Unit 9 Flashcards
Social Psychology
Social Psychology
How our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by interactions with others.
Social Influence
How other people directly or indirectly influence the behavior, feelings, and thoughts of the individual.
Normative Social Influence
Changing a behavior in order to fit in with a particular group.
Informational Social Influence
A person conforms because they know that someone else is right.
Upward and Downward Social Comparison
Upward- compare yourself to someone who is better than you. Downward- compare youself to someone who is worse off than you.
Descriptive and Injunctive Norms
Descriptive- refer to someone’s behavior. Injunctive- assist an individual in learning what behaviors are acceptable and unacceptable.
Social Impact Theory
Bibb Latane- the likelihood to be impacted by an event and conform depends on the strength of the source, immediacy of the event, number of sources exerting the impact.
Social Facilitation
When people are watching, your arousal increases and affects your performance. Research made by Zajonc. We perform better on well rehearsed tasks. We perform worse on new tasks.
Social Inhibition
Tendency to perform complex tasks more poorly in the presence of others.
Social Loafing
Tendency to work less when others are also working on a task.
Social Striving
Tendency to work better when others are also working on a task.
Task Oriented
Focus on tasks to meet goals. Pros- things get done. Cons- people feel underappreciated.
People Oriented
Energize employees by making their efforts appreciated. Pros- people feel their jobs are worth while. Cons- feel overwhelmed when they do not perform.
Deindividuation
The lessening of their sense of personal identity and personal responsibility when one belongs to a group.
ABC Models of Attitude
Affective component- how a person feels toward the person, object or situation. Behavior compnent- the action the person takes. Cognitive component- way the person thinks about him or herself.
Direct Contact
Forming an attitude based on meeting the person, object, or situation.
Direct Instruction
Someone telling you to think a certain way.
Persuasion
Direct attempt to influence attitude.
Source, Message, Target Audience, Medium
Source- the person communicating the mesage. Message- what the person wants you to think; should be clear and organized. Target Audience- who should receive the message; what is the best way to reach them? Medium- the form you receive the message.
Elaboration Likelihood Model
People either elaborate (add details to the message) or do not elaborate at all (look at the characteristics of the message: length, is it attractive?)
Central Route Processing
People pay attention to the content of the message.
Peripheral Route Processing
Paying attention to cues outside of the message such as the expertise, length, and things that don’t directly relate to the message itself.
Theory X
Assumes workers are lazy, error prone, and only motivated by extrinsic rewards like money.
Theory Y
Assumes that any given challenge and freedom motivates workers to self achieve and demonstrate their competence.
Attitude Consistency
Degree to which a person’s thoughts reflect their actions.
Perceived Control
The amount to which a person believes they can control their actions.
Hindsight Bias
The “knew it all along” effect. The feeling that after an outcome has occurred, that it was predictable the whole time.
Cognitive Dissonance
A person’s behavior conflicts with their thoughts and beliefs.
Festinger and Carlsmith Study on Cognitive Dissonance
Coined the term when a cult group believed that a flood was coming and would destroy the world. When it didn’t destroy the world, they said that they were so faithful and quit their jobs that they stopped the flood.
GRIT- Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension Reduction
One small compromise between opposing sides will cause a spiral of more compromises.
Foot in the Door
Getting someone to agree to a minor request in the hopes that they will later agree to a bigger request.
Door in the Face
Getting someone to reject a major request in the hopes that they will feel bad and agree to a smaller request.
Lowball Technique
Once a commitment is made, the cost of the commitment increases.
That’s Not All Technique
Additional items that make the decision seem worthwhile.
Rule of Reciprocity
People deserve to be treated in the same manner they treated you.
Rule of Commitment
Feeling obligated to follow through on something once you made a public commitment.
Scarcity
Only so many products left.
Pluralistic Ignorance
When a majority of a group rejects a norm, but they go along with the crowd because they assume others accept it.
Conformity- Private and Public
Engage in behavior due to group pressure. Public- change behavior to fit in but not your private opinion. Private- personal attitude change because it’s congruent with your beliefs.
Asch’s Experiment
Participants were likely to follow group responses even if they thought they were wrong.
Groupthink
When people of a group feel it is more important to maintain the group’s cohesiveness than to consider facts realistically.
Illusion of Invulnerability
Feeling like the group can do no wrong.
Sherif’s Experiment
People asked how much a light moved in a blacked-out room (light didn’t actually move; it was an illusion called to auto kinetic effect). Participants in the room alone- usually said between 2-6 inches. Would go in as a group- people changed their responses based on other’s answers.
Group Polarization
Tendency for members involved to take extreme positions and take riskier actions when they meet with others of similar dispositions.
Obedience
Social pressure to comply with authority.
Zimbardo and the Stanford Prison Experiment
Prisoners vs. prison guards.
Social Perception
The study of how people form impressions and make inferences about people. Primacy effect- when a first impression persists even when contradictory information is presented later.
Self-Perception Theory (Bem)
Asserts people develop new attitudes after reflecting on their behavior that came naturally.
Self-Affirmation (Steele)
When an individual reflects on their own values, they are less likely to experience distress when confronted with information that contradicts their sense of self.
Social Categorization
Assigning a new person to a certain group.
Implicit Personality Theory and IAT Tests
Sets of assumptions that people have about different types of people. IAT Tests- implicit association tests. Look at pair of concepts. On a computer screen, choose between the pleasant and unpleasant side.
Just World Hypothesis
Believe that people get what they deserve so strongly, that people will rationalize injustice by naming things that made the victim “deserve it”.
