AP PSYCH UNIT 4 PART 1

SOCIAL PSYCH

attribution/ attribution theory

• how we interpret the cause of a behavior, outcome, or circumstance

  • attribution theory is when a person interprets their behavior by either looking at an internal or external attribution

dispositional attribution

• internal attribution: Behavior caused by the individual. Internal traits

  • if they fail a test its because they are stupid

  • siif they fall asleep during class its bc they are disrespectful

situational attributions

external attribution- behavior caused by circumstances

• I failed my drivers test because I had a bad driving instructor

Explanatory style

the way one perceives successes or failures. How we interpret the world can effect our well being

• can be optimist and pessimist

pessimist

views things as permanent/fixed and always negative

optimist

views things as temporary and being positive

actor observer bias

• making myself situation. the other person blaming with internal traits

• over emphsize my situation, overemphasize their personal qualities

• If you’re late to a meeting, you might blame traffic or unexpected delays. But if someone else is late, you might think they’re disorganized or lazy. This is actor-observer bias

• EXPLAIN OWN BEHAVIOR W EXTERNAL FACTORS BUT JUDGE OTHERS BASED OFF THEIR CHARACTER

fundamental attribution error

explaining others behavior

• if someone cuts you off in traffic, you might think they’re rude or impatient, ignoring the possibility that they might be rushing to an emergency. You focus more on their actions than on any external situation that might have influenced them.

self serving bias

the tendency to credit ourselves for successes (internal) and blame external factors for failures. Protecting our ego

• Ex: I got the job because I’m so responsible

• Ex: I lost the job because the boss was tough and harsh.

internal locus of control

• Holding yourself accountable for your successes or failures.

  • Ex: I got a bad grade so I’m gonna study harder. I didn’t get a bonus on my wage so I’m gonna work harder. I didn’t get into the soccer team so I’m going to gym

external locus of control

• our success are out of your control and on luck or external factors

  • Ex: I want more money so I’m going to gamble. My test score is based on if my teacher is nice. 

Mere Exposure Effect

• Our attitude slowly becomes positive about someone/thing, the more often we see them/it. Liking things that you have already been exposed to more than something else. Liking familiar things, not new things.

• Can lead to not exploring new options

• Ex: When you don’t like someone at first but once you meet them, you start liking them. Choosing a dish because it is more familiar to you at a restaurant. Liking a song more when you heard it multiple times on the radio. 

• Self Fulfilling Prophecy 

• Your behavior can be influenced by another person’s expectations

  • Ex: your driving instructor is motivating and says you will pass, you will probably be confident and pass. If everyone is telling you that you will fail then you won’t do good and feel insecure. 

• Can be dangerous bc one shouldn’t decide their worth based on the acceptance of others,

Social Comparison

• When people compare themselves to others and either feel too superior or too inferior to others. Upward: feel good about yourself when compared to others. Downward: bad. 

Relative Deprivation

• theory that suggests that people get unhappy when they compare themselves to others and feel bad about themselves. The theory is that it is bad for your mental health to do so.

  • Ex: feeling sad when seeing that everyone is more wealthy than you. 

attitude

Stable beliefs/feelings towards someone

Stereotype

• Characteristics associated with a group of members

  • All teenagers are on their phones

Social Identity

• A person will most likely surround themselves with groups that boost our self esteem and with groups that have similar interests

  • Ex: athletic kids hang with athletic kids, but if a nerd joins, the nerd may feel in the outer circle and not feel confident. 

Outgroup

A group that is outside our own group and seem threatening

Out-Group Homogeneity Bias

• All people from an out group are the same. 

  • Everyone from ridgewood school is mean

Ingroup

A group that you share beliefs with and a group that you believe is better than the other groups.

In-Group Bias

• Belief that the group you identify with is better than other groups. 

  • Ex: someone is talking bad abt ur friend being mean but u defend ur friend by saying that they were just having a bad day.

  • Our group is so much better than theirs.

ethnocentrism

• Belief that whatever norms are in your country, are the same norms in the rest of the world or thinking that if other countries do som different then its weird

  • Ex: America thinks it’s normal not to have a bidet, whereas most of the world think its unhygienic not to have a bidet because it is normal in their culture.

  • Like cultural shock

• Not xenophobia (fear of immigrants)

Cognitive Load

• The amount of effort you have to put into doing a task.

