Stage 2 Psychology Exam Revision - Social Influence & Psychology of learning

Classical Conditioning

A learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically elicits an unconditioned response (UCR).

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

The natural response to an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that initially produces no specific response until it is paired with an UCS.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that, after pairing with the UCS, elicits a learned response (CR).

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response to the conditioned stimulus.

Acquisition (Classical Conditioning)

Phase during which the CS and UCS are paired, leading to the CR.

Contiguity

The timing between the CS and UCS; Pavlov found about 0.5 seconds ideal for conditioning.

Contingency

The predictability that the UCS will follow the CS.

Extinction (Classical Conditioning)

The CR diminishes or disappears when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS.

Spontaneous Recovery

Reappearance of a previously extinguished CR after a rest period.

Stimulus Generalisation

The CR is elicited by stimuli similar to the CS.

Stimulus Discrimination

The ability to distinguish between similar stimuli so the CR does not occur to non-target stimuli.

Taste Aversion (Example)

Rapid learning to avoid a food after illness, often with long delays; aided by biological preparedness.

Biological Preparedness

Evolutionary predisposition to form certain associations that promote survival.

Preparedness

General idea that organisms are predisposed to form certain associations; often used interchangeably with biological preparedness.

Little Albert

11-month-old used by Watson and Raynor to show conditioned fear in a human infant; ethically controversial.

Observational Learning

Learning by watching others and then imitating their behavior

Classical Conditioning

A learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.

Vicarious Reinforcement

Learning that occurs when a model’s rewarded behavior increases the likelihood of imitation.

Vicarious Punishment

Learning that occurs when a model’s punished behavior decreases imitation.

Mirror Neurons

Brain cells that activate both when you do something and when you watch someone else do the same thing; key for learning by observing.

Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment

Children exposed to aggressive or non-aggressive models showed corresponding behaviors; gender effects observed.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process in which the strength of a behavior is modified by consequences following the behavior.

Reinforcement

A consequence that strengthens a behavior and encourages it to occur again.

Positive Reinforcement

Introduction of a pleasant stimulus to increase/encourage a behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

Introduction of an unpleasant stimulus to increase/encourage a behavior.

Aversive Punishment

Also called positive punishment; adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Response Cost

Also called negative punishment; removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Fixed Interval

Reinforcement after a fixed/certain amount of time.

Variable Interval

Reinforcement after varying/random amounts of time.

Fixed Ratio

Reinforcement after a fixed/certain number of responses.

Variable Ratio

Reinforcement after an unpredictable/random number of responses.

Continuous Reinforcement

Reinforcement that occurs after every correct response; fast learning but less persistent.

Partial Reinforcement

Reinforcement that only occurs some of the time; leads to greater resistance to extinction.

Systematic Desensitisation

Therapy using relaxation training and a fear hierarchy to gradually reduce phobic responses.

Hierarchy of Fears

A list from least to most fearful situations used in systematic desensitisation.

Behavior Modification

Therapy based on operant conditioning to change behaviors long-term without punishment.

Learned Helplessness

State where uncontrollable aversive events lead to passive behavior and reduced learning in new situations.

Placebo Effect

Improvement in symptoms due to belief in treatment, not the treatment itself; linked to expectations.

Obedience

A form of social influence involving carrying out orders from an authority figure.

Compliance

Changing behavior at the request of another person without necessarily changing private beliefs.

Conformity

Altering your behavior to go along with the rest of the group.

Milgram experiment (1963)

A study to see how far people would obey orders conflicting with their morals; 40 American men; teacher/learner setup; shocks up to 450V; 65% of participants reached 450V.

Milgram’s learner/teacher roles

The real participant acted as the teacher; the learner was a confederate (Mr Wallace).

Milgram’s verbal prods

prompts such as 'Please continue' used to urge participants to proceed.

Deception (Milgram)

Participants were misled about the true aims and that shocks were real.

Ethical issues in Milgram

Concerns about psychological harm, deception, and informed consent in the study.

Right to withdraw (Milgram)

Participants could withdraw, but were prompted to continue by the experimenter.

Proximity to authority

Closer proximity to the experimenter increased obedience; remote prompts reduced obedience.

Prestige of the authority figure

Status symbols (e.g., lab coat) increased obedience; casual dress reduced it.