Harold Kelley’s 3 Variables
Consensus- extent to which others act the same way.
Consistency- how often a person behaves a certain way. Distintiveness- extent to which someone’s behavior in one situation is different from another.
Attribution Theory
How we interpret and understand other people’s behavior.
Situational Cause
Assuming the cause of the behavior is from external factors.
Dispositional Cause
Assuming the cause of the behavior is due to internal factors.
Fundamental Attribution Error
Over-attributing other’s behaviors to internal factors and discounting external factors.
Actor Observer Bias
Our own behavior is due to outside causes. Other people’s behavior is due to internal causes.
Self-Serving Bias
Success is due to our own efforts, failure is due to circumstances beyond our control.
Modesty/Self-Effacing Bias
Success- all due to help from others. Failure- my own fault.
Stereotypes
Set of beliefs about people of a given category- shared beliefs. Prejudice is reinforced by stereotypes. Difficult to change way of seeing people that belong to a category.
Prejudice
Preconceived attitudes toward a person or group that have been formed without sufficient evidence and are not easily changed.
Discrimination
Unequal treatment of individuals on the basis of a category in which they belong.
Ethnocentrism
Belief that your own culture reigns supreme over all other cultures.
In-Group and In-Group Bias
In-group: member of the group- identify with them. In-group bias: favoring your group.
Out-Group
Not a member- may feel rejected.
Homogeneity Effect
Tendency to see members of out-groups as similar to one another.
Scapegoat
A person or group that serves as a target for the frustration and negative emotions of the in-group.
Social Cognitive Theory
Using cognitive process to understand the world; prejudice is formed as other attitudes are formed. Through direct instruction, modeling, and social influences.
Realistic Conflict Theory
Increasing prejudice and discrimination are closely tied to a conflict between the in-group and the out-group when they are seeking a common resource.
Self-Schema
Long lasting and stable set of memories that make up a person’s beliefs.
Social Identity Theory
3 processes form a person’s identity in a social group. Social categorization- people assign categories to one another. Identification- forming of your social identity or how you see yourself in the group. Social comparison- people compare themselves to others to boost their self esteem.
Stereotype Vulnerability and Threat
Vulnerability- effect that a person’s knowledge of another’s stereotyped opinions can have on that person’s behavior. Threat- members of a stereotyped group are made anxious of any situation that might support that stereotype.
Aversice Racism
Avoiding contact with those of a different identity increases racism.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
A belief that comes to bring own fulfillment. Believe you are friendly and generous- will be warm and smile when you see people.
Unrealistic Optimism
Less likely to experience a negative event compared to others.
Self-Handicapping
Avoid effort in the hopes of diminishing a possible failure.
Equal Status Contact
When conflicting groups are put in a situation where they must work together to solve a problem.
Superordinate Goals
Must pool skills together to succeed. Neither group has more power over the other anymore.
Aggression
Intentional physical or emotional harm to others.
Hostile Aggression
Desire to dominate others.
Instrumental Aggression
Desire to achieve a goal.
Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis (Dollard)
Aggression is a natural reaction to frustration, but the external factors need to be ideal to act upon it. Aggression is an automatic response.
Berkowitz’ Modified Version
Said Dollard’s view was focused too much on an automatic fight or flight response. Berkowitz stated there is a cognitive process of assessing whether to act.
Social Role
The pattern of behavior expected of a person who is in a particular social position.
Prosocial Behavior
Socially desirable behavior that brings benefit rather than harm.
Altruism
Helping others without looking for something in return.
Social Exchange Theory
People will not help others unless the gains outweight the losses.
Culture of Honor
Cultures that avoid confrontation and purposeful aggression. Promotes chivalry
Diffusion of Responsibility
Presence of others lessens responsibility for failure to act.
Bystander Effect
Individual does not take action because of the presence of others.
Kitty Genovese
Murdered outside of her apartment in Queens. Over 30 witnesses and no one helped.
Darley and Latane’s 5 Points to Helping
- Noticing
- Defining an emergency
- Taking responsibility
- Planning a course of action
- Taking action
Kin Selection
Altrustic behavior in risking your own life to benefit that of your kin or relatives.
Prisoner’s Dilemma
Biggest reward gained if both parties cooperate. Prisoners interogated togther for the same crime have a choice. If prisoner A betrays B and Prisoner B denies, Prisoner A will be set free, while Prisoner B will be convicted for 10 years, and vice versa. If both confess, they will both serve a six-year sentence. If both deny, they will both serve a six-month sentence.
Social Trap
Obtain short-term individual gains, while in the long run, the whole group loses.
Halo Effect
Tendency to assume that attractive people also have more positive personality characteristics.
Interpersonal Attraction
Liking or having interest in a relationship with someone else. Not necessarily attraction for dating. Also for friendship.
Physical Proximity
The distance one person is to another person. The closer they are geographically, the more likely they will be attracted to each other.
Mere Exposure Effect
The more you are exposed to a stimulus, the more you begin to like the stimulus.
Complementarity
Attraction between opposite types of people.
Reciprocity of Liking
A very strong tendency to like people who like you.
Matching Hypothesis
A tendency for people to “match” with people who are in the same range of attractiveness to themselves.
Sternberg’s 3 Components of Love
Intimacy- feelings of closeness and emotional bonding. Passion- physical longing for the person. Commitment- making mutual decisions in the relationship.
Romantic love: when intimacy and passion are combined.
Companionate love: intimacy and commitment are combined. Consummate love: intimacy, commitment, and passion are involved.
Interdependence
Two or more people have influence over one another’s outcomes.
Equity
Receiving from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it.
