Unit 9: Social Psychology Flashcards
Social psychology
the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another
Attribution theory
the theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition
e.g.Juliet is quiet at lunch and Jack is talkative, therefore we assume Juliet is shy and Jack is outgoing
Fundamental attribution error
the tendency for observers, when analyzing other’s behavior, when analyzing others behaviors, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of the personal disposition
e.g. Juliet is quiet at lunch and Jack is talkative, therefore we assume Juliet is shy and Jack is outgoing, but Jack may be quiet in class and Juliet may shine on stage
Self-serving bias
the readiness to perceive oneself favorably
Attitudes
feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to response in a particular way to objects, people, and events
Peripheral route persuation
Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues such as a speaker’s attractiveness
e.g. endorsements by beautiful/famous people to encourage us to buy things
central route persuasion
occurs when interested people focus on the arguments that respond with favorable thoughts
e.g. to persuade people to purchase a particular phone an ad might itemize it’s greatest features
foot-in-the-door phenomenon
the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request
e.g. asking friends for a smaller loan will make them more likely to give you a larger one later
Role
a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave
Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment
- randomly assigned participants as prisoners or guards; dressed them up, and put them inside a faux prison
- guards were instructed to enforce certain rules; initially they hardly complied but as time went on they stepped so heavily/violently into these roles that Zimbardo was forced to end the experiment
Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance Theory
The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent; when our attitude and actions clash/create dissonance, we often change our attitudes to match our actions
e.g. if you are asked to positively advertise something bad, you may start to belive those positive ideas over time to reduce dissonance
Norms
Understood roles for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe “proper behavior”
Chamelion effect
behavior is contagious – we take on the emotions and actions of those around us
Conformity
adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard
Asch’s conformity experiments
- a group asked to match a singular line up to one in a set of three
- all but one in the group are actors, intentionally giving the wrong answer
- the person was much more likely to give the wrong answers when influenced by others wrong answers
Normative social influence
influence arising from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disproval
Informative social influence
influence arising from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality
Milgram’s obedience experiments
- people are asked as teachers to administer a brief electric shock, and with each subsequent wrong answer the voltage increases
- more than 60% complies with instruction until the last switch
- testing what level people refuse to obey authority
When is obedience highest? (Milgram)
- when the person was close at hand when giving instructions and appeared to be a legitimate source of authority
- when the instructor was supported by a powerful institution
- when the victim is personalized/in a separate space
- when there are no role models for defiance
Social facilitation
improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others
– we do this because when others observe us, we become aroused, and this arousal amplifies our reactions?
Social loafing
the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts towards attaining a common goal than when individually accountable
e.g. tug of war, group projects
Deindividuation
the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity
e.g. online discussions/comment sections, aggressive crowds at sports events
Group polarization
the enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group
Groupthink
the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives
Prejudice
an unjustifiable attitude toward a group and it’s members
- combination of negative emotions, stereotypes, a predisposition to discriminate, ethnocentricism
Just-world phenomenon
the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve
e.g. rich people see the rich’s wealth and the poor’s misfortune as justly deserved
Ingroup
” us” - people with whom we share a common identity
(ingroup bias - the tendency to favour our own group)
Outgroup
“them” - those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup
Scapegoat theory
the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for angry people by providing someone to blame
e.g. after the 911 attack, some people lashed out against innocent Arab-Americans
Other-race effect
the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of others
Availability heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come to mind readily, we presume they are common
Hindsight bias
the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have forseen it
Aggression
any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally
combination of genetic, neural, and biochemical influences
Frustration-aggression principle
the principle that frustration - the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal - creates anger, which generates aggression
e.g. pitchers are more likely to hit batters on a baseball team if they had been frustrated with a previous play/error
Social scripts
a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations
e.g. increases in porn viewing subsequently increased sexual violence rates
Mere exposure effect
the phenomenon that repeated exposure to a novel stimuli increases your liking of it
Reward theory of attraction
we will like those whose behavior is rewarding to us, including those who are willing/able to help us achieve our goals
Passionate love
an aroused state of positive absorption in one another, usually present at the beginning of a relationship
Compassionate love
the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined
necessary components of equity (a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it) and self-disclosure (the act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others)
Alturism
unselfish regard for the wellfare of others
Bystander effect
the tendency for ay given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present
e.g. Kitty Genovese - she was raped and stabbed and called for help; neighbors heard her but did not call authorities because they assumed someone else had done it
Social exchange theory
the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs
Reciprocity norm
An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them
Social-responsibility norm
an expectation that people will help those needing their help
Conflict
a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas
Social traps
a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each persuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, became caught in mutually destructive behavior
Mirror-image perceptions
mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other as aggressive/evil