Obedience vs dispositional factors

Milgram argued obedience is primarily situational, not just about personality.

Stanford Prison Experiment (Zimbardo)

A study of how situational factors in a mock prison affected guards and prisoners; deindividuation and abuse; criticized for ethics.

Deindividuation

Loss of self-awareness and personal identity in a group leading to disinhibited behavior.

Authority proximity in Milgram vs. Zimbardo

Close supervision increased obedience; distance reduced it in experiments.

Ethical issues in the Stanford Prison Experiment

Early termination after distress; concerns about harm and moral responsibility.

Obedience: situational vs dispositional factors

Obedience often arises from situational factors like authority, proximity, and setting.

Normative Social Influence (NSI)

Conformity to be accepted or belong to a group; typically short-term and public.

Informational Social Influence (ISI)

Conformity to gain knowledge or believe others are right; often leads to private attitude change.

Compliance, Identification, Internalisation

Three levels of conformity: public change (compliance), public/private change (identification), and private/ enduring change (internalisation).

Attitude Components (ABC)

Affective (feelings), Behavioral (actions), Cognitive (beliefs) components of attitude.

Affective component

Emotional reactions toward an object, person, or issue.

Behavioral component

Actions taken in response to a person, object, or issue.

Cognitive component

Beliefs or thoughts about a topic.

Persuasion (source, message, audience)

Key factors influencing persuasiveness: who says what to whom (Hovland’s model).

Central Route (ELM)

Logic-driven persuasion; careful processing of information; leads to lasting attitude change.

Peripheral Route (ELM)

Peturb cues (e.g., attractiveness, celebrity) leading to automatic or shallow processing.

Reciprocity

Norm of returning a favour; used in marketing and persuasion.

Door-in-the-Face

Begin with a large request, followed by a smaller, more reasonable one.

Foot-in-the-Door

Get agreement to a small request to increase likelihood of a larger request later.

Attitude-behavior link

Attitudes do not always predict behavior; relationship can be bidirectional and influenced by context.

Bi-directional attitude-behavior link

Behaviors can shape attitudes just as attitudes can influence behavior.

Self-monitoring

Tendency to attend to social cues and adjust behavior to fit the situation; high vs. low self-monitors.

High self-monitors (HSM)

Care about image; adapt behavior to social cues; more likely to use social media for validation.

Low self-monitors (LSM)

Prefer genuineness and consistency between beliefs and behavior; fewer social media accounts.

Self-concept

Internal understanding of who we are; includes ideal self, self-image, and self-worth.

Impression management / Self-presentation

Efforts to control how others perceive us; use verbal/non-verbal cues to shape impressions.

Primacy effect

First information received has a stronger impact on perception and memory.

Recency effect

Most recent information has the strongest impact on perception and memory.

Schemas

Mental templates for interpreting information based on prior knowledge.

Stereotypes

Overgeneralised beliefs about members of a group.

Prejudice

Negative attitudes toward a group based on group membership.

Discrimination

Unfair or negative treatment of people based on group membership.

Social stigma

Disapproval or discrimination against someone based on a stereotype.

Internalisation of stigma

Absorbing negative stereotypes about one’s group and adopting them as self-beliefs.

Stereotype threat

Anxiety about confirming negative stereotypes that can impair performance.

Explicit discrimination laws (Australia)

Laws preventing discrimination across various grounds and areas in Australia.

Reducing prejudice: intergroup contact

Ongoing, equal-status, cooperative contact between groups reduces prejudice.

Measuring attitudes: Behavioral counts

Observing and tallying behaviors as an objective measure of attitude.

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

A test to measure implicit attitudes not accessible to conscious awareness.

Project Implicit

Organization offering online IATs (e.g., weapons, age, race) for research and education.

Attitude strength

Strong attitudes (often from direct experience) are better predictors of behavior.

Attitude accessibility

How easily an attitude comes to mind; more accessible attitudes predict behavior better.

Attitude specificity

More specific attitudes better predict corresponding behaviors.

Cognitive dissonance

Psychological discomfort from holding inconsistent thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.

Direct vs indirect experience in attitude formation

Direct experience usually yields stronger, more durable attitudes than indirect exposure.

Observational designs

Research method using observation; ethical considerations include cultural sensitivity and Indigenous considerations.

Ethics in social influence research

Ethical guidelines include informed consent, minimizing harm, and respecting participants.