UCLA Psych 135 Midterm 2

Attribution Theory

umbrella term-set of concepts explaining how people assign causes to the events around them & the effects of people's causal assessments

Causal Attribution

Construal process ppl use to explain both their own & others behaviors. Linking an event to a cause, such as inferring that a personality trait is responsible for a behavior. type of attribution made influences how you respond to a situation

Explanatory Style

a person's habitual way of explaining events, typically assessed along 3 dimensions: internal/external, stable/unstable, global/specific

Explanatory Styles Details

Internal/external- degree that cause is linked to the actor themselves or the external situation

Stable/unstable- degree that the cause is seen as fixed or temporary

global/specific- degree that the cause is seen as affecting other domains of life or is restricted to affecting only one domain

Pessimistic explanatory style

internal, stable & global attributions habitually made for negative events.

Covariation Principle

idea that behavior should be attributed to potential causes that occur along with the observed behavior

Consensus

type of covariation info: what most ppl would do in a given situation; that is, whether most ppl would behave the same way, or few or no other ppl would behave that way (high consensus says more about the situation than the individual)

Distinctiveness

type of covariation info: what an individual does in different situations; that is, whether the behavior in unique to a particular situation, or occurs in all situations. (when distinctiveness is high, it says more about the situation)

Consistency

a type of covariation information; what an individual does in a given situation on different occassions; that is, whether next time, under the same circumstances, the person would behave the same or differently.

External/Internal Attribution

External- High consensus, high distinctiveness, high consistency

Internal- Low consensus, low distinctiveness, high consistency

Situational Attribution vs. Dispositional Attribution

S.A.- called for when consensus, distinctiveness & consistency are all high.

D.A.- called for when consensus & distinctiveness are low but consistency is high

Discounting Principle

idea that ppl should assign reduced weight to a particular cause of behavior if other plausible causes might have produced it

Augmentation Principle

idea that ppl should assign greater weight to a particular cause of behavior if other causes are present that normally would produce a different outcome

Counterfactual thoughts

thoughts of what might have, could have, or should have happened "if only" something had occurred differently

Emotional Amplification

an increase in an emotional reaction to an event that is proportional to how easy it is to imagine the event not happening

Self-serving Attributional Bias

Tendency to attribute failure & other bad events to external circumstances, & to attribute success & other good events to oneself

Fundamental Attribution Error

failure to recognize the importance of situational influences on behavior, & the corresponding tendency to overemphasize the importance of dispositions on behavior. "fundamental" because the problem being solved is so basic & essential, & because the tendency to think dispositionally is so common & pervasive

Just World Hypothesis

Belief that ppl get what they deserve in life & deserve what they get

Perceptional Salience & Causal Attributions

influences whether a potential cause springs to mind or how readily is springs to mind

Dispositional Attributions Happen Automatically

ppl automatically characterize actors when observing their behavior- adjusting for context comes after & is effortful

Actor-Observer Difference

difference in attribution based on who is making the causal assessment: the actor (who is relatively inclined to make situational attributions) or the observer (who is relatively inclined to make dispositional attributions). Tendency to make FAE to others rather than ourselves

Social Class

amount of wealth, education, & occupational prestige individuals & their families have

Persuasion

process by which a msg induces change in feelings, attitudes, or behaviors. often works by changing people's perception of a product, behaviors, or individual without any actual changes to those things. Depends on motivation & ability

ELM

Elaboration-Likelihood Model: model of persuasion maintaining that there are 2 different routes to persuasion- the central & peripheral routes.

HSM

Heuristic-Systematic Model: Model of persuasion maintaining that there are 2 different routes to persuasion- systematic & heuristic routes

Central (systematic) route

route to persuasion wherein ppl think carefully about the content of a persuasive message, attending to its logic & the strength of its arguments, as well as to related evidence & principles. alters beliefs -> behaviors. Best for long-lasting attitude change, resistant to counterattack. relevant & understandable

Peripheral (heuristic) route

route to persuasion wherein ppl attend to relatively easy-to-process superficial cues related to a persuasive message, such as its length or the expertise or attractiveness of the source of the message. Alters affect -> behavior. best if argument is weak or audience cannot process centrally... ads

