Studied by 9 people
Tragedy of the Commons/Social Trap
People in a group acting on their self-interests to obtain short-term gains; in the long run, the group is disadvantaged
False Consensus Effect
An individual overestimates the number of people who agrees with them
Social Facilitation
Tendency to perform simple/well learned tasks better in presence of others
Social Inhibition
Tendency to perform complex, difficult, unmastered tasks more poorly in front of others
Stereotype
Positive/negative generalized belief about a group of people
Prejudice
Undeserved (usually negative) attitude towards a group
Discrimination
Unjustifiable negative behavior towards a group
Ethnocentrism
Belief that one’s culture/group is superior to another
Scapegoat Theory
Tendency to blame someone else for one’s own problems; often results in prejudiced feelings towards the blamed
Social Loafing
When an individual in a group puts forth less effort when working towards a common goal than if held individually responsible for the goal
Groupthink may occur with…
Respected and directive leader
High cohesion with group members
Isolation of group from others
Not falsifying group’s ideas externally; members only listens within the group
Stressful situations with perceived limited solutions
Avoiding Groupthink requires…
Diversity in the group
Devil’s advocate: Someone is assigned as an “outsider” by questioning all decisions made and offering alternate views
Dialectal Inquiry Method: 2 subgroups work separately on different plans
Social Psychology
The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to another
Attribution Theory
How people explain behaviors and mental processes of themselves and others
Situational Attributions
Relates to external circumstances that are experienced
Dispositional Attributions
Relates to internal qualities of others
Fundamental Attribution Error
Tendency for observers, when analyzing another’s behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation (external) and overestimate the impact of personal disposition (internal)
Actor Observer Bias/Effect
Tendency for the person to attribute to their own situation to situational factors
Mike believes he did well because the teacher gave him an easy FRQ
…And for others to attribute a person’s behavior to dispositional factors
Mike’s classmates thinks he does well because he’s smart
Attitudes
Beliefs and feelings that predispose our reactions to objects, people, and events
Social Roles
Behaviors, attitudes, and characteristics expected of an individual who holds a specific position in society
Ex: Student and teacher
Social Groups
Two or more individuals holding common goals/interests
Group Norms
Implicit and explicit rules for all members about behaviors and attitude; leads to smooth interactions with no conflict
In-Group Bias
Tendency to have preferential treatment towards those in the same group
Out-Group Homogeneity Bias
Tendency to have a negative outlook on those outside of the group
Role-Playing Affects Attitude
When one adopts a new role, their actions may feel phony/artificial, but over time would possibly accept their role
Deindividuation
Group setting causes one to lose their self-identity and abandon normal restraints; feeling of anonymity
Cognitive Dissonance
Mental strain/tension that results from holding 2 conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes
Ways to Reduce Cognitive Dissonance
Change behavior/cognition
Stop eating the donut
Justify behavior/cognition by changing conflicting cognition
“I’m allowed donuts once in awhile”
Justify by adding new cognition
“Going to exercise off the calories”
Ignore/deny any info conflicting with existing beliefs
“It didn’t have that much calories”
Groupthink — Irving Janis
Individuals self-censor beliefs to preserve group harmony; MAY cause poor decisions
Tendency to make bad decisions because of the illusion that the plan of action is good and supported by all
Group Polarization
After discussing a topic, the group members’ beliefs become more extreme than prior to discussion; from having belief —> belief becoming stronger
Confirmation Bias
Tendency to search for info that confirms one’s perceptions
Contact Theory
Contact between 2 hostile groups will reduce animosity, but only if groups are made to work towards a similar/subordinate good that benefits all; can reduce prejudice and discrimination
Jane Elliot
Brown Eyed Blue Eyed 1968
Richard LaPiere
Attitudes do not always affect behavior
Experiment with an Asian couple going around to hotels that say they wouldn’t want to serve an Asian; only one hotel followed through with their words
Conformity
A change in behavior and belief caused by real/imagined social pressure
Confederate
Person who works for the experimenter by behaving in different ways
Solomon Asch’s Conformity Experiment
Conformity is most likely to occur when a group’s opinion is unanimous
Social Influence Theory
Reasons for conforming
Informational influence
When someone conforms because they believe the group is right
Normative Social Influence
Result of wanting to be liked or part of a group by following social norms
What strengthens conformity?
One’s incompetence/insecurity
Group has at least 3 people
One’s culture strongly encouraging respect for social standards
Milgram’s Shock Study
Subjects were tested to see how far they’d comply to shocking others under orders; psychology ethical guidelines were completely overhauled afterwards
In Milgram’s experiment, when was the person’s obedience the highest?
Proximity
Authority figure is supported by a prestigious institution
Victim is depersonalized or at a distance
Obedience
A form of compliance that occurs when people follow directions from someone with authority
Bystander Effect
The more people that witness an emergency, the less likely one person is to help
What explains the Bystander Effect?
Diffusion of responsibility
Diffusion of Responsibility
The larger the group of people who witness the problem, the less responsible any one individual feels to feel; assumption that someone else will help
Altruism
An unselfish behavior that benefits others at some cost to the individual
Norms of Reciprocity
The expectation that we should return help, not harm, to those who have helped us
Social Responsibility Norm
The social standard that one should assist those in need when possible
Observational Learning/Modeling
Learning to do something by watching others → mimicking the behavior
A Model
An individual who performs a behavior that serves as an example
Vicarious Reinforcement
When an individual observes another person who is reinforced for doing a behavior; consequently, the original individual imitates that behavior expecting a similar outcome
Expectancy
The belief that one’s behavior will bring about a desired outcome base off previous learning
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Any expectation, positive or negative, about a situation or event that impacts an individual’s behavior in such a manner that causes that expectation to be fulfilled
Self-Serving Bias
The tendency to overstate one’s role when there’s a positive outcome and understate it in when there’s a negative outcome
Just-World Phenomenon
Belief that good things happen to good people while bad things happen to bad people
Implicit Attitudes
Attitudes that individuals hold but may not be consciously aware of
Demonstrations of how implicit attitudes reflect negative evaluation of others
Just-world phenomenon
Out-group homogeneity bias
In-group bias
Ethnocentrism
Peripheral Route to Persuasion (Elaboration Likelihood Model)
Superficial distractors to persuade
Experts
Attractive/famous people
Central Route to Persuasion (Elaboration Likelihood Model)
When one focuses on the factual content of the message in order to make their decision
The Halo Effect
Occurs when you make positive assumptions about someone based on a single positive trait
More attractive people are less likely to be convicted
Can influence people when hiring
Foot-In-The-Door
A request is made
Individual agrees
A larger request is then made to the individual
That individual is more likely to accept the larger request after accepting the smaller request
Door-In-The-Face
A large request is made
Individual denies the large request
A smaller request is then made of the individual
The individual is more likely to accept the smaller request after denying the larger one
Mere Exposure Effect
Increased liking for someone/something resulting from repeated exposure
Person Perception
Mental processes used to form impressions and make judgments about others; involves interpreting information about others, such as their behavior, appearance, and social cues to infer their intentions, traits, and emotional states
Social Comparison
A type of person perception that occurs when people evaluate themselves based on comparisons to other members of society or social circles; can be upward or downward; people often judge their own sense of deprivation relative to others
Relative Deprivation
Perception that one is worse off relative to those with one whom compares oneself
Belief Perseverance
The tendency for individuals to hold onto a belief even after being presented with info that discredits it
Note 
Flashcard (64)