Unit 10 (Chapter 15) Flashcards

Question

The central route to persuasion

Answer 1

Followed when people think carefully & deliberately about about the content of a persuasive message, attending to its logic and the strength of its arguments, as well as to related evidence. o Thus, attitudes will be influenced primarily by the strength of the arguments o Tends to produce longer-lasting attitude change

Answer 2

Followed when people primarily attend to peripheral cues (i.e. distracted, unmotivated, busy, etc.)—superficial, easy-to process features of a persuasive communication that are tangential (peripheral) to the persuasive information itself. ##Footnote## E.g., # of arguments, attractiveness of the source of the message.

Answer 3

Motivation and ability (sufficient time, cognitive resources) both determine which route we will engage in when responding to a persuasive message. o Variability within- and across-persons. E.g., individuals high in need for cognition more likely to enjoy and engage in effortful cognitive processes. ##Footnote## Ex: Buying a car = central route since more motivation

Answer 4

Agreeing to the explicit request of another person. - Compliance techniques more focused on changing outward behaviour rather than internal attitudes ##Footnote## Examples: agreeing to do someone a favour, getting people to donate to a charity

Answer 5

People generally agree to help others who have helped them in the past or might help them in the future. AKA You should provide benefits to those who have provided benefits to you. Related to the DITF technique, as people feel as though they owe you for bringing down the price, time commitment, etc… ##Footnote## Ex: Solicitations for donations more successful when gift is included.

Answer 6

A compliance approach where the target request is preceded by a more extreme request that is likely to be rejected. Since effect is being driven by the perception that the requester has compromised with you (obligating you to compromise in turn), efficacy of the technique should be diminished if a different person makes the second request. ##Footnote## Research ex: Asked to volunteer at the jail for 2 hrs/week for two years, then asked if they would do it for one afternoon or evening. More likely to any yes to second request if first one was also asked.

Answer 7

People are more likely to comply with a larger request if they have already complied with a smaller initial request. Underlying mechanism is a shift in self-perception. o After the initial favour, a person “may become, in his own eyes, the kind of person who does this sort of thing, who agrees to requests made by strangers, who takes action on things he believes in, who cooperates with good causes” ##Footnote## E.g., charities often first ask for very small donations, then later ask for bigger donations. Research ex: People were more likely to put big ugly sign in yard, if agreed to put small one in window first.

Answer 8

- Ps asked to rate faces on trustworthiness, competence, aggressiveness, likability and attractiveness - Time given ranged from 100 to 1,000 ms; compared with ratings by people given unlimited time - Judgments made after a 100 ms exposure correlated highly with judgments made in the absence of time constraints - Automatic process—cannot help doing this

Answer 9

Warmth: may help us tell friends from foes. Competence: enables us to gauge the person’s ranking in the social order. - We are drawn to individuals who are high in both warmth and competence - We are wary of people who are competent but lack warmth -We disdain those who are low on both dimensions - We feel pity and protective urges toward those who are warm but incompetent

Answer 10

- Infantile features (large eyes, large head, small jaw) automatically evoke nurturing response in adult perceivers. - Baby-faced adults assumed to be warmer, more honest, more naive, and weaker (overgeneralization). - From an evolutionary perspective, this could be due to the fact that we must protect babies, and couldn’t afford to miss out on a potential cue from one (may lead to death).

Answer 11

Impressions are shaped by someone’s appearance or actions (data-driven, “bottom-up” approach). ##Footnote## Ex: “I like your bracelet” from mean girls

Answer 12

Impressions are also shaped by the pre-existing knowledge and expectations we bring to a social interaction (“top-down” approach). ##Footnote## Ex: Cady connecting Regina’s fake attitude to when she complimented her bracelet.

Answer 13

Internal cognitive structures containing generalized knowledge about the world. - Serve as frameworks that guide our perceptions and interpretations of incoming information, and help us organize our knowledge about the world.

Answer 14

Contain information about specific individuals. ##Footnote## E.g., appearance (blonde, pretty), personality (super shady), likes (shopping, gossiping, butter), dislikes (Gretchen), behaviours (manipulates others), etc.

Answer 15

Schemas from previous social relationships may influence perceptions of new people we meet. ##Footnote## E.g., targets resembling ex-romantic partners evoke the same feelings that the ex-partner did.