Elements of Persuasion

The Who- source. The What- content. The Whom- target. (Confidence = persuasive)

Source Characteristics

The Who- characteristics of the person who delivers a persuasive message, such as attractiveness, credibility, & certainty

Sleeper effect

effect that occurs when a persuasive message from an unreliable source initially exerts little influence but later causes attitudes to shift

Message characteristics

aspects, or content of a persuasive message, including the quality of evidence & explicitness of its conclusions, vividness & emotional content. (Fear messages contain vivid info & can be very persuasive, most effective when combined with instructions on how to avoid negative outcomes)

Identifiable Victim Effect

tendency to be more moved by the vivid plight of a single individual than by a more abstract # of ppl

Audience Characteristics

characteristics of those who receive a persuasive message, including need for cognition (drive to think deeply about judgments), mood, age, audience size & diversity, personal relevance (extent to which a topic has important consequences for a person's well-being), ability to process

Know your Audience

At that moment peripheral or central? make msgs more or less relevant/accessible to them to match this.

Are you the audience?- Know yourself (when are you likely to process centrally/peripherally)

Metacognition

secondary thoughts that are reflections on primary cognitions

Self-Validation Hypothesis

idea that the likelihood of attitude change can depend not only on the direction & amount of thoughts ppl have in response to a persuasive message, but also on the confidence with which they hold the thoughts

3rd-person effect

assumption by most ppl that others are more prone to being influenced by persuasive messages (such as those in media campaigns) than they are themselves

Agenda Control

Efforts of the media to select certain events & topics to emphasize, thereby shaping which issues & events ppl think are important

Thought Polarization Hypothesis

hypothesis that more extended thought about a particular issue tends to produce a more extreme, entrenched attitude

Attitude innoculation

small attacks on ppl's beliefs that engage their pre-existing attitudes, prior commitments, & background knowledge, enabling them to counteract a subsequent larger attack & thus resist persuasion

Social Influence

many ways ppl affect one another (ex: changes in attitude, beliefs, feelings & behavior) resulting from comments, actions, or even mere presence of others

Conformity

Changing one's behavior or beliefs in response to explicit or implicit pressure (real or imagined) from others. not always bad. most basic perceptions influenced by frames of reference (social frames of reference?)

Compliance

Responding favorably to an explicit request by another person

Obedience

in an unequal power relationship, submitting to demands of the person in authority

Ideomotor action

phenomenon whereby merely thinking about a behavior makes performing it more likely

Informational Social Influence

Influence of other ppl that results from taking their comments or actions as a source of information about what is correct, proper, or effective. more likely when situation is difficult/ambiguous, feel low in knowledge or competence about the topic

Normative Social Influence

Influence of other ppl that comes from the desire to avoid their disapproval and other social sanctions (ridicule, barbs, ostracism)- avoid standing out/being criticized/disapproved/shunned.

Effect of group size/unanimity on conformity

tendency of ppl to go along with a majority that is clearly wrong drops dramatically once there is even one other person willing to dissent. as the number of ppl in a majority increases, so does tendency to conform, only up to unanimous majority of 3 or 4. after that, conformity levels off

Tuning out the victim

psychological distance in Milgram studies, less likely to go all the way to 450 V when in the same room. harm is less vivid, more abstract- less likely to question. chain-of-command. Release from responsibility, step-by-step (arrive at extreme situations through slippery slope- increase of small 15 V)

Internalization

private acceptance of a proposition, orientation, or ideology accepted by the majority

Norm of reciprocity

a norm dictating that ppl should provide benefits to those who benefit them

Reciprocal concessions technique

compliance approach that involves asking someone for a very large favor that he or she will certainly refuse and then following that request with one for a smaller favor (which tends to be seen as a concession the target feels compelled to honor); aka door-in-the-face technique

That's-not-all technique

a compliance approach that involves adding something to an original offer, thus creating some pressure to reciprocate

foot-in-the-door technique

compliance approach that involves making an initial small request with which nearly everyone complies, followed by a larger request involving the real behavior of interest (opposite of door-in-the-face)

Negative state relief hypothesis

idea that ppl engage in certain actions, such as agreeing to a request, to relieve their negative feelings & feel better about themselves

descriptive norm

behavior exhibited by most ppl in a given context- descriptions of what is typically done

Prescriptive norm

the way a person is supposed to behave in a given context; aka injunctive norm- what ought to be

Reactance Theory

idea that ppl reassert their perogatives in response to the unpleasant state of arousal they experience when they believe their freedoms are threatened

Attitude

evaluation of an object in a + or - fashion that includes 3 components: affect (how much someone likes or dislikes an object), cognition (thoughts that reinforce a person's feelings, such as knowledge/beliefs/memories/images), behavior (approach or avoid).

