16: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Social psychology

Study of how individuals think and behave in social situations

Culture

An ongoing pattern of life, characterizing a society at a given point in history

Ingroup

A group with which a person identifies

Outgroup

A group with which a person does not identify

Group structure

The network of roles, communication pathways, and power in a group

Group cohesiveness

The degree of attraction among group members or their commitment to remaining in the group

Norm

A widely accepted (but often unspoken) standard of conduct for appropriate behavior

Social role

Expected behavior patterns associated with particular social positions (such as daughter, worker, or student)

Role conflict

Trying to occupy two or more roles that make conflicting demands on behavior

Social status

The degree of prestige, admiration, and respect accorded to a member of a group

Social power

The degree to which a group member can control, alter or influence the behavior of another group member

Social cognition

The process of thinking about ourselves and others in a social context

Social comparison

Making judgements about ourselves through comparison with others

Downward comparison

Comparing yourself with a person who ranks lower than you on some dimension

Upward comparison

Comparing yourself with a person who ranks higher than you on some dimension

Attribution

The act of assigning cause to behavior

Situational demands

Unstated expectations that define desirable or appropriate behavior in various settings and social situations

Fundamental attribution error

Tendency to attribute behavior to internal causes without regard to situational influences

Actor-observer bias

The tendency to attribute the behavior of others to internal causes while attributing ones own behavior to external causes (situations and circumstances)

Self-handicapping

Arranging to perform under conditions that usually impair performance, so as to have an excuse for a poor showing

Attitude

Positive or negative perception of people, objects, or issues

Open-ended interview

An interview in which persons are allowed to freely state their views

Social distance scale

A rating of the degree to which a person would be willing to have contact with a member of another group

Attitude scale

A collection of attitudinal statements with which respondents indicate agreement or disagreement

Reference group

Any group that an individual uses as a standard for social comparison

Cognitive dissonance

Psychological state of having related ideas or perceptions that are inconsistent

Social influence

Changes in a persons behavior induced by the presence or actions of others

Social facilitation

Tendency to perform better when in the presence of others

Social interference

Tendency to perform more poorly when in the presence of others

Mere presence

The tendency for people to change their behavior just because they are in the presence of people

Social loafing

Exerting less effort when performing a specific task with a group of people than when alone

Conformity

Matching behavior and appearance to perceived social norms

Group sanctions

Rewards and punishments (such as approval or disapproval) administered by groups to enforce conformity among members

Groupthink

Flawed decision-making in which a collection of individuals favors conformity over critical analysis

Compliance

Bending to the requests of a person who has little or no authority or other form of social power

Persuasion

A deliberate attempt to change beliefs or behavior with information and arguments

Foot-in-the-door effect

The tendency for a person who has first complied with a small request to be more likely later to fulfill a larger request

Door-in-the-face effect

The tendency for a person who has refused a major request to subsequently be more likely to comply with a minor request

Lowball technique

A strategy in which commitment is gained first to reasonable or desirable terms, which are then more less reasonable or desirable

Obedience

Compliance with a request from an authority figure

Coercion

Being forced to change your beliefs or your behavior against your will

Brainwashing

Engineered or forced attitude change involving a captive audience

Cult

A group that professes great devotion to some person and follows that person almost without question; cult members are typically victimized by their leaders in various ways

Self-assertion

A direct, honest expression of feelings and desires

Social psychologists have identified at least six ways to reduce dissonance, including

changing behaviors to match the cognition, changing the belief to match the cognition, diminishing the importance of dissonant cognitions, focusing on consonant thoughts, reducing the amount of perceived choice, and attributing the belief behavior mismatched to an external cause