Thomas McNamara Chapter 14 Flashcards
Attribution Theory
The Idea that we attribute peoples actions to either situational or dispositional influence
- I cut you off in traffic because i’m late or because im a jerk
- Why, reason behind
Fundemental attribution error
overestimating the influence of personality and underestimating the influence of situations on an individual
- I think you cut me off because your a jerk when really your wife’s water broke
- Self serving bias
Cognitive Dissonance
- People experience discomfort when holding conflicting ideas, which can lead to a change in beliefs.
- We feel uncomfortable when we agree with things that conflict with our beliefs
- thoughts can’t contradict
Halo effect
if people are physically attractive, we tend to think of them as an overall better person (i.e. smarter, kinder, funny, intelligent etc)
- We think famous actors are good people because they are attractive
- Beauty=better
Self-serving Bias
- when we attribute our successes to our disposition but our failures to our situation
- its not my fault I failed the test I have a bad teacher.
- Lie to self
Social Loafing
when a person does less or puts in less effort when in a group than they would if they were acting individually.
- Clapping less loudly when everyone claps
- Group Lazy, dead weight
Deindividuation
Feel less self-conscious when in a group. Lose a sense of self-identity which allows you to do things you normally wouldn’t.
- The Klu Klux Klan is comprised of individuals who would probably not do such awful things alone
- lose yourself in crowd
Groupthink
not bringing up an alternative idea even when you have the correct information in order to maintain group harmony.
- No one opposed the Nazis and as a result the holocaust occurred
- Going with the flow
culture
The ideas, behaviors, traditions, and attitudes shared by a group of people across generations
- American culture has an individualistic attitude whereas Asian culture doesn’t
- What makes us different
norm
generally accepted rules for behavior that exist within a culture.
- It is normal in our society to shake hands when you meet someone
- expected behavior
social control
The power of the situation and setting around a person to influence them
- People act tough when they go to prison
- Act the part
Minority Influence
- The power of a small group or single individual to sway the majority
- Gandhi changed India
- “You can change the world”
Ingroup Bias
Favoring one’s own group over other outgroups even if this group was chosen arbitrarily
- liking your group in an activity more than others
- us vs them
Scapegoat theory
- Individuals will find a group to blame when something goes wrong, even if they are not responsible.
- Germany Blamed Jewish people for the economic depression in the 1940s
- someone to blame
Just-world theory
The idea that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people
- not feeling bad for someone because they “must have deserved it”
- Blaming the victim
