Unit Nine: Social Psychology

Question 1

Social psychologists

Answer 1

study how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

Question 2

Attribution theory

Answer 2

the theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition

Question 3

Fundamental attribution error

Answer 3

the tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

Question 4

Attitude

Answer 4

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

Question 5

Peripheral route persuasion

Answer 5

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractivenes

Question 6

Central route persuasion

Answer 6

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

Question 7

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

Answer 7

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

Question 8

Role

Answer 8

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

Question 9

Philip Zimbardo

Answer 9

randomly assigned some volunteers to be guards (with uniforms, clubs, and whistles and instructions to enforce certain rules) and others became prisoners, (locked in barren cells and forced to wear humiliating outfits). For a day or two, the volunteers self–consciously “played” their roles. Then the simulation became real—too real. Most guards developed disparaging attitudes, and some devised cruel and degrading routines. One by one, the prisoners broke down, rebelled, or became passively resigned. After only six days, Zimbardo called off the study.

Question 10

Cognitive dissonance

Answer 10

the tension we experience when we become aware that our attitudes and actions don’t coincide

Question 11

Cognitive dissonance theory

Answer 11

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes

Question 12

Self-handicapping

Answer 12

you arrange for a condition that will usually negatively impact your performance, create a situation that gives you an excuse or an out (I only got a bad grade because I did not study, I am great->good grade with no studying,\ either way you win)

Question 13

The chameleon effect

Answer 13

we are natural mimics, unconsciously imitating others’ expressions, postures, and voice tones

Question 14

Empathize

Answer 14

to feel what others are feeling

Question 15

Mood linkage (or contagion)

Answer 15

sharing up and down moods

Question 16

Conformity

Answer 16

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

Question 17

Solomon Asch

Answer 17

a participant in what they believe is a study of visual perception arrives in time to take a seat at a table with five other people. The experimenter asks the group to state, one by one, which of three comparison lines is identical to a standard line. Two sets of easy sets of lines pass, but then five others choose a clearly wrong answer and more than a third of the time, they cave in to the group

Question 18

Normative social influence

Answer 18

influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

Question 19

Social norms

Answer 19

understood rules for accepted and expected behavior

Question 20

Informational social influence

Answer 20

influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality

Question 21

Stanley Milgram

Answer 21

participants were “randomly” assigned “learner” and “teacher”. You teach a list of word pairs. If the learner gives a wrong answer, you deliver a brief electric shock. Each succeeding error moves to a higher voltage. The researcher flips the first switch. You deliver shocks after the first and second wrong answers. If you continue, you hear the learner grunt when you flick the third, fourth, and fifth switches, cry out after the eighth, shout after the tenth, shriek in agony, then refuse to answer. The experimenter pushes you toward the final switch. More than 60 percent complied fully. Even in a new study, when the learner complained of a “slight heart condition,” the results were similar. A full 65 percent of the new teachers obeyed every one of the experimenter’s commands.

Question 22

Social facilitation

Answer 22

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others

Question 23

Social loafing

Answer 23

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable

Question 24

Deindividuation

Answer 24

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

Question 25

Group polarization

Answer 25

the enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group

Question 26

Groupthink

Answer 26

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

Question 27

Minority influence

Answer 27

the power of one or two individuals to sway majorities

Question 28

Culture

Answer 28

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Question 29

Norm

Answer 29

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe “proper” behavior

Question 30

Prejudice

Answer 30

an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action

Question 31

Stereotype

Answer 31

a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people

Question 32

Discrimination (social psych)

Answer 32

in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

Question 33

Just-world phenomenon

Answer 33

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

Question 34

Ingroup

Answer 34

“Us”—people with whom we share a common identity

Question 35

Outgroup

Answer 35

“Them”—those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup

Question 36

Ingroup bias

Answer 36

the tendency to favor our own group

Question 37

Scapegoat theory

Answer 37

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger (frustration) by providing someone to blame

Question 38

Other-race effect

Answer 38

the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races. (Also called the cross-race effect and the own-race bias.)

Question 39

Culture shock

Answer 39

we don’t know what is expected or accepted (ex: pace of life)

Question 40

Aggression

Answer 40

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy (hostility or means to an end)

Question 41

Frustration-aggression principle

Answer 41

the principle that frustration—the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger, which can generate aggression

Question 42

Social script

Answer 42

culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

Question 43

Unconscious patronization

Answer 43

giving higher ratings and less criticism to black essays (low expectations and inflated praise)

Expect them to fail, lower standards, token person, you are great even when you aren’t that good, look past flaws to exalt them

Question 44

Mere exposure effect

Answer 44

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them

Question 45

Reward theory of attraction

Answer 45

we will like those whose behavior is rewarding to us, and we will continue relationships that offer more rewards than costs (proximity, attractiveness, sharing our views)

Question 46

Passionate love

Answer 46

an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship

Question 47

Companionate love

Answer 47

the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined

Question 48

Equity

Answer 48

a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it

Question 49

Self-disclosure

Answer 49

revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others

Question 50

Altruism

Answer 50

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

Question 51

Bystander effect

Answer 51

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

Question 52

Social exchange theory

Answer 52

the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs

Question 53

Reciprocity norm

Answer 53

an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them (give back what we receive)

Question 54

Social-responsibility norm

Answer 54

an expectation that people will help those needing their help

Question 55

Conflict

Answer 55

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas

Question 56

Social trap

Answer 56

a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior

Question 57

Mirror-image perceptions

Answer 57

mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive

Question 58

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 58

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

Question 59

Superordinate goals

Answer 59

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

Question 60

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension‑Reduction (GRIT)

Answer 60

one side first announces its recognition of mutual interests and its intent to reduce tensions. It then initiates one or more small, conciliatory acts. Without weakening one’s retaliatory capability, this modest beginning opens the door for reciprocity by the other party. Should the enemy respond with hostility, one reciprocates in kind. But so, too, with any conciliatory response.

Question 61

Diffusion of responsibility

Answer 61

others are just as capable of helping, why should I (feeds into the bystander effect)