PSYCH 1X03 Influence of Others

who was the first to study social psychology?

Normann Triplett

co-actor

another individual performing the same task

audience

group of people watching you perform

social facilitation

stronger performance in well learned or simple tasks in the presence of others while hinderance in performance of complex or difficult tasks in the presence of others

what was the Bobo Doll experiment?

groups of children either watched an adult model aggressive or passive play with a bobo doll, the children imitated the behaviour they saw without and enforcement/prompting

norm

unwritten but commonly accepted rule of behaviour

Sherif's Autokinetic Effect Experiment

participant was placed in a pitch black room with a stationary light, asked to estimate how much the light moved. when alone the participant estimated around 5cm but when with other people who all said higher amounts the participant increased their results to match others.

Asch's conformity experiment

participants shown 3 lines and one sample line and are asked which line is closest to the sample line, when others said blatantly wrong answers the participants conformed to what others said

normative function

role of others in setting standards for our conduct based on our fear of rejection

informational function

role of others in providing information in an ambiguous situation

what experiment showcases the normative function

Asch's experiment

what experiment showcases the informational function

Sherif's autokinetic experiment

group polarization

group decision making strengthens inclinations of the individual members (causes us to trend towards extremes)

groupthink

group decision making environment that occurs when group cohesiveness becomes so strong it overrides realistic appraisals of reality and alternate opinions (mob mentality)

how to prevent groupthink?

be impartial, critical evaluation (someone assigned to devils advocate), subdivide group to discuss then reconverge, provide a second chance to voice opinions before final decision

what does the case of Kitty Genovese show?

bystander effect/bystander apathy

pluralistic ignorance

when each individual in a group sees no one responding in a given emergency so they conclude it isn't one

diffusion of responsibility

in deciding whether to act we determine that someone else in the group is more qualified

how do we break through bystander effect

being direct (calling out the person) or seeing other people exhibit helpful behaviour

social loafing

individuals are less motivated when working alone

Milgram's experiment

teacher (participant) is told to administer shocks to a learner when they answer questions wrong by an experimenter, when the learner shows signs of distress the teacher is told they must continue by the experimenter

what did Milgram's experiment show

humans tend to obey authority, we are terrible at predicting our own behaviour

what percentage of participants continued with Milgram's experiment (shocking the learner) till the end?

65%

what factors shifted the results of Milgram's experiment?

what the experimenter wore (more professional = higher obedience), proximity between teacher and learner (further apart = higher obedience), proximity between experimenter and teacher (closer = higher obedience)

what factor did not significantly shift the results of Milgram's experiment?

the location the experiment took place in

cognitive dissonance

state of psychological discomfort brought on by conflict between a person's attitudes and their behaviours, people will adjust their attitudes or behaviour to avoid the discomfort

what can reduce cognitive dissonance

justification for the behaviour (i.e. 20 dollars)

overjustification

cognitive dissonance ignored when the award is high enough

overjustification can cause people to discontinue their behaviour when the reward is removed

what was a flaw in the Stanford Prison Experiment

participant bias

why did the Stanford Prison Experiment end early?

the guards showed sadistic behaviour and were likely lowkey insane like wtf guys i get this is psychology but like wtf

deindividuation

in a group situation there is a loss of personal responsibility and restraint

persuasion is affected by which 3 factors?

attractiveness, credibility, similarity

when are we more persuaded by similarity

on decisions regarding lifestyle choices

when are we more persuaded by credibility

when it's something related to objective facts

if an audience initially agrees, and is a general audience, what kind of argument should you use?

well presented, easy to understand, one sided argument

if an audience initially disagrees, and is an academic audience, what kind of argument should you use?

well reasoned, factual, two sided arguments

foot in the door

gradual escalation of demands to increase compliance, any request is considered in relation to all previous requests

low ball request

commitment to an initial low offer and then changing the terms

self perception theory

we don't necessarily have a special insight into ourselves. we sometimes have to figure out who we are in a way that is similar to how we figure out who others are: by assessing behaviour

communicator

the individual delivering the information

what are people persuaded by more than expertise?

trust-worthiness

door in the face

starting by asking for something completely unreasonable and then greatly scaling back the request. a large request makes the smaller request seem all the more reasonable.

how did Zimbardo's experiment show how social roles impact our behaviour?

with very little coaxing, both the Prisoners and the Guards seemed to internalize their roles and take on attitudes appropriate to the role

risky shift

observed tendency to make more risky decisions when in a group rather than when on your own

when is groupthink most likely to occur

1. the group is highly cohesive and shut off from non-group members

2. the leader is directive and subordinates are not encouraged to challenge the leadership

3. the group is under pressure to make a decision

altruism

refers to an unselfish regard for the welfare of others, a willingness to put your neck on the line to help

norm of reciprocity

we are expected to reciprocate when someone else treats us well; we tend to return favours

norm of social responsibility

as a member of a society, we are expected to contribute to its welfare in a positive way

empathy-altruism hypothesis

altruism results from empathy

negative state relief model

we help others because we'd feel distressed and guilty if we didn't

relational aggression

personal interaction, method of aggression by getting other people to dislike someone through gossip, rumours, etc.

hostile aggression

involves behaviours that are directly confrontational—for example, hitting someone or yelling at them

who is relational aggression more common in?

women ☕️

who is hostile aggression more common in?

men

sunk cost trap

the tendency to continue on with something because time/money has already been put in (dissonance + aversion to loss)

Ben Franklin effect

a person is more likely to like you if they complete a favour for you

overview effect

a cognitive shift in awareness upon returning from space