Unit 1 (Ch1-4) Textbook Flashcards
Social Psychology (definition)
the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another
Social Psych vs. Personality Psych
Personality more about individual differences, social psych more about people in general
How does social psych explain how people were influenced to do immoral acts?
Milgram’s experiment; people listen to orders and become cruel.
When $2mil was scattered around, what happened?
1.9mil gone. only some stopped to help (way less than we think)
we are ________ organisms
bio-psycho-social
Argument against ‘social psych is common sense’
Hindsight bias (we don’t expect correctly what will happen before it happens.) We more likely rate results as ‘not surprising’. see “i knew it all along” phenomenon
Consequences of “I knew it all along” phenomena in relation to policymakers
example: It’s hard for us to praise policymakers. good and bad decisions are both “obvious”.
Theory
an integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events.
Framing
The way we word questions or issues. Can influence how others respond. (opting in and out, nudging, etc.)
mundane realism vs. experimental realism
mundane: how much an experiment mimics everyday life
experimental: degree to which environment absorbs and involves participants
Spotlight effect
The belief that others are paying more attention to us than they really are. (eg. 40% thought others would notice AE logo, only 10% did)
Illusion of transparency
Illusion where our concealed emotions leak out and can be noticed by others (we’re more opaque than we think)
T/F: what we agonize over, others easily forget
T
How do social surroundings affect our self-awareness?
We are more aware of ourselves when we’re the only 1 of a group
How did breakups among college students change sense of self?
They became less sure of who they were (changed self-perceptions)
Self-concept
What we know and believe about ourselves
What brain activity underlies our sense of being oneself?
Right hemisphere (failure in this part might make you not aware of own limbs)
self-schemas
mental templates; beliefs about self that organize and guide processing of self-relevant info. self-schemas make self-concepts. we welcome info that fit our schemas
Social comparisons
evaluating our opinions by comparing ourselves to others
Money doesn’t give happiness, but what’s true about money and happiness related to social comparisons?
Having more money than people around you can bring more happiness (1998)
Schadenfreude
Taking pleasure in someone’s failures (someone who we envy. and whose failures don’t make us feel vulnerable)
Why might people on social media feel pretty depressed?
Biased social comparison
When do we “compare upward”? Meaning we attribute others being successful to their situations
When others are doing better than we are.
Looking-glass self
How we think others perceive us is a mirror to perceiving ourselves