Unit 2: Social Psychology Test Flashcards
Social psychology
The study of why people act different in different situations.
Culture
How are beliefs, traditions, and the environment around us shape the way we think and how we view the world.
Social thinking
The process we go through in our minds to make sense of our own and others’ emotions, thoughts, and feelings.
Schema
The cognitive shortcuts we create in our minds that come together to make assumptions about the world around us.
Ex. If you see someone wearing a stethoscope, you will assume they are a doctor.
Self-serving bias
The tendency for us to attribute our successes with internal personal factors and to attribute our failures with external situational factors.
Fundamental attribution error
The tendency for observers to overestimate the impact of the situation and underestimate the impact of personal traits/biases.
People will attribute one’s actions to their character rather than thinking about the situational factors that caused that behavior.
Cognitive dissonance
The theory that we act to reduce dissonance/discomfort when our thoughts/cognitions are inconsistent.
We change our attitude to fix mental discomfort from holding inconsistent/opposite beliefs.
Ex. you know that smoking is bad for your health, but you want to do it anyway.
Social influence
The process of inducing change in people.
Social facilitation
When you are in the presence of others, you will perform better on tasks that you are good at and worse on tasks that you are bad at.
Social loafing
The tendency for people to exert less effort and do less work in a group setting when trying to attain a common goal than they would if they were on their own.
Ex. In group projects, there is always that one person that sits around and does nothing.
Deindividuation
The loss of self-awareness and restraint in a group setting because we feel a sense of anonymity.
When we shed self-awareness and restraint, we become more active in the group.
Ex. someone bullying someone else online because they are hidden by their profile and exist in a larger group (the internet).
Group polarization
The enhancement of a groups prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.
As peoples opinions (positive or negative) are discussed, they become more extreme.
Ex. individuals go along with a poorly planned idea that amplifies the true desires of the group because everyone else is going along with it.
Groupthink
The mode of thinking in a decision-making group setting when the desire for harmony overrides any alternate ideas.
It avoids creativity and individual responsibility because you go along with what the majority of the group wants just to make a decision.
People will conform to the group opinion rather than stating their own ideas.
Ex. when working on a group project, you may not share your unique idea because the majority of the group wants to do it another way.
Obedience
A change in behavior in response to a command from another person.
Ex. you take your dog for a walk because your mom said “take the dog for a walk”
Milgram Obedience Experiment
A group of 40 participants that ranged in age, income levels, and education were brought together. They were all test subjects who were asking a random person (the actor) questions who was sitting in an electrical chair. They were told to shock the man and up the voltage every time he got a question wrong. The man was yelling in pain for them to stop as he kept getting shocked and only 14/40 people stopped because they morally couldn’t hurt the man anymore. 26/40 people made it to the last level because they felt the need to obey.
Conformity
A change in a persons behavior to fit in with those around them.
They feel a real or imagined pressure to change the way they think or simply go along with the group.
We conform due to real or imagined pressure.
Asch Line Experiment
A group of men were shown a series of lines on a screen and were told to tell the researcher which line was the shortest out of the ones that were being shown. There was a clear answer. All of the men that were brought in were actors except for one who was the test subject. At first, when the men were shown the lines, the actors and the subject gave the correct answer. Then, the actors started purposely giving the same wrong answer, and the subject gave the answer that the actors did. He conformed because he felt an imagined pressure to say the same thing as them. Later, some actors would give the correct answer while the other actors gave the incorrect answer, and the subject gave the correct answer in this situation because other people were now giving the same answer.
Normative social influence
A reason for people to conform where they observe their surroundings and do what the people around them are doing, even if they don’t agree with or want to do it.
Ex. waiting in the halls before class because all of your friends are.
Informational social influence
Another reason why people conform where they change their thinking or behavior because we believe someone has accurate information, so there is an imagined pressure to agree with it.
Ex. someone might not want to get vaccinated but their doctor tells them it is good for them and gives them the information, so then they get vaccinated.
Compliance
Changing behavior due to a direct request (NOT an order). The person can be asked to change or not without consequence.
Foot-in-the-door technique
A way of getting someone to comply to your requests by asking for a small request first and then moving your way up to bigger requests every time you ask for something.
Ex. 1) ask someone to put a sign in their yard. 2) ask for a $5 donation
3) ask for a $50 donation
4) ask them to run a fundraiser
Door-in-the-face technique
A way of getting someone to comply to your requests by requesting something really large first and working your way down to your desired request to seem more reasonable.
Ex. 1) ask parents for a pony
2) ask parents for a dog
3) ask parents for a gerbil. Yes!
Altruism
Unselfish regard for the welfare of others. Acting in a selfless way that puts the wellbeing and desires of others above your own.
Ex. living in a war torn country and helping those in need while risking your life.
Bystander effect
The tendency for people to be less likely to give help in situations where bystanders are present.
Ex. If you drop a penny in an elevator with only one other person, they will most likely help you pick up the penny. However, if you drop a penny in an elevator multiple people, they will be less likely to help pick it up.
