Unit 3 - Chapter 10 - Social Psychology Flashcards
What term do psychologists use to describe our liking of other people?
Appeal (interpersonal attraction)
Which term refers to a set of characteristics believed to be shared by all members of a particular group?
Stereotype
What process describes the use of social influence to cause other people to change their attitudes and behavior?
enticement (persuasion)
What do we call judgements about people, situations, objects or thoughts?
attitudes
How can a coach get his football team to perform better if he suspects they are exhibiting social loafing
introduce new challenges (grade their individual performances)
Some have suggested that the results of Milgram’s obedience study may have been due to the ____ effect
Reciprocity (foot in the door)
It is 1951, and you are required to participate in a perception experiment. You join seven others seated in a room. You are shown a 10-inch test line and must choose the time that matches it in length from a choice of three lines. The experimenter Solomon Asch is studying _____
bystander apathy (conformity)
According to the research of Latane and Darley, which of the following situations would be the most likely in which someone would offer to help?
person falling down coming out of an elevator with only one other person in it
What term do psychologists use for the phenomenon that occurs when people are less likely to aid a person in trouble if there are other people around who are also potential helpers?
bystander effect
Which type of love is defined as commitment only?
infatuation (empty love)
Your best friend has been acting rather cool toward you lately. As you try to figure out why, you are engaging in the process called ___
Causal analysis (attribution)
Which of the following would result in cognitive dissonance?
pink shirts are considered feminine; Bruce Willis wears pink shirts
In both social facilitation and social impairment, the key factor is _____
the number of people (Control group)
Many people hang up on telemarketers, but others will politely listen to their pitches even if they are not interested in the product. Telemarketers know that anyone who agrees to listen to a pitch is more likely to buy the product, thanks to the _____ phenomenon
foot in the door
Social psychology differs from psychology in its focus on ______
the influences of the social world in which we exist
Alex is standing in line at Wal-Mart waiting to pay for his purchases. A man cuts in front of the line and drops his items on the counter. Alex says to his friends, “That man is incredibly rude.” A social psychologist who is within earshot jots down a note so she can use the example in class. What does she write concerning Alex?
He made a dispositional attribution
A state of tension that occurs when a person’s attitudes do not match the person’s actions is called
Cognitive dissonance
Fran avoids talking with food in his mouth because he knows others think it is socially inappropriate. This best illustrates the impact of
Social norms
What is the BEST example of the behavioral component of an attitude?
Betty writes a letter to her senator asking for support of a law making corporations responsible for the pollution they cause
Which of the following is the best example of central route persuasion?
Anti-smoking advertisements that use charts and graphs to show how many people die from smoking-related causes each year
People view the environmental protection agency as competent and believes they know correct information regarding what individuals should do to protect the environment, so they possess ________ social influence when it comes to enforcing a group norm of recycling
Informational
Which statement best describes an important finding of Milgram’s classic research?
People will obey an authority figure even if it means doing harm to others.
Marco accepts a request to play the piano at his church’s Sunday services even though he is still learning how to play. He plays a well-learned, simple piece. Happily, he performs very well in front of his congregation. Marco’s behavior illustrates
Social facilitation
In Solomon Asch’s study, which factor increased the rate of conformity?
The confederates answered unanimously
Attributions are ___________.
reasons people make for why they and others do what they do
The tendency of people to comply with a second, lesser request after refusing a
larger one is called the __________ effect.
door-in-the-face
Which of the following is NOT one of the three major components of attitudes?
goals
What is the term for an improvement in performance caused by the perception that others are watching?
social facilitation
One form of the norm of reciprocity is when the merchant offers more than the consumer asks for. This is called the ___________ technique.
that’s-not-all
A bank loan officer thinks people who speak with an accent are lazy; consequently, he refuses to grant them loans. The loan officer’s belief is an example of __________ . His refusal to grant them loans is an example of __________.
prejudice; discrimination
What term is used to describe compliance with an initial small request followed
by compliance with a larger request?
foot-in-the-door effect
A state of tension that occurs when a person’s attitudes do not match the
person’s actions is called ___________.