Answer 16

Let us know what we can expect in given situations and how we should behave. ##Footnote## E.g., in high school girl world, Halloween is for dressing cute, not scary.

Answer 17

Mental representations, or schemas we have about groups (e.g., women, Asians, gamers). - Can pick up stereotypes from people around us and the culture we are embedded in Are stereotypes ever accurate? § Yes, sometimes; they can reflect average group differences § But can lead us to exaggerate differences between groups § Problematic when we rely on them too strongly when reasoning about individuals.

Answer 18

- Priming: exposure to stimuli that “activate” or bring to mind a particular schema. - May occur below threshold of awareness (subliminally) - Schemas influence how we interpret information (particularly under conditions of ambiguity) ##Footnote## Ex: Ps primed around bravery or recklessness and then read paragraph about “Donald”.

Answer 19

Expectations and beliefs that lead to their own fulfillment. - We create the social reality that we expect ##Footnote## Ex: “Late bloomer” study where teachers gave them more attention, and then students ended up performing better.

Answer 20

The causal explanations we make for behaviour. - E.g., student arrives late to lecture Cause could be external: § Metro broke down, had a family emergency they had to deal with, etc. Or it could be internal/dispositional: § The student is not conscientious

Answer 21

People tend to give more weight to internal causes (person) and not enough to external causes (environment).

Answer 22

We perceive our actions and outcomes in ways that cast us in a positive light. - Good events are attributed to internal factors, while bad events are attributed to external factors - Extends to our interactions with other people, e.g., having a fight with a romantic partner (“my fault, your fault”) ##Footnote## Good grade: “I’m smart, I studied well.” Bad grade: The test was unfair!

Answer 23

- Base first impressions on limited information - Often rely on overgeneralized schemas & fail to make corrections for the individual (don’t see the person for who they truly are) - Our expectations shape our behaviour towards people, which elicits the behaviour we expect, thereby confirming our initial expectations (ex with negative stereotypes, resulting in cold behaviour from other group/person) - We fail to take situations into account (which includes our own influence on the person) - Tend to interpret our behaviour in self-serving manner (which extends to our social interaction)

Answer 24

People often mislead us by acting in ways that don’t reflect their true attitudes or belief. Ex: - Self-promotion = highlighting one’s achievements & abilities to appear competent - Supplication = presenting oneself as needy or dependent to elicit help or sympathy

Answer 25

We tend to overestimate the degree to which others share our views and opinions. ##Footnote## Ex: US election

Answer 26

Assume that attitudes drive behaviour but research from various domains shows that attitudes are often poor predictors of behaviour—for example: § Attitudes toward cheating & cheating behaviour § Attitudes toward religion & worship attendance § Racial attitudes & behaviour Why? Attitudes may conflict with other influences on behaviour: social norms, other conflicting attitudes, and situational factors. However, behaviours can be good predictors of attitudes. Attitudes may change in order to be consistent with behaviors.

Answer 27

Postulates that inconsistencies among a person’s thoughts, sentiments, and actions cause an aversive emotional state (cognitive dissonance) that leads to efforts to restore consistency.

Answer 28

Cognitive dissonance can be reduced by changing thoughts, feelings, or behavior to restore consistency. E.g., smoking may cause cognitive dissonance because it is bad for health, most people want to be healthy, & and are motivated to see themselves as rational actors acting in their own best interest. o Dissonance can be reduced by changing behaviour: quitting smoking. But behaviour change is hard! o Can also reduce dissonance by changing or adding thoughts and feelings: “My grandfather smoked every day and he lived to be 100 years old” or “Yes, I know it’s bad for me, but it helps me relax.” ##Footnote## Ex: Nixon Watergate hearings real-life study.

Answer 29

Tendency to seek out, pay attention to, and believe evidence that supports what we are already confident we know.

Answer 30

Tendency to reduce dissonance by justifying the time, effort, or money devoted to something that turned out to be unpleasant or disappointing. - Greater effort expended leads to more dissonance and more attempts to rationalize behavior. ##Footnote## Ex: Infiltration and study of doomsday cult. Other examples include frat hazing.

Answer 31

We tend to value things more if we made them ourselves. ##Footnote## Research example: Ps ascribed higher value to their own assembled IKEA boxes, folded origami, & built sets of Lego.

Answer 32

Any time people make a choice between two alternatives, there is likely to be some dissonance - Dissonance aroused by the inconsistency of accepting the negatives of one choice + rejecting the positives of the rejected alternative - The more difficult the choice = more inconsistent elements = more dissonance

Answer 33

Decision dissonance typically resolved by 1) emphasizing the positives and minimizing the negatives of the selected choice, and 2) emphasizing the negatives and minimizing the positives of the unselected choices. ##Footnote## Ex: Choosing to live in a big city or a small town: - If the big city is chosen, people may emphasize how great it is to go to restaurants and museums and minimize how frustrating the traffic is. - If the small town is chosen, the opposite is true. Research ex: Choosing between two objects close in desirability resulted in spreading of alternatives to diminish dissonance.

Answer 34

Compelling people to behave in a manner that is inconsistent with their beliefs, attitudes, or values. This will elicit dissonance.

Answer 35

When we see the subtle social influence as insufficient to justify our actions, we feel compelled to change our views to reduce dissonance (since we can’t take the behaviour back). ##Footnote## Research ex: lying for 1$ vs lying for 20$.

Answer 36

The tendency for people to become more extreme in their positions after discussion with like-minded others. Factors that are likely to combine to contribute: - Exposure to additional arguments in favor of one’s preexisting opinion strengthens that opinion. Supporting evidence: simply reading others’ arguments is sufficient to produce group polarization. - Compare self to others, with the drive to “outdo” others. If others express similar opinions, we may take a more extreme position to differentiate ourselves. Supporting evidence: being told about others’ positions (without being exposed to their actual arguments) produces the group polarization effect, but effect not as strong. ##Footnote## Ex: Reposting things from people who share your political views.

Answer 37

A mode of thinking resulting from situations where the group’s desire to reach or maintain unanimity overrides motivation to critically appraise alternative courses of action. o Occurs during group decisions when individuals feel pressure to maintain allegiance to group leader or make difficult decision under time pressure o Exacerbated by the presence of an authoritarian leader o Prevents individuals from voicing dissenting or unpopular opinions

Answer 38

1) Emphasize right decision over quick decision 2) Advise leader to moderate, not steer, discussion 3) Explicitly assign someone to play devil’s advocate 4) Promote critical evaluation over consensus 5) Encourage brainstorming and openness to all ideas 6) Form diverse groups, where members bring different expertise and perspectives

Answer 39

Finding that people are less likely to help in the presence of other bystanders. ##Footnote## Research ex: Elevator study where research assistants “accidentally” dropped coins or pencils during 1,497 elevator rides. Likelihood of getting help decreases as number of bystanders increases.

Answer 40

1) Noticing the incident 2) Interpreting the situation as an emergency 3) Assuming responsibility 4) Trying to help

Answer 41

Before we can intervene in an emergency, we need to notice that there is an emergency. ##Footnote## Research study: Participants seated in waiting room, either alone or in groups of 3. The room begins to fill with smoke. When alone, typically noticed the smoke within 5 seconds. When in groups, typically took 20 seconds to notice the smoke.

Answer 42

Once you notice the emergency, you have to interpret it as an emergency. Many events we encounter are ambiguous: § Are those kids hurting each other? Or just playfighting? § Is that woman being attacked by a stranger? Or just having a lovers’ spat with her boyfriend? § Is that smoke from a fire? Or something harmless?

Answer 43

Looking to others to define the situation. *If everyone is calm and indifferent, you’re more prone to go back to what you were doing, and the cycle repeats itself with others in the room doing the same as you, leading to pluralistic ignorance.*

Answer 44

Failure to realize that others are thinking and feeling the same thing we are. OR People are collectively unaware of each other’s true attitudes or beliefs. ##Footnote## 75% of the alone participants in the Latané & Darley study reported the smoke, on average within 2 minutes of first noticing it. When tested in groups, only 1 (out of 24) reported the smoke within before 4 minutes (before the room got REALLY smoky). Due to calmness of others, answers to “What caused the smoke?” Included: “air conditioning vapours”, “truth gas”

Answer 45

We are less likely to take responsibility for helping when there are other people around who could help. ##Footnote## Research example: P having “seizure” and crying out for help over intercom discussion system. Alone participants rushed to help, while those lead to believe they were in a group assumed another participant would help them. Still concerned about their well-being afterwards, though.

