APPSY Unit 9 - Social Psychology (ella)

Attributions

The theory that behavior of ourselves and others is explained by an external situation or internal disposition.

Dispositional attributions (internal attribution)

assuming someone's behavior is because of their personality, attitude, or character

Situational Attributions (external attribution)

assuming someone's behavior is because of the situation or environment they're in.

Explanatory style

Someone’s way of explaining events, especially negative ones. Almost like the lens through which someone sees the why behind what happens to them.

Optimistic Explanatory Style

Tends to explain negative situations like "This won't last forever" "It wasn't entirely my fault". Basically this person is positive and believes things will improve

Pessimistic Explanatory Style

Tends to explain negative situations like "This will always happen" "This is all my fault". This mindset can lead to feeling of helplessness or even depression

Actor observer bias

In simple terms, making excuses for our own behavior and blaming other people for the same/similar actions.

Ex: When you mess up it's because of the situation but when someone else messes up it's because of who they are.

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to think someone’s behavior is because of who they are (their personality or beliefs), and not because of the situation they’re in.

Ex: You see a student fall asleep in class and think,

“Wow, they’re so lazy.” But in reality, they were up all night taking care of a sick sibling–You blamed their personality instead of the situation.

Self serving bias

The tendency to take credit for success (it was me!) and blame outside factors for failure (not my fault).

Ex: You ace a test and say, “I’m so smart.”

You fail a test and say, “The teacher made it too hard.”

Mere exposure effect

The more you’re exposed to something, the more you tend to like it — even if you didn’t notice it at first.

Ex: You hear a song a lot on TikTok. At first it’s meh, but after a while… you start liking it.

Locus of control

What you believe controls your life — you or outside forces.

Internal locus of control

You believe you are in control of your success or failure.

Ex: “I did well on the test because I studied hard.”

External locus of control

You believe luck, fate, or other people control what happens to you.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

A belief or expectation that causes itself to come true.

Ex: You think you’ll do badly in a job interview, so you get nervous and actually do badly — just like you expected.

Social Comparison

When you judge yourself by comparing yourself to other people.

Upward social comparison

You compare yourself to someone better than you.

Ex: “She’s prettier than me 😔” Can make you feel worse, but can also inspire you.

Downward social comparison

You compare yourself to someone worse than you.

Ex: “At least I did better than him on the test 😌” Can boost confidence and self-esteem.

Relative deprivation

Feeling like you have less than what you deserve or less than others, even if you're doing okay.

Ex: You make good money, but feel upset because your coworkers make more — even though you were fine before knowing that.

Stereotype

a set of cognitive generalizations (e.g., beliefs, expectations) about the qualities and characteristics of the members of a group or social category.

Prejudice attitudes

Negative thoughts or feelings toward a person or group before really knowing them.

Ex: Someone avoids sitting next to an older person on the bus because they assume old people are annoying or slow — without knowing anything about them.

Discriminatory behaviors

Unfair actions toward someone based on their group (race, gender, age, etc.), not who they are.

Ex: A landlord refuses to rent an apartment to someone because of their religion.

Implicit attitudes

A feeling or opinion you have without even realizing it, which can influence your behavior.

Ex: You automatically feel uncomfortable around someone of a different race, even if you don't consciously think about it.

Just world phenomenon

The belief that good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people — the world is fair, and people get what they deserve.

Ex: You think someone who gets in a car accident must’ve done something wrong to deserve it, even if they were innocent.

Out group homogeneity bias

tendency to believe that people who belong to groups other than our own are more alike than they actually are

Ingroup bias

tendency to prefer our own group and the people, qualities, and things associated with it, especially when comparing our group to other groups.

Ethnocentrism

the tendency of thinking that your own ethnic, racial, or social group is the most important one and using its standards to judge other group

Belief Perseverance

the tendency to maintain a belief even after the information that originally gave rise to it has been refuted or otherwise shown to be inaccurate.

Confirmation bias

the tendency to gather evidence that confirms preexisting expectations, typically by emphasizing or pursuing supporting evidence while dismissing or failing to seek contradictory evidence.

Cognitive dissonance

an unpleasant psychological state resulting from inconsistency between two or more elements in a cognitive system. It is presumed to involve a state of heightened arousal and to have characteristics similar to physiological drives (e.g., hunger). Thus, cognitive dissonance creates a motivational drive in an individual to reduce the dissonance

Social norm

unwritten rules that tell us how to behave in different situations. They are shared understandings about what is considered normal and acceptable behavior in a particular group or society.

Social Influence Theory

any change in an individual's thoughts, feelings, or behaviors caused by other people, who may be actually present or whose presence is imagined, expected, or only implied.

Normative (basically conformity)

the way that social norms, standards, and expectations make us want to think, feel, and act in ways that fit in with a group or society. It's the pressure to conform to what's considered "normal" or "accepted."

Informational

when we change our beliefs or behaviors because we believe that someone else has better information or a more accurate understanding of a situation than we do. It's about accepting information from others as evidence about reality.

Persuasion

an active attempt by one person to change another person's attitudes, beliefs, or emotions associated with some issue, person, concept, or object

Elaboration likelihood model

A theory about how we're persuaded — either by really thinking about the message (central route) or not thinking much at all (peripheral route).

Ex: You buy a product because of strong facts (central) or because a celeb endorses it (peripheral).

Central route

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. Basically when we're interested in the topic, we really focus on the arguments being made. We think carefully about the reasons and facts, and we respond with positive thoughts if the arguments are good.

Peripheral route

This happens when we're not really paying close attention to the arguments. Instead, we're influenced by things like how attractive the speaker is, the music playing in the background, or how many arguments there are (even if they aren't very good).

Halo effect

a rating bias in which a general evaluation (usually positive) of a person, or an evaluation of a person on a specific dimension, influences judgments of that person on other specific dimensions.

Ex: a person who is generally liked might be judged as more intelligent, competent, and honest than they actually are.

Foot in the door

a two-step procedure for enhancing compliance in which a minor initial request is presented immediately before a more substantial target request. Agreement to the initial request makes people more likely to agree to the target request than would have been the case if the latter had been presented on its own.

Door in the face

a two-step procedure for enhancing compliance in which an extreme initial request is presented immediately before a more moderate target request. Rejection of the initial request makes people more likely to accept the target request than would have been the case if the latter had been presented on its own.

Conformity

the adjustment of one's opinions, judgments, or actions so that they become more consistent with (a) the opinions, judgments, or actions of other people or (b) the normative standards of a social group or situation. Conformity includes temporary outward acquiescence (compliance) as well as more enduring private acceptance

Obedience

behavior in compliance with a direct command, often one issued by a person in a position of authority. Examples include a child who cleans their room when told to do so by a parent and a soldier who follows the orders of a superior officer.

Individualism

A way of thinking that puts the individual person first. It emphasizes the importance of each person's rights, their freedom to make their own choices, and their relationships with other individuