a person does not perform a desirable action because of a small deterrent
he/she then emphasizes the negative aspects of the action
Self-Perception Theory
Bem
Competing theory to the consistence theories
People infer their attitudes and emotions by observing their own behavior
“I did it, so I believe it!”
e.g. if person favors a ballot measure gives a speech supporting it, that person will usually feel even more positive about the measure afterwards
Self-Perception Theory vs. Cognitive Dissonance theory research
Self-Perception Theory is most applicable when current behavior is in the same direction as the past behavior and Cognitive Dissonance theory is most applicable when there is a discrepancy between current and past behavior
Overjustification hypothesis
People lose interest in previously desirable activities after performing them for too much justification
Self-Verification THeory
Swann
people are motivated to confirm their self-concept, even if its negative
Behavioral Confirmation
people are motivated to confirm the expectations that others have of them
much research fails to support this theory - people actually actively resist when others have negative expectations of them
Self-Enhancement Theory
people are motivated to think favorably of themselves and behave in ways that cause others to see them favorably as well
Persuasion to change attitudes- characteristics of the source
unimportant matters - source most influential when he/she is likable, similar to recipient of the communication, physically attractive
deeply held convictions - source credibility most important (trustworthiness and expertise)
sleeper effect
while positions advocated by highly credible and prestigious persons are more readily adopted than those expressed by less reputable resources, people forget the sources of communication over time, but remember the message
persuasion to change attitudes - characteristics of the message
some researchers have found that appeals to logic and reason are most persuasive, while others have found that appeals to emotions are more powerful
common emotional appeal is to fear –> must engender a lot of fear, message must be believable, and specific instructions for avoiding danger must be offered
primacy effect
when there is a long gap between a speech and the desired action, the speaker who speaks first will be remembered best
recency effect
when there is a small gap between a speech and the desired action, the speaker who speaks last will be remembered best
characteristics of the audience
people with moderate self-esteem, who have a moderate discrepancy in attitude, higher vulnerability (e.g. young children, teens, depressed adults), and a higher level of involvement with the idea or product are the easiest to influence
Hovland’s studies on characteristics of the audience
it is most effective to present both sides of the argument when listener is initially opposed, well informed, and intelligent
in contrast, presenting one side works better when listener initially favors the argument, is poorly informed, and not intelligent
Reactance Theory
people will not comply with requests or attempts to be persuaded if they feel their freedom is threatened
coercion, such as threats or a “hard sell,” typically triggers a reactance emotional state where they refuse to comply
Asch’s research on impression formation
presented participants with a list of adjectives that supposedly described another person
found that certain traits were the most important determinants of the participants’ impression of that person (“Central (Influential) Traits”)
Zeigarnik Effect
The tendency for interrupted and unfinished tasks to be remembered better than completed tasks are when the tasks are performed under non-stressful conditions is referred to as the
OPPOSITE under stressful conditions:
Lewin’s (1951) field theory
predicts that human behavior is a function of
the characteristics of the person and the person’s environment
Bercheid’s Emotion-In-Relationships Model (ERM)
proposes that positive or negative emotions occur when there is a disruption in interpersonal scripts (i.e. when a partner violates expectations regarding important couple of personal goals)
French and Raven’s Six Bases of Social Power
Reward Coercive Legitimate Referent Informational Expert
Productivity of employees is most likely to be positively affected if manager relies on which of French and Raven’s bases of social power
Incremental Power (combo of expert and referent power)
Petty and Cacioppo’s Elaboration Likelihood Model
two ways people are persuaded - peripheral route or central route
central attitude change is relatively enduring, resists further change, and predicts behavior
peripheral route
Elaboration Likelihood Model
involves a focus on aspects that are not central to the message, but rather are peripheral to it
e.g. attractiveness of speaker, speaker’s expertise, speaker’s similarity to the listening
central route
Elaboration Likelihood Model
involves thinking about whatever relevant information is available, and elaborating on the message’s arguments
requires both the ability to process the message and the motivation or willingness to think deeply about ideas
inoculation
technique to increase resistance to persuasion
person is giving a mild argument against a belief and then practices refuting this mild argument
improves the person’s ability to refute stronger arguments against the belief
approach-approach conflict
person must decide between two or more favorable alternatives
as soon as person moves towards one alternative, the other decreases in its appeal to the individual
approach-avoidance conflict
person must choose whether to do one thing that will have both desirable and undesirable results
generally, approach tendency is greatest initially, then, as one approaches goal, avoidance tendencies become stronger
avoidance-avoidance conflict
usually the most difficult to resolve and generates the most stress
significant vacillation, and person ends up choosing “the lesser of two evils”
alternatively, can sometimes opt not to choose
prejudice is composed of three elements
cognitive - negative thoughts and beliefs (e.g. stereotype)
affective - feelings and emotions towards the objects of prejudice
behavioral - predispositions to act in certain ways (e.g. discrimination)
learned prejudice
people can learn prejudices in the same way they learn other attitudes, through classical conditioning, operant conditioning, social learning
males are seen as _________ competent than females by ________
males are seen as more competent than females by both males and females
attributions given to men and women for success on traditionally masculine versus feminine tasks
success of males was universally attributed to ability regardless of type of task
success of females was attributed to ability only on the traditionally female task and to luck on the traditionally male task
role of cognitive processes in prejudice
people attempt to make sense of the social world by creating ingroups and outgroups
ingroup favoratism and outgroup negativity
people tend to see ingroup members are more attractice, possessing more desirable personality attributes, and behaving in more socially acceptable ways
outgroup homogeneity effect
tendency to see more diversity among members of one’s ingroup and less among the outgroup
