Social Psychology: Social Influences and Individual Biases

This set of flashcards focuses on key concepts from social psychology, particularly regarding social influences and individual biases, as discussed in chapter 1 and related sections of the lecture.

What are the main types of social influence discussed in the lecture?

The main types are conformity, compliance, and obedience.

What is conformity?

Conformity is a social influence where individuals change their behavior or beliefs based on the actions or thoughts of others, without any direct requests.

What is the difference between informational conformity and normative conformity?

Informational conformity occurs when a person believes the group is correct, while normative conformity is when a person conforms to avoid disapproval or discomfort from the group.

What experiment did Solomon Asch conduct to study conformity?

Asch conducted a line judgment experiment where participants had to identify which line matched the length of another line; others in the group gave incorrect answers on purpose.

How does the presence of a partner affect conformity in Asch's experiment?

When participants had a partner who also gave the correct response, conformity dropped significantly from 37% to about 5%.

What is compliance?

Compliance occurs when someone is asked to do something by another person who has no formal authority.

What factors influence compliance?

Factors that influence compliance include the perceived social status of the requester, the relationship to the requester, wording of the request, and perceived costs and benefits.

What is obedience?

Obedience is when a person follows instructions given by someone in a position of authority.

What did Milgram's experiment on obedience demonstrate?

Milgram's experiment demonstrated that a significant percentage of people would obey authority figures even when asked to perform actions that conflicted with their personal conscience.

What is cognitive dissonance?

Cognitive dissonance is the psychological discomfort experienced when an individual holds conflicting beliefs, values, or behaviors.

How do people typically resolve cognitive dissonance?

People typically resolve cognitive dissonance by changing their beliefs, justifying their behavior, or minimizing the importance of one of the conflicting beliefs.

What is the actor-observer effect?

The actor-observer effect is the tendency to attribute our own actions to situational factors while attributing the actions of others to their character or personality.

What is in-group bias?

In-group bias is the tendency to favor members of one's own group over those in an out-group.

What are implicit biases?

Implicit biases are unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.

What is stereotype threat?

Stereotype threat is the fear or anxiety that one will confirm a negative stereotype about their group, which can negatively impact performance.

What factors contribute to the formation of biases?

Biases are formed through socialization, personal experiences, and exposure to cultural stereotypes.

How can one reduce biases in social situations?

One can reduce biases by increasing cognitive complexity, working with diverse groups towards common goals, and being aware of implicit biases.