AP Psych Unit 9 - Social Psych

social psychology

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

attribution theory

suggests how we explain someone's behavior—by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition.

Area of study within the field of social cognition- explains how people determine the cause of what they observe

fundamental attribution error

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

Tendency to overestimate the importance of dispositional factors and underestimate role of situational dactors

attitude

feelings often based on our beliefs, which predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.

Set of beliefs and feelings

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

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

If you can get people to agree to a small request they will become more likely to lend you the additional funds

cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when our awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes.

People are motivated to have consistent attitudes and behaviors

conformity

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

informational social influence

influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality.

normative social influence

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

social facilitation

stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.

Phenomenon that the presence of others improves task performance

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.

Individuals do not put in as much effect when acting as part of a group as they do when acting along

deindividuation

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

people in a group do things they'd never do alone

group polarization

The enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.

Tendency of a group to make more extreme decisions than any one individual would alone

groupthink

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

The tendency for groups to make bad decisions- group members suppress reservations about ideas supported by the group- false unanimity

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members.

Acting upon prejudices

prejudice

an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members.

_____ generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.

Undeserved, negative attitude towards a group of people

stereotype

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

Ideas about members of different groups- expectations influence how we act with them- can be negative or positive

ingroup

"us"—people with whom one shares a common identity.

in group bias

the tendency to favor one's own group.

self is a good person ----> people in group with self are also good people

scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.

just-world phenomenon/bias

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

Bias towards thinking bad things happen to bad people- victim blaming.

aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.

frustration-aggression principle

the principle that frustration—the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger, which can generate aggression.

Feeling of frustration makes aggression more likely

conflict

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

social trap

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

mere exposure effect

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

More one is exposed to something, the more one will come to like it

companionate love

the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined.

passionate love

an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship.

equity

a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it.

self-disclosure

revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others.

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.

Larger number of people that witness a situation, the less likely any one is to interfere

reciprocity norm/norms of reciprocity

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

People have the tendency to feel obligated to reciprocate kind behavior

social exchange theory

the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs.

social-responsibility norm

an expectation that people will help those dependent upon them.

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.

Goal that benefits all and necessitates the participation of all

GRIT

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction, strategy designed to decrease international tensions.

Philip Zimbardo

social psychologist conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment, criticized for unethical study

Roles, deindividuation- roles are powerful and can lead to deindividuation

Solomon Asch

social psychologist (also cognitive), conducted conformity study

Conformity- people are loathe to contradict the opinion of a group

Robert Cialdini

studied psychology of persuasion, concluded that fear tactics are unsucessful in persuasion

John Darley

social psychologist, studied diffusion of responsibility and bystander effect

Bystander effect- more people that witness an emergency, the less likely any one is to help- worked with Latene

Leon Festinger

social psychologist, responsible for Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

Irving Janis

studied group dynamics, responsible for theory of "groupthink"- groups make bad decisions bc individuals suppress reservations

Bibb Latane

social psychologist, worked with John Darley, focused on social loafing and diffusion of responsibility

Bystander effect- more people that witness an emergency, the less likely any one is to help- worked with Darley

Stanley Milgram

social psychologist, conducted the Milgram Experiment on Obedience, criticized for unethical study

Obedience- people obey authority figures

Muzafer Sherif

a founder of social psychology, studied social norms, conducted Robber's Cave experiment

Superordinate goals- intergroup prejudice can be reduced through working toward superordinate goals

Central Route To Persuasion

Occurs when interested people focus on arguments and respond with favorable thoughts.

Peripheral Route To Persuasion

Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness.

ROLE

A set of explanations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.

social phobia

marked fear of social or performance situations.

Culture

the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.

Norm

a standard, model, or pattern.

Personal Space

the variable and subjective distance at which one person feels comfortable talking to another.

Discrimination (social behavior)

treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit: racial and religious intolerance and discrimination.

Out group/out-group homogeneity

people outside one's own group, especially as considered to be inferior or alien; a group perceived as other than one's own.

Phenomenon to see people not a part of their group to be the same- own group is diverse

"them"—those perceived as different or apart from one's ingroup.

Other-race-effect

the greater difficulty people have in distinguishing between members of a different race compared to one's own race

Diffusion of Responsibility

a social phenomenon which tends to occur in groups of people above a certain critical size when responsibility is not explicitly assigned.

Larger a group of witnesses, the less responsible any individual feels to help

Mirror-image Perceptions

refer to the reciprocal views of one another often held by parties in conflict; for example, each may view itself as moral and peace-loving and the other as evil and aggressive.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior.

Expectations that we have about others can influence their behavior- or what we think of them

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

states that facial movement can influence emotional experience.

Lenore Jacobsen

Self fulfilling prophecy- person's attitudes can elicit a change in another's behavior- worked with Rosenthal

Robert Rosenthal

Self fulfilling prophecy- person's attitudes can elicit a change in another's behavior- worked with Jacobson

Harold Kelley

Theory explaining the kind of attributions people make based on consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus

James Carlsmith

Worked with Festinger- cognitive dissonance- changing one's behavior can lead to a change in attitudes

Leon Festinger

Worked with Carlsmith- cognitive dissonance- changing one's behavior can lead to a change in attitudes

Richard LaPiere

Attitudes- don't always predict behavior

Social impairment

When the task being performed was difficult rather than simple and well practiced, being watched could hurt performance

Pluralistic ignorance

People decide what to do in a situation based on others- contributes to bystander effect

Attraction research

We like others similar to us and who we come into contact with frequently and who return our positive feelings- similarity, proximity and reciprocal liking

Ethnocentrisim

Belief that one's culture is superior to others- specific type of prejudice

Self serving bias

Tendency to take more credit for good outcomes than for bad ones

False consensus effect

Tendency to overestimate the number of people that agree with them

Collectivist versus individualistic cultures

collectivist- person's link to groups is stressed.

individualistic- importance of individual is stressed

Central versus peripheral route to persuasion

Central route- deeply processing content of the message.

Peripheral route- other aspects of message- characteristics of person imparting the message

Door-in-the-face

After people refuse a large request they look more favorably on a follow up that looks much more reasonable