Unit 4 - Social Psych.

Social Pyschology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

attribution theory/attributions

• the theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's stable/enduring traits disposition (a person's inherent qualities of mind and character)

• the process of explaining the causes behind events and the behavior of oneself and others

Fundamental Attribution Error

• only occurs when explaining someone else’s behavior (it’s about them)

• the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

Central Route Persuasion

attitude change path in which interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

• after they analyzed the facts/evidence given

• ex: consumer goods advertised with features caused ppl to want to buy

Peripheral Route Persuasion

attitude change path in which people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when our attitudes are inconsistent with our actions

• like knowing something is wrong and justify doing it (smoker knowing smoking is bad but says it brings relief)

Conformity

adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

Normative Social Influence

influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

Informational Social Influence

influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality because they want to be right or do something correctly

• assume others have better knowledge than them

• following group at an airport they don’t know if order to find baggage claim

Social Facilitation

when a person performs a task that is easy to them better in the presence of others but worse when its a complex task

Social Loafing

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

• group presentation effort vs. individual presentation effort

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

• riots at concerts (jumping/dancing) something not normally would do

Group Polarization

the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group (attitudes become more extreme after interacting with like-minded individuals)

• partisan Democrats/Republicans (discussion)

Groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

• conform w/groups opinions/decisions to maintain harmony rather than actual critical thinking/realistic decisions

• increased by overconfidence, conformity, group polarization, justification

• Ex: Pearl Harbor Attack, Bay of Pigs invasion (JFK)

social norm

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior; they prescribe "proper" behavior

• accepted and expected behavior in society

• ex: going on phone in public space

Prejudice

an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members; it generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action

• ex: racism, sexism, ageism, and homophobia

• white ducks vs one black duck

• Racism: Assuming a person is less intelligent or capable because of their skin color or ethnic background

Stereotype

a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people

• police officers love donuts

• asians are smart at math

discrimination

(Social) unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

• letting yellow fish go but stopping a green fish

in group bias

• "Us"—people with whom we share a common identity

• favor members of own group

• is the tendency to favor, trust, and give preferential treatment to people in one's own social group (in-group) over those in other groups (out-groups), often leading to positive feelings for "us" and negative views or discrimination towards "them," driven by our need for belonging and positive self-esteem

outgroup homogeneity

• bias where people perceive members of their outgroup (a group they don't belong to) as being much more alike and similar to each other ("they are all the same") than they perceive members of their own ingroup (their own group) to be, who are seen as diverse individuals ("we are all different")

Just-World Phenomenon

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

• good gets rewarded/bad gets punished

Mere Exposure Effect

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them

• we see starbucks brand everyday and more likely to choose that coffee brand rather than a coffee brand we don’t know

Altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

• selflessness

• seeking to benefit others, personal cost at times, expects no reward

• ex: saving someone from a fire

Bystander Effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present (due to diffusion of responsibility) - -assumes others will help

Reciprocity Norm

an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them

Social-Responsibility Norm

an expectation that people will help those dependent upon them

• caring for elderly grandparents

social trap

• a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior

• situation where individuals or groups choose short-term benefits that lead to long-term negative consequences for the entire group, making it hard to escape

• ex: overfishin

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

• a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

• self imposed: one’s belief that leads to its own fulfillment

• other imposed: when someone else's expectations or beliefs about you (like a teacher, parent, or society) influence your actions, causing you to behave in ways that make their prediction come true

Superordinate Goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

• Robber’s Cave Experiment: 2 rival groups competed and then had to work together to fix something and then they were more friendly towards each other

dispositional attribution

the psychological tendency to explain someone's behavior by attributing it to their internal traits, personality, or character

• ex: he’s late bc he’s lazy

situational attribution

explaining someone's behavior by focusing on external factors like their environment, circumstances, or social context, rather than their internal personality

Actor-Observer Effect

• involves 2 indivudals in comparison: “you” the person making the attribution and “them” assigned an attribution

• tendency to attribute the causes of one's own behavior to situational factors while attributing the causes of other people's behavior to internal factors or dispositions

• ex: u get a “c” and explain it was bc teacher made it unfair, while if someone got same grade it was bc they were too lazy to study

Door-In-The-Face Technique

compliance technique in which refusal of a large technique in which refusal of a large unreasonable request is followed by a smaller, more reasonable request

Obedience

compliance with commands or orders issued by others, usually persons in a position of authority

• Miligram’s obedience experiment

optimistic explanatory style

• the tendency to interpret good events as internal, stable, and global (due to your own lasting traits),

• viewing bad events as external, temporary, and specific (due to outside factors or a one-time situation)

• fostering resilience and well-being by seeing setbacks as fleeting rather than permanent personal failures

pessimistic explanatory style

• explaining negative events with causes that are Internal (my fault), Stable (permanent), and Global (pervasive)

• leading to helplessness, rumination, and higher risk of depression and illness

self-serving bias

• only ur own behavior and involves choosing attributions that make u look good

• attribute one's successes to internal factors (like personal ability or effort) and one's failures to external factors (like bad luck, circumstances, or other people)

false consensus effect

bias where people overestimate how much others share their beliefs, values, opinions, and behaviors, essentially projecting their own views onto the general population

Industrial-organizational I/O

applies psychological principles and research methods to the workplace to improve productivity, employee well-being, and organizational effectiveness, focusing on human behavior, performance, motivation, and workplace systems

burnout

a state of intense emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion from prolonged stress, characterized by feeling overwhelmed, detached (cynicism), and ineffective, often stemming from chronic work or life stressors like unmanageable workloads or lack of support

indvidualism

• a cultural orientation valuing personal independence, self-reliance, and individual goals over group needs, emphasizing uniqueness, achievement, and freedom

