psych 105 unit 4

social psychology

examines how people affect one another

intrapersonal

the ways in which we think about ourselves and others (emotions and attitudes)

interpersonal

the ways in which we interact with others (group processes)

social psychologists

focus on how people contextualize and interpret situations, and how this influences their thoughts and behaviors

behavior

product of the situation and person

situationism

the view that our behavior and actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings

dispositionism

the view that our behavior is determined by internal factors

internal factor

something that belongs to the person, not situation (personality traits)

halo effect

one good first impression changes how we see everything else about a person, generalize the presence of a positive trait to mean other positive traits are present

attribution

our belief about what caused a behavior or result

locus of control

the degree of control people have over their lives versus external influences

stability

does the cause of behavior stay the same or can it change?

controllability

can the person control the cause of the behavior

3 dimensions of attribution

locus of control, stability, and controllability

fundamental attribution error

the tendency to overemphasize internal factors as explanations

actor-observer bias

we explain other people’s behavior with internal factors but explain our own behavior with situational forces

self-serving bias

tendency to explain our successes with internal factors and others with situational factors

just-world hypothesis

the belief that people get the outcomes they deserve

social roles

the behavior people expect from you in a group or situation, shaped by culture

social norms

a group’s unwritten rules about how members should act and think

script

the usual order of events in a familiar situation

stanford prison experiment

24 healthy male college students were randomly assigned to be prisoners or guards

stanford prison experiment result

a strong social role can make good people do bad things

attitude

a like or dislike toward a person, idea, or thing

affective attitude

feelings

behavioral attitude

actions

cognitive attitude

beliefs and knowledge

cognitive dissonance

the uncomfortable feeling when 2 thoughts, beliefs or actions do not match

cognitive dissonance reduced by

changing behavior, changing thought, and adding a new thought

effort justification

we value something more when we worked hard for it

persuasion

changing someone’s attitude with a message

source

credible and attractive speakers persuade more

message

depending clear or subtle, back to back or spread out

audience

attention, intelligence, age matters

persuasion 2 main routes

central and peripheral

central route

relies on logical arguments and factual information

peripheral route

relies on peripheral cues, like positive emotions

foot-in-the-door persuasion

first ask for a small favor, then a big one

solomon asch study

shown 3 lines of different lengths, asked to match a 4th line to another (the participant conformed

conformity

change in response to go along with a group, even if they do not agree

factors that increase conformity (asch effect)

size of majority, presence of dissenter, public vs private responses

size of majority

increases conformity with groups of 4-7 people, then levels

presence of a dissenter

having one person disagree drops conformity 75-80%

compliance

changing behavior in response to an explicit request or demand from someone

normative social influence

people conform to the group norm to fit in, feel good, and be accepted

informational social influence

people conform because they believe the group is competent and has the correct information

milgram’s experiment

participants gave electric shocks to people in obedience

obedience

the change of an individual’s behavior to comply with a demand by an authority figure

groupthink

modifications of the opinions of members of a group to align with what they believe is the group consensus

polarization

strengthening of a group’s initial attitude after a group discussion

social traps

situations where individuals or groups act in ways that aren’t in their long term best interest

social loafing

less effort is made by a person in a group

prejudice

negative belief or attitude toward an individual based on their membership in a social group

stereotypes

specific beliefs or assumptions because of someones membership in a group

discrimination

negative action toward an individual because of their membership in a group

self-fulfilling prophecy

our expectations lead us to treat someone differently, which causes them to act in ways that confirm our belief

rosenthal & jacobson

teachers gave students subtle encouragement and feedback, making them perform better academically

confirmation bias

actively noticing or seeking our behaviors that fit our stereotype

in-group

the group that we identify with our see ourselves belonging to

out-group

the group that we view as fundamentally different than us

scapegoating

blaming the out-group when the in-group is frustrated or blocked from achieving a goal

aggression

hostile or destructive behaviors or attitudes

sadism

pleasure from inflicting pain on another

hostile aggression

motivated by anger, intent to cause pain

instrumental aggression

motivated by a goal, not necessarily intending pain

frustration aggression theory

frustration results from being prevented from an important goal

bullying

repeated negative treatment of someone over time

prosocial behavior

voluntary behavior with the intent to help others

altruism

desire to help others even if costs outweigh benefits

mirror neurons

activated by both acting and observing, essential for learning and modeling

homophily

tendency for people to form social networks with similar people

reciprocity

we both contribute and benefit from a relationship

self-disclosure

sharing personal information, intentionally or unintentionally

matching hypothesis

the tendency to pick someone we view as equal in attractiveness and desirability

clark & hatfield result

women are more likely to get men to be intimate with them

triangular theory of love

intimacy, passion, and commitment

social exchange theory

we are motivated to maximize benefit and minimize cost in a relationship

personality

long standing traits and patterns that make a person think, feel, and behave in constant ways

choleric

yellow bile (liver), passionate, ambitious, bold

melancholic

black bile (kidneys), reserved, anxious, unhappy

sanguine

red blood (heart), joyful, eager, optimistic

hippocrates and the four humors

choleric, melancholic, sanguine, and phlegmatic

phlegmatic

white phlegm (lungs), calm, reliable, thoughtful

phrenology

bumps on the skull show traits, discredited

freud

medical doctor, first to study the unconscious in a systematic way

anna o.

cared for her dying father then had paralysis, amnesia, and hallucinations

breuer

worked with anna o. for 2 years and realized talking about experiences gave some relief

studies on hysteria

breuer and freud wrote it, and freud proposed symptoms were due to repressed trauma

id, ego, and superego

3 conflicting systems interacting to minimize pleasure and minimize pain

id

primitive and instinctual drive, pleasure

ego

rational self, reality principle, balances id and superego

superego

conscience, pride/guilt

regression

acting younger than your age

reaction formation

acting the opposite of your true feeling

projection

seeing your own undesirable feeling in someone else

anxiety

ego’s inability to mediate id and superego

displacement

transferring unexpressed feeling to a more accepting/less threatening other

sublimation

redirecting unacceptable urges into socially acceptable expression

fixation

stuck at a psychosexual stage because of poor handling of its conflict

anal-retentive

stingy, stubborn, perfectionist