  • ex : if u do a simple math problem then it requires low cognitive load. If you do precalc then it requires high cognitive load. 

  • Ex: choosing what colleges you want to attend is a germane/high cognitive load. 

• 3 types: intrinsic, extrinsic,  and germane (low → high)

Prejudice

• Having a negative attitude towards a group of people because they are different

  • Ex: a teacher in gym class believes that all girls in the class are bad athletes.

Discrimination

• Unfair actions/behavior towards a group of people because they are different

  • Ex: not giving the girls in the class an opportunity to play in the gym because you believe they are unathletic. 

  • Making laws that are sexist or racist.

Implicit Attitudes

• Unconscious negative feelings or attitudes we have towards a group without knowing. This is bad cuz it can lead to discrimination and prejudice. 

  • Sitting in a bus and unconsciously not sitting toward someone of a certain race

  • A boss unconsciously hiring men and assuming their better

Just-World Phenomenon

• Basically karma. If you are a good person, good things will happen to you. 

  • Ex: if someone lost their job they may say that it was because they are a bad person

Belief Perseverance

• When you find information that proves your opinion wrong and you still don't want to believe the information.

  • Ex: When one believes a vaccine can cause a disease despite doctors and scientists saying it does not

Confirmation Bias

Searching up or looking at things that only prove your opinion right

Cognitive Dissonance

• A discomfort between  2 contradicting things

  • Ex: you want to be more productive. But you watch TV and say its only for 1 day it’s not that bad. 

  • Ex: saying you’ll stay on your diet but you have cheat days. 

Social Norms

• Unwritten rules or expectations/behaviors people expect depending on place or situation

  • Ex: it is an unwritten rule that it would be weird for freshmen to wear princess backpacks to school. Its only for the seniors.

  • Ex: if someone just wore a dress to school in the middle of december.

social influence theory

• Social norms are influenced by others surrounding us.

  • Ex: In the US everyone wears western clothes because everyone surrounding us does so. In another country they may wear traditional clothes for their culture

• Normative Social Influence 

doing something bc others do it and you want to be accepted by them

Informational Social Influence

• Doing something that someone has accurate info is doing. 

  • Its ur first day of school and everyone is typing in their name on the computer. U do the same  bc u assume they are correct as they have been to the school.

  • When everyone else raises their hand and says the same answer but then u start doubting if the answer that you got is correct or not. So you change your answer to what the majority is saying. You believe others have accurate answers. 

halot effect

• When you first meet someone and you see overall positive traits and then you assume that all their other traits are positive as well. Same with negative

  • If you see a well dressed pretty person, then you assume that they are kind and have other good traits.  

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

• Asking for a small request first to “open the door” to make the big request seem not too bad

  • Asking first can I go to Layla’s til 8. Then asking can I stay til 10. Then asking can I just sleepover

Door-in-the-Face Technique

• Asking for a big request first to make the small request seem not too bad. 

  • Ex: can I have $100 and the parent says no. can i have $50 then and parent says yes

Conformity

• How likely we are to conform or do something because others are doing it. 

• Depends on the situation. Are you in a big group? New student?

  • People wearing baggy jeans because it became a trend and everyone surrounding is doing it. 

Central Route Persuasion

• Trying to persuade someone with facts or statistics. Convincing people who know about the topic and care about the topic

  • Ex: convincing people by presenting statistics. 

Peripheral Route Persuasion

• trying to persuade someone who doesn’t know much about the topic and is persuaded by attractiveness, credibility, or reputation

  • Ex: people in school trying to get students to vote for them by giving them candies

• Usually young or uninformed people 

Obedience

• Changing your behavior because someone in authority tells you to 

• Connects to big historical events

  • Germans obeyed during horrific things to Jews during holocaust bc Hitler told them to do so.

  • Electric chair example: ppl shocking people in the electric chair because experimenters(ppl in authority)

Individualism

• People are encouraged to follow their dreams and do things for themselves

  • Ex: people in US or western countries typically are encouraged to move out of their family’s house when going to a college or for a job whereas in other countries people stay near their family.

  • Typically European countries and USA

Collectivism

• Prioritizing a group over an individual

  • Ex: staying past hours for work bc you believe that you have to finish the work as a team

  • Prioritizing family and doing things for your family. Living in the same home with your parents or finding a college near them

• Usually in Asian culture.

Multiculturalism

• Celebrating different cultures, respecting others’ values,  and embracing them

  • Ex: in Canada there are festivals for different cultures.