cognitive dissonance
cognitive dissonance
When members of a group give priority to the cohesiveness of the group over the facts of a situation, they are engaging in what social psychologists call __________.
groupthink
_________ is a change of behavior in response to an explicit request.
compliance
In Zimbardo’s prison study, male college students agreed to participate in a two-week experiment to discover what would happen when they took on the roles of prisoners and guards. After the prisoners staged a revolt, the researchers found that ___________.
the guards became more aggressive
What is the term for the process of developing an opinion about another person?
impression formation
When we make situational attributions we are identifying the cause of an action as something __________.
in the environment
In Solomon Asch’s study, which factor increased the rate of conformity?
The number of confederates increased.
You get a free sample of a new cereal in the mail. The company hopes you will try the cereal and then feel obligated to buy it. What term do psychologists use to describe this phenomenon?
norm of reciprocity
What process describes the use of social influence to cause other people to change their attitudes and behavior?
persuasion
Giving in to indirect pressure to change your behavior and/or thoughts is called ___________.
conformity
Which statement is the best explanation of the fundamental attribution error?
We are more likely to attribute another’s behavior to internal rather than to
situational causes.
What do we call judgments about people, objects, or thoughts?
attitudes
Social psychology is the scientific study of how a person’s behavior, thoughts, and feelings are influenced by __________.
the real or imagined presence of others
Social psychology differs from psychology in its focus on
the influences of the social world in which we exist
” Pink shirts are considered feminine; Dwayne “The Rock “ Johnson wears pink shirts”
would result in cognitive dissonance
Your best friend has been acting rather cool toward you lately. AS you try to figure out why, you are engaging in the process called
attribution
The realistic conflict theory focuses on
conflict between two groups
All of the following terms are used in social identity theory EXCEPT
control group
According to some studies, people who have religious commitments are more likely to live longer than do those
who do not have religious beliefs
Empty love is defined as
commitment only
Psychologists use the term bystander effect for the phenomenon that occurs when people are less likely to aid a person in trouble if there are other people around who are
potential helpers
According to the research of Latane and Darley, “ a person falling down coming out of an elevator with only one other person in trouble in it” would be the most likely
in which someone would offer to help
It is 1951, and you are required to participate in a perception experiment. You join seven others seated in a room. You are shown a 10-inch test line and must choose the line that matches it in length from a choice of threelines. The experimenter, Solomon Asch,
is studying conformity
The Boston Red Sox is NOT an example of
groupthink
Some have suggested that the results of Miligram’s obedience study may have been due to the
foot-in-the door effect
Judgments about people, situations, objects or thoughts are termed
attitudes
Persuasion describes the use of
social influence to cause other people to change their attitudes and behavior
Stereotype refers to a set of characteristics believed to be shared by
all members of a particular group
Attributions are explanations that account for one’s own
behaviors and/or the behaviors of others
According to you textbook. “a lack of money for the basic necessities of life” is a primary reason why
living in poverty is stressful
Psychologists use the term interpersonal attraction to describe
our liking of other people
The hormone associated with aggression seems to be
testosterone
When members of a group give priority to the cohesiveness of the group over the facts of a situation, they are engaging in what social psychologists call
group think
Attitudes
are learned
Dave believes all college professors are irritable , impatient, and uninterested in whether students learn. His belief is an example of
a stereotype
Research has consistently shown that having a good social support system is of critical importance in a person’s
ability to cope with stressors
According to Sternberg, a couple whose love is based off of intimacy and passion but who hare not yet committed to a long-term relationship are in the form of love called
romantic love
What is an attribution?
An explanation for behavior (either our behavior or the behavior of others)
What is attribution theory?
theory about how people explain the causes of behavior
What are some factors that affect causal attributions?
Physical Appearance Explanatory Style Situational/Dispositional Fundamental Attribution Error or Correspondence Bias Kelly Covariate Model Imagination of alternatives Counterfactual thoughts
How does physical appearance play into attributions?
People are making judgments based on physical appearance relating to two important things
Trust
Dominance
Youthful or baby faces are seen as trustworthy and non dominant
What are the 3 dimensions of explanatory style?
