Social and Personality Psychology

Social Psychology

the study of how people think, influence, and relate to other people.

attributions

how people explain behavior and metal processes of themselves and others (blame)

dispositional attributions

relate to internal qualities of others (such as intelligence or personality)

situational attributions

relate to external circumstances that are experienced

attribution theory

people usually attribute others’ behavior to either their external situations or their internal dispositions (i.e. personality)

fundamental attribution error

tendency for observers to blame a person’s disposition (personality) and not consider the situation

actor-observer bias

a tendency to attribute other people’s behavior to their initial disposition (personality) while attributing our own actions to external causes (its the situation, not us)

self-serving bias

the tendency to attribute our successes to internal, personal factors and our failures to external, situational factors.

explanatory style

is how people explain good and bad events in their lives and in the lives of others. (optimistic and pessimistic)

optimistic explanatory style

interpreting events by attributing positive outcomes to personal, permanent, and pervasive causes

pessimistic explanatory style

interpreting events by attributing negative outcomes to personal, permanent, and pervasive causes.

internal locus of control

perception you control your own fate

external locus of control

perception that chance or outside forces beyond your control influence your fate (can lead to learned helplessness)

mere exposure effect

repeated exposure to novel stimuli increase their attraction

self-fulfilling prophesy

a belief that leads to a person changing their actions to result in its own fulfillment

upward comparison

compare yourself to someone you think is better than you

downward comparison

compare yourself to someone who is worse off than you

relative deprivation

people often judge their own sense of deprivation relative to others

stereotype

a generalized concept about a group

prejudice

negative REACTION towards a person/group without any advance experience with that person/group.

discrimination

different treatment of a person (or group) than how one would treat others

implicit attitudes

those that individuals hold but may not be aware of or may not acknowledge

in group bias

prefer members of your own group (not ethnically based)

ethnocentrism

(ethnic based) favoring ones own cultural/ethnic group over other groups

out group homogeneity bias

perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in group members (e.g. they are alike, we are diverse)

just world hypothesis

a cognitive bias that (b/c the world is just) people deserve what they get

social norms

define expectations and roles a society may have for its members in individual and societal situations

normative social influence

influenced by a need to be part of the group (“I want to fit in”)

informational social influence

influenced by a belief that the groups must be right (“I must be wrong)

central route to persuasion

focus on the argument and uses FACTS; leads to lasting change

peripheral route to persuasion

influenced by incidental cues and leads to temporary change (like speakers attractiveness)

halo effect

When we generalize positive qualities to other aspects, even if there is no direct evidence to support it. (trusting medical advice from attractive TV personalities over less charismatic experts)

foot in the door phenomenon

people who have agreed to a small request will later comply with a larger request

door in the face phenomenon

people will agree to a small request after having been presented with a large request

conformity

change in a person’s behavior to concide more closely with a group standard

obedience

complying with a order or command from an authority figure

individualistic culture

encourages individuality- want to be unique, stand out (decreases conformity and obedience)

collectivistic culture

encourages social and group ties- the group/family is more important (increases conformity and obedience)

group polarization

discussion over time strengthens the group’s opinion/position

groupthink

desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

bystander effect/ diffusion of responsibility

people in groups think they are less responsible for something or that someone else will act

deindividuation

erosion of personal identity and responsibility (“mob mentality”) when in a group (actions are done w/o conscious thought or awareness)

social loafing

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

false consensus effect

we overestimate to which degree everyone else thinks/acts the way we do.

superordinate goals

a common goal that requires the cooperation of two or more people or groups to achieve, which usually results in rewards to the group.

social trap

individuals put their own needs before the groups needs. but sometimes you need to cooperate for what’s best for the group.

altruism (prosocial behavior)

an unselfish interest in helping someone

social reciprocity norm

they will owe us when we need help

social responsibility norm

we should act in ways that benefit the community (moral sense of good)

Asch conformity study

What did the Asch conformity study reveal?

demonstrated that people conform to group pressure, even when the group is clearly wrong

Milgram’s experiment? What did he find?

tested obedience to authority figures by instructing participants to give (what they believed) were painful electric shocks to another person. This revealed that individuals were willing to cause harm under authority pressure.

why was milgram’s experiment unethical?

Due to deception, emotional distress, and lack of informed consent.

Zimbardo’s prison experiment? What did he find?

Participants were randomly assigned as guards or prisoners in a mock prison. He find that when placed in certain environments, individuals might act in ways that are entirely out of character.(deindividuation could lead to a disinhibition of aggressive behavior)

why was Zimbardo’s prison experiment unethical?

The most serious concern was that it was continued even after participants expressed the desire to withdraw but were not allowed by researchers.

what is the difference between fundamental attribution error and actor observer bias and self-serving bias?

fundamental attribution error focuses on blaming another for their disposition, actor-observer bias does the same but adds oneself and attributes oneselfs actions to external causes. Self-serving bias only focuses on oneself’s successes (internal) and failures (external).

why do people sterotype?

Because of cognitive shortcuts and the social norm

what causes stereotypes?

It could be the result of biased perceptions/experiences also because its a brain shortcut and saves time.

what is social influence theory

people’s thoughts and actions are influenced by others.

what is the elaboration likelihood model

A persuasion model that suggests people process messages through a central route (facts+lasting change) or a peripheral route (cues and flashy)

who is most influenced by central route and peripheral route to persuasion

central route mostly influences those who are motivated and educated buyers and peripheral route mostly influences those who are completely uninvolved consumers.

what factors contribute to conformity

person feels insecure, group has 3+ people, group is unanimous, person admires group, person has made no prior commitment to any response, and if others observe the person’s behavior.

what factors increase obedience?

proximity of authority figure, legitimacy of the figure, distance from the victims, role models for defiance (saying no)

whats the point of superordinate goals?

to result in less stereotyping

what do IO psychologists study?

how people perform in the workplace, relationships among colleagues, and how people feel about work (burnout)

explain the rewards of helping in relation to altruism

relieves distress, someone might owe you back (social reciprocity norm), benefiting the community/ moral sense of good (social responsibility norm), social approval…people like us more which will increase self-worth.