Group Polarization

• When people have a stronger opinion on a topic after talking to like-minded people

  • Ex: liberals having a neutral attitude towards liberal thoughts. But after talking to a group of liberals, they having a stronger/intense favor on liberal values

Groupthink

• Pressure to conform so others in a group think you have the same belief as them. You want to keep peace in the group and not bring up anything contradicting

• During a group discussion, one person has a different view but doesn’t bring it up because they’re scared no one else will agree with them on it.  

Diffusion of Responsibility

• When people feel less responsibility when in a group setting. 

• THE MORE PEOPLE, THE LESS RESPONSIBILITY WE FEEL

Social Loafing

• When a person works less harder when working in a group.

  • Ex: relying on one person to do the work in the group and everyone else not doing anything

• Feeling LESS RESPONSIBLE with MORE  PEOPLE. 

• Caused by diffusion of responsibility

Deindividuation

• when a person loses sense of responsibility and start acting crazy when they’re with a group of people

  • Ex: riots, mobs, crowd surfing

Social Facilitation 

• When people do a task better in front of a group of people

  • When running in a track competition, the crowd is cheering you on, which pushes you to run faster

  • Ex: running in a group, you had a faster running time. But alone, you ran slow. Doing a task with a group made the job easier. 

Social Trap

• Doing something for immediate benefit, while not considering that it will harm you in the long term or an overall group

  • Ex: fishers overfishing knowing it will increase their sales a lot, but disregarding that the fish population will decline in the future if they overfish.

    • DOING IT FOR PERSONAL GAIN, but WORSE OUTCOMES FOR THE GROUP

  • Not stopping to drive because everyone drives and you won’t make an impact on pollution by not driving. But later it will impact everyone and start to impact the environment

Superordinate Goals

• Although there is tension between 2 groups, sometimes you can accomplish more by working together. Requires cooperation.

Prosocial Behavior

• Any action that benefits another group or person. We do this because of altruism

Altruism

• Doing something beneficial for another person even if it doesn’t benefit us. This is because we feel good after doing something nice. 

Social Responsibility Norm

• People will help those that are dependent on them

  • Ex: parents making sacrifices for their children because they know that the children depend on them.

  • A teacher making a sacrifice for the class during emergency

  • Older kids in a room with younger kids helping them during emergency

• The Bystander Effect 

• The likelihood of a bystander helping is reduced when she/he sees other bystanders already helping.

  • Ex: in a class when a teacher asks a question and nobody answers. But when get privately tutored u  answer the question bc u have more responsibility to answer. More likely to hold responsibility when there is an individual being told. 

  • Real life example: when Kitty got murdered in public there were 30 witnesses. However, no one called the police because they all thought that someone else would’ve called. They felt responsible in a group. They are all waiting or wondering if someone else called the police.

  • Ex: someone has a seizure in public. No one is helping bc they assume that someone will help the person and feel they have less responsibility. 

• THE MORE PEOPLE THERE ARE, THE LESS RESPONSIBILITY YOU FEEL

• We look at the group to see what they also think. Looking for the leader to guide you. But if there is no leader then no one does anything.

• Caused by diffusion of responsibility

Social Exchange Theory

• Reward/benefit - cost= outcome

  • Ex: if you pour a lot of effort into a friendship and ur friend doesn’t then you have a negative outcome and don’t want to be friends with them

  • Ex: John covers Maria for work when she doesn’t want to work a shift and Maria does the same. They both have similar rewards and costs. So they maintain a healthy relationship.

Reciprocity Norm

• People will help those that helped them. They feel like they are in social debt. Bc she helped me now I owe her to help her back

  • Ex: she gave me homework answers, next time I’ll give the HW answers

False Consensus

• The belief that your beliefs/thoughts are what most people would agree with.

  • Ex: a democrat thinks that most people would agree with them as it’s the “popular choice”

• The belief that everyone has similar beliefs

• Industrial-Organizational Psychology

• Psychologists that work for a company to put psychological principles 

  • Ex: ensuring workers’ wellbeing, making a nice work environment, hiring the right people, psychological marketing tricks.

  • Ex: these psychologists make sure during the hiring process that everything is fair and you don’t have any bias

  • Ex: finding tricks to make employees work harder

  • Ex: finding what employees are specifically good at a topic and assigning them to that topic. Making the employees feel purposeful and that they are important.