Answer 46

Closeness/nearness. Basic, powerful factor that drives liking. ##Footnote## Westgate housing study; ranking neighbours; higher proximity, higher ranking.

Answer 47

We tend to like people and things more after we have been repeatedly exposed to them and they become more familiar to us. This will not, however, work for stimuli that we already dislike. ##Footnote## “Student” confederate study.

Answer 48

Perceptual fluency explanation: average (“prototypical”) and more symmetrical faces are easier to process, and ease of processing is associated with feelings of pleasantness. Evolutionary explanation: facial symmetry is indicator of reproductive fitness (capacity to pass on one’s genes to next generation). Pronounced asymmetry may be indicative of issues during prenatal development (e.g., injuries in utero, infectious disease experienced by the mother). ##Footnote## Ex: Declining health in macaques associated with declines in facial symmetry. Some evidence that facial symmetry is linked to better health in humans as well.

Answer 49

Faces that are “average” are seen as more attractive. We tend to perceive a composite image of many faces “averaged” together as more attractive than the individual faces of which the composite is comprised.

Answer 50

Sharing personal information about the self. - Central to development of intimacy - Tend to like those who share personal information with us - Also tend to like people better after disclosing personal information to them ##Footnote## Research example of question sets to get closer.

Answer 51

Degree to which: - You believe that your partner understands your situation, emotions, needs, opinions - You believe that your partner values, respects, and validates your self - You believe that your partner acts in ways that care for and support the self **Key aspect of the development of intimacy**

Answer 52

Automatically activated associations, which are often learned through repeated exposure to a person, place, item, or issue. In some cases, we may be predisposed to learn these automatic associations, because they would have been adaptive for survival in our evolutionary past.

Answer 53

Attitudes we explicitly report that we feel or believe about a person, place, item, or issue. These may be shaped by our values, social norms and other beliefs about the target stimulus.

Answer 54

People tend to copy the actions of others to determine how to behave in a given situation. Marketers use social proof as a compliance technique to influence consumer behaviour, through showing a potential customer that their friends/family/neighbours have also bought/agreed to/done the same thing.

Answer 55

Compliance technique where you rely on the fact that people tend to place higher value on things that are in short supply.

Answer 56

The mere presence of others can boost arousal in a way that facilitates the dominant response, or most likely behavioural reaction to that task.

Answer 57

The tendency for individuals to expend less effort on a task when they are doing it with others rather than alone.

Answer 58

A framework for knitting together various factors that, in combination, predict the likelihood that people will act aggressively.

Answer 59

An evolved or adaptive strategy of assisting those who share one’s genes, even at a personal cost, as a means of increasing the odds of genetic survival.

Answer 60

The inability to accurately simulate the mental suffering of another person.

Answer 61

A negative attitude towards a group or its members. Theories that may explain why it arises: realistic group conflict theory, and social identity theory.

Answer 62

A tendency for individuals to receive different treatment or outcomes as a result of their membership in a given social group.

Answer 63

Negative intergroup attitudes can develop whenever groups compete against one another for access to the same scarce resources.

Answer 64

People tend to think positively about themselves, and that is automatically extended to their social groups, or ingroups.

Answer 65

The tendency to redirect one’s prejudice toward a racial or ethnic group to the policies that might benefit that group.

Answer 66

Differential treatment resulting from the automatic activation of, or failure to control, negative attitudes or stereotypes about members of a racial group.

Answer 67

A tendency, even among egalitarian-minded people, to have unconscious negative reactions to people of other racial or ethnic outgroups.

Answer 68

The suggestion that prejudice can be reduced through friendly or cooperative interactions between members of different groups. ##Footnote## Ex: Robbers Cave Experiment where groups of boys were driven apart (realistic group conflict theory) then brought together through cooperation.

Answer 69

Suggests that women’s greater expenditure of time and effort leads to far greater caution in selecting a single, long-term mate who will stick around to provide support and protection.

Answer 70

Suggests that passion, intimacy, and commitment are the points of a triangle, and various combinations of these elements create different variations of what love can be.

Answer 71

The need-to-belong theory in social psychology is the idea that humans have a fundamental need to form and maintain social connections. This theory suggests that this need is innate and nearly universal, and that it shapes human behavior, cognition, and emotions.