Social Psychology (Ch. 11) Flashcards
(29 cards)
Agression
social behavior whose objective is to harm someone either physically or verbally
altruism
giving to another person, even if it incurs a cost to oneself
groupthink
the impaired group decision making that occurs when making the right decision is less important than maintaining group harmony
stereotype
a generalization about a group’s characteristics that does not consider any variations from one individual to another
stereotype
a generalization about a group’s characteristics that does not consider any variations from one individual to another
prejudice
an unjustified negative attitude toward an individual based on the individual’s membership in a group
discrimination
an unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group simply because the person belongs to that group
cognitive dissonance
an individuals psychological discomfort caused by two inconsistent thoughts
polarization effect
the solidification and further strengthening of an individual’s position as a consequence of a group discussion or interaction
bystander effect
the tendency of an individual who observes an emergency to be less likely to help when others are present
Why does bystander effect occur?
People look to each other for cues of how to behave, deindividualization
deindividualization
the reduction in personal identity and erosion of the sense of personal responsibility when one is part of a group
fundamental attribution error
observer’s overestimation of the importance of internal traits and underestimation of the importance of external situations when they seek explanations of another person’s behavior
Why does fundamental attribution error occur?
people focus on trying to understand an actor’s mental states and miss the influence of a situation
false consensus effect
observer’s overestimation of the degree to which everybody else thinks or acts the way they do
out-of-group homogeneity
the perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members
What is social learning theory and who created it?
argued that cognition needed a place in learning and modeling was successful to fill that need; created by Albert Bandura
Three types of modeling
live model, verbal instruction, symbolic (in medial or literature)
What biological factors increase altruistic acts?
high levels of serotonin, dopamine receptors, and the neurohormone oxytocin
Which characteristics are connected to prosocial behavior (altruistic acts)?
Agreeableness, empathy, and happiness
What social factors are linked to higher prosocial behaviors?
lower-class, women (an immediate impulse), and those who consume prosocial media
What is the difference between when men and women will behave prosocially?
women are more likely to act when the context involves existing interpersonal relations or nurturing; men are more likely to act when they sense danger or feel competent
Asch’s Experiment: what was it? what were the findings?
A group was shown three lines of different lengths and asked which was the longest. Everyone at the table says the incorrect answer to see if the participant will conform; Participants conformed 35% of the time
Milgram’s Experiment: what is it and what were the results?
Participants shocked a man begging them to stop at a researchers demand; 2/3 of the participants delivered the full voltage