- Internal/external
- Stable/Temporary
- Global/specific
Who is the father of attribution theory?
Heider
How does explanatory style early in life predict later physical health?
Explanatory style at age 25 –> significant correlation of physical health age 45+
What were the two main ways in which Heider explained attribution theory?
Internal attribution (Dispositional) Inference that the cause of the behavior in question is from something internal to the individual
External attribution (Situational)
Inference that a behavior is the result of the situation that the person is in
Inferred as well that most people would respond the same way in the same situation
What were the 3 things that early attribution theory hypothesized should affect our attributions?
- Free choice
The more evidence that a behavior was freely chosen, the stronger the dispositional attribution - Expectedness
The more expected the behavior, the weaker the dispositional attribution - Effects of the behavior
The more positive effects of a behavior, the less certain you can be about why the person produced the behavior
What is the fundamental attribution error (correspondence bias)
= tendency to discount the situation
= The pervasive fundamental belief or schema we have about human behavior is that people do what they do because of the kind of people they are
However, don’t apply this to ourselves
What are the 3 main reasons humans have a strong tendency to describe others behaviors dispositional and their own situationally?
- Correspondence bias
= We tend to infer that people’s behavior matches their personality - Perceptual salience
=When we are trying to figure out other people’s behavior we are paying attention to the person and not as much to the situation - Actor/Observer difference
= When we examine our own behavior we are the actor and we know ourselves so we are paying attention to the situation
We have more information about ourselves than others
When we are examining other people’s behavior we are focusing on the person
Explain the Fidel Castro Experiment
Subjects read one of two speeches about Fidel Castro - one pro the other anti - that were supposedly written by another student
In one condition they were told the writer had chosen his stance, in the other condition they were told the writer was assigned a topic
Explain the results of the Fidel Castro Experiment
Pro-Castro attributions were higher for people who chose to give the speech
What is the Kelly Covariate Model?
More modern/complex attribution theory
We use 3 kinds of information to make attributions:
- Consistency
Is the behavior consistent with previous behavior? - Distinctiveness
Is the behavior distinctive or usual for the situation? - Consensus
Is the behavior consistent to what others would do in the same situation?
What is a good example of the Kelly Covariate model?
Kelly makes a very sarcastic comment to Cover and everyone laughs at him.
Consistency
Has Kelly been sarcastic in previous social situations?
Distintiveness
Is Kelly sarcastic with other people in the group?
Consensus
Are others being sarcastic to Cover?
If we find that Kellyis not often sarcastic (low consistency & high distinctiveness) and that others are also being sarcastic to Cover (high consensus) we would conclude that Cover is being annoying
If we find that Kelly is often sarcastic to other people and in many different situations (high consistency & low distinctiveness) and that others in the group were not being sarcastic to Cover (low consensus) we would conclude that Kelly is a bitch
In the Kelly Covariate model, an external attribution is likely if?
High consensus, high distinctiveness, high consistency
In the Kelly Covariate model, an internal attribution is likely if?
Low consensus, low distinctiveness, high consistency
What is the discounting principle?
if we can imagine another reason or explanation to explain someone’s behavior then we reduce the weight assigned to the other
Ex. Example: Someone trying to land a job acts very personable in an interview
We cannot make a confident attribution but from the general knowledge we have of people, we would infer that everyone acts personably in a group interview thus we cannot be confident that the applicant is all the personable
We discount the possibility that what we have seen (personable demeanor) tells us something about the person involved (she’s personable) because we imagine that almost anyone would act similarly in such a situation
How does the discounting principle apply to Milgram’s study?
When considering the high rate of obedience, you imagine what you would have done-> you would believe that you would have not obeyed experimenter’s request to continue with the experiment (you would think you would be the change in the outcome of the experiment) thus you would have concluded that it was the person and not the situation that caused the behavior of obedience
What are counterfactual thoughts?
thoughts of what might have happened, what could have happened or what should have happened, “if only” something had been different
If only thoughts
What is emotional amplification?
an increase in the emotional reaction to an event that is proportional to how easy it is to imagine the event not happening
