AP psych unit 10 (social psych)

attribution theory

says that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation OR their disposition

dispositional attribution

explains someone’s behavior by blaming their stable, enduring traits

ex. if someone is being rude, it’s because they’re a mean person

situational attribution

explains behavior by blaming the situation someone is in

ex. if someone is mean, it’s because they’re having a bad day

fundamental attribution error

the phenomenon that we often underestimate the impact of situation on behavior (and overestimate the impact of disposition)

explanatory style

a person’s habitual way of explaining events (in their life) to themself

• could be optimistic (a bad thing happened because of chance) or pessimistic (a bad thing happened because i’m bad)

actor-observer bias

tendency of people to attribute their own actions to external causes while attributing others’ behavior to internal factors

self-serving bias

tendency to attribute positive events to your character (internal factors) and negative events to external factors

• I got a 100 on the test because i’m smart, I failed the other test because it was too hard

confirmation bias

tendency for people to search for, interpret, and recall information in ways that serves their preexisting beliefs

belief perseverance

tendency for people to maintain their beliefs even after they’ve been disproved

attitudes

feelings that predispose our reactions

persuasion

the act of attempting to sway someone’s attitudes

can be done through central or peripheral routes

peripheral route persuasion

persuasion that occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues

ex. attractive and happy people in pharmaceutical commercials

central route persuasion

persuasion that occurs when people focus on the arguments (evidence/reasoning)

ex. choosing a product because it’s cheaper

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

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

role

set of expectations about a social position, defining how a person who is in that position ought to behave

cognitive dissonance theory

says that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when our thoughts, attitudes, or actions are inconsistent with each other

• usually we will try to bring our attitudes in line with our actions— not the other way around

  • there is more dissonance as we feel more responsible for our actions

social contagion

the idea that behavior is contagious

ex. yawning

chameleon effect/mimicry

phenomenon where we unconsciously copy others’ behavior

• enables us to empathize

mood linkage

mimic or sharing the moods of others

• enables empathy

conformity

adjusting behavior or thinking to fit a group standard

• more likely to happen in bigger groups, when we feel insecure, when we admire the group, and/or if we feel like we’re being observed

asch experiment

studied conformity. had students in a larger group that made an obviously wrong choice, and saw if they would conform to this decision or make their own. 1/3 would conform

normative social influence

influence due to wanting to gain approval or avoid disapproval within a group

informational social influence

influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept the opinions of others

ex. when we read restaurant reviews

social influence theory

explores how people change their thoughts/feelings/behaviors due to perceived pressure from others

halo effect

cognitive bias where our overall impression of someone influences how we feel/think about their character

ex. if we think someone is attractive we think they’re smarter and more likable than an equivalent person

door-in-the-face technique

making a too-large request, and then a smaller request once refused. usually people will comply to the 2nd, smaller request

milgram experiment

studied obedience by seeing if people would administer extremely high voltage shocks to others when instructed to (most people would)

obedience

acting on the orders of someone else (usually an authority figure)

individualism

freedom for individuals is better/more important than collective control

collectivism

group goals are more important than individual goals

multiculturalism

results in societies with different, distinct but equal ethnic and cultural groups

social facilitation

improved performance on tasks in the presence of others

• only strengthens our most likely response, because we’re aroused (if you’re good at something, you get better + if you’re bad, you get worse)

social loafing

tendency for people in a group to put in less effort

deindividuation

loss of self-awareness and restraint when in a group situation that fosters arousal and anonymity

ex. cyberbullying

group polarization

enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through group discussions

ex. crazy stuff said in extremist groups on 4chan

groupthink

occurs when desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides reality or rational thining

contributed to stuff like the Bay of Pigs invasion and Watergate. just any time you have a bunch of sycophants

minority influence

minorities can say group thought by being uncompromising and self-confident

prejudice

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

involves stereotypes, negative feelings, and predisposes people to discriminatory action

stereotypes

generalized beliefs about a group of people

usually overgeneralize

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

implicit associations/attitudes

attitudes that we are unaware of

unconscious patronization

when implicit associations lead to a patronizing attitude

race-influenced perceptions

thinking about a person that is influenced by our implicit associations with their race

reflexive bodily response

telltale body signals (like little facial-muscle responses and amygdala activation) that result from implicit biases/prejudice

happens even if people consciously express little prejudice

social identities

how we define ourselves in terms of the groups we belong to

ex. religion, school affiliation, family

just-world phenomenon

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

ingroup/outgroup

people with whom we share a common identity / those we perceive as different from us

ingroup bias

the tendency to favor what we see as our own group

scapegoat theory

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

other-race effect / cross race-effect / own-race bias

tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races

vivid cases

memorable events that feed our stereotypes

hindsight bias

blame-the-victim phenomenon

outgroup homogeneity bias

ethnocentrism

frustration-aggression principle

aggression-replacement program

social scripts

rape myth

attraction

proximity

mere exposure effect

similarity

reward theory of attraction

passionate love

companionate love

equity

self-disclosure

altruism

diffusion of responsibility

bystander effect

prosocial behavior

social exchange theory

reciprocity norm

social-responsibility norm

conflict

social traps

mirror-image perceptions

self-fulfilling prophecy

false consensus effect

superordinate goals

graduated and reciprocated initiatives in tension-reduction (GRIT)