• independent, unique, self-reliant, autonomy

collectivism

cultural value system prioritizing the group (family, community, nation) over the individual, emphasizing interdependence, loyalty, conformity, and shared goals

multiculturalism

a field that examines human behavior by considering how cultural interactions, contexts, and identities (like race, ethnicity, gender, and s. orientation) influence people's thoughts, feelings, and actions

diffusion of responsibility

• when individuals feel less personal accountability to act in a situation as the number of other people present increases, assuming someone else will step in

• explains bystander effect

internal locus of control

the belief that individuals control their own destiny, believing their actions, efforts, and choices determine life outcomes, leading to more proactivity, motivation, and resilience

external locus of control

the belief that life events and outcomes (successes or failures) are determined by outside forces like luck, fate, powerful others, or circumstances, rather than by one's own actions or efforts

social comparison

• the natural human tendency to evaluate our own abilities, opinions, and worth by comparing ourselves to other people

• upward comparison is looking at those "better" (inspiring or discouraging),

• downward comparison is looking at those "worse" (boosting self-esteem or feeling scornful)

relative deprivation

the feeling of lacking resources, status, or opportunities compared to a specific reference group, leading to discontent, anger, or resentment, rather than focusing on absolute need

implicit attitudes

an automatically activated, unconscious evaluation (positive or negative) of a person, object, or concept, formed from past experiences, that influences our thoughts and behaviors without our conscious awareness or control

• ex: a hiring manager favoring a resume with a familiar-sounding name

ethnocentrism

the tendency to view one's own ethnic or cultural group as superior and to judge other cultures based on the standards, values, and beliefs of your own, seeing them as "wrong," "inferior," or "abnormal"

belief perseverance

the stubborn tendency to cling to one's initial beliefs or ideas, even when presented with new information or evidence that strongly contradicts or disproves them, often leading people to dismiss, ignore, or rationalize away contrary facts

halo effect

bias where a single positive trait (like attractiveness or charisma) influences our overall judgment, leading us to assume other positive qualities (intelligence, kindness) exist

prosocial

voluntary actions that benefit others or society as a whole, such as helping, sharing, cooperating, and donating

3 parts for a bystander intervention

1. Notice the incident

2. interpret it as an emergency

3. assume responsibility for helping

factors that increase helping behavior

• person appears to need/deserve help

• person is similar to us in some way

• person is a woman

• we have just observed someone else being helpful

• we are not in a hurry

• in a small town/rural place

• are feeling guilty

• are focused on others and not preoccupied

• in a good mood

Line Study

Solomon Asch's Conformity Experiment

• Participants were shown a standard line and then three comparison lines, asked to pick the one that matched the standard.

• Most people in the group were "confederates" (actors) who deliberately gave the wrong answer on certain trials.

• Real participants often conformed to the group's incorrect answer, even when it contradicted their own eyes, showing strong social influence

conditions that strengthen conformity

• when ppl make us feel insecure/incompetent

• groups w/at least 3 ppl

• in a group where everyone agrees

• we are in a group we admire due to attractiveness or status

• know others will observe our behavior

• in a culture that respects social standards

• haven’t made commitment before any response

persuasion

to the influence people have on one another—changing someone's beliefs, decisions, or actions through reasoning or request

Stanford Prison Study

• 24 healthy, stable male college students randomly assigned to guard or prisoner roles.

• Mock prision setting / happened for 6 days

• Zimbardo argued the experiment proved situational factors and social roles can overwhelm individual morality and free will

• Role Adoption: Participants quickly adopted their roles; guards became authoritarian and cruel, prisoners became submissive or rebellious.

• Dehumanization: Guards used numbers instead of names, and prisoners were stripped and dressed in smocks, diminishing individuality.

• Psychological Distress: Prisoners suffered acute anxiety, depression, crying, and rage, leading to early releases.

• Guards' Behavior: Some guards exhibited sadistic behavior, creating a "conspiracy of denial" that the situation was a study, not a real prison.

• Premature End: The experiment was stopped due to out-of-control abuse, prisoner breakdowns, and ethical concerns about holding volunteers against their will. 

Shock Experiment/Milgram’s Experiment

• Roles: A volunteer "teacher" and a confederate "learner" drew lots, but the volunteer always became the teacher.

• Setup: The teacher gave word association tests; for each wrong answer, they delivered a shock from a fake machine.

• The "Learner's" Reactions: As voltage increased, the "learner" would protest, scream, and eventually fall silent, simulating severe distress or injury.

• Authority's Role: An experimenter in a lab coat prompted the teacher with phrases like "Please continue," or "It is absolutely essential that you continue," to push them to keep shocking.

• High Obedience: A surprisingly high percentage of participants (around 61-65% in original studies) obeyed the authority figure and administered the highest shocks, despite their own distress.

Robber’s Cave Experiment (Sherif)

• 22 eleven-year-old boys from similar backgrounds at Robbers Cave State Park, Oklahoma, unaware they were in an experiment.

• Phases: The study had three stages: (1) Formation (groups developed identity), (2) Conflict (competition for limited resources/prizes), and (3) Integration (reducing conflict).

• The study highlighted how group identity (Eagles vs. Rattlers) shapes behavior, with members favoring their in-group. 

  • Hostility arose naturally from competition for scarce resources (e.g., trophies, privileges)

  • Simply bringing hostile groups together (contact) failed to reduce prejudice and sometimes worsened it.

• Superordinate Goals: Introducing essential goals that required both groups to work together (e.g., fixing the water supply, pooling money for a movie, pulling a stuck food truck) effectively reduced animosity and built harmony.