Likert Scale

numerical scale used to assess attitudes; includes a set of possible answers with labeled anchors on each extreme (1= strongly disagree, 7= strongly agree)

Response Latency

amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus, such as an attitude question

Implicit Attitude Measure

indirect measure of attitudes that does not involve a self-report

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

theory that inconsistencies among a person's thoughts, sentiments, & actions cause an aversive emotional state (dissonance) that leads to efforts to restore consistency. perception of insufficient justification/deterrence- opposite sides of the same coin. attitude change occurs to reduce tension from the conflict between prio attitude & chosen behavior

Reducing Dissonance

Change your behavior, change a dissonant cognition, add consonant cognitions. we are motivated to appear consistent, appearing inconsistent is aversive.

Effort justification

tendency to reduce dissonance by justifying time, effort, or money devoted to something that turned out to be unpleasant or disappointing

Self-Persuasion

long-lasting form of attitude change that results from attempts at self-justification. Large reward/sever punishment - external justification- temporary change.

small reward/mild punishment- internal justification- lasting change

Induced (forced) Compliance

subtly compelling ppl to behave in a manner that is consistent with their beliefs, attitudes, or values, in order to elicit dissonance, & therefore a change in their original views

Self-Perception Theory

theory that ppl come to know their own attitudes by looking at their behavior and the context in which it occurred, & inferring what their attitudes must be, rather than introspection. attitudes dont change, may exist only as shadows of behavior. infer our attitudes from behavior.

System Justification Theory

theory that ppl are motivated to see the existing sociopolitical system as desirable, fair & legitimate

Terror Management Theory

theory that ppl deal with the potentially crippling anxiety associated w/ knowledge of the inevitability of death by striving for symbolic immortality through preserving valued cultural worldviews & believing they have lived up to their standards, in order to get on with life

Stereotype

belief that certain attributes are characteristics of members of a particular group

Economic, motivational, cognitive perspectives

Prejudice

negative attitude or affective response toward a group and its individual members

Discrimination

unfair treatment of individuals based on their membership in a particular group

Modern Racism

prejudice directed at racial groups that exists alongside the rejection of explicitly racist beliefs

Artifact

spurious research result arising from a faulty method investigation

IAT (Implicit Association Test)

technique for revealing nonconscious attitudes toward different stimuli, particularly groups of people

Priming

presentation of information designed to activate a concept (stereotypes) and hence make it accessible. A prime is the stimulus presented to activate the concept in question

Realistic Group Conflict Theory

theory that group conflict, prejudice, & discrimination are likely to arise over competition between groups for limited resources

Ethnocentrism

glorifying one's own group while vilifying other groups

Superordinate Goal

goal that transcends the interests of any one group and can be achieved more readily by two or more groups working together

Minimal Group Paradigm

experimental paradigm in which researchers create groups based on arbitrary & seemingly meaningless criteria & then examine how the members of these "minimal groups" are inclined to behave toward one another.

Social Identity Theory

idea that a person's self-concept & self-esteem derive not only from personal identity & accomplishments of the various groups to which the person belongs

Basking in Reflected Glory

taking pride in the accomplishments of other people in one's group, such as when sports fans identify with a winning team

Outgroup Homogeneity Effect

tendency for people to assume that within-group similarity is much stronger for outgroups than ingroups

Paired distinctiveness

pairing of 2 distinctive events that stand out even more because they occur together

Subtyping

explaining away exceptions to a given stereotype by creating a subcategory of the stereotyped group that can be expected to differ from the group as a whole

Stereotype Threat

fear of confirming the stereotypes others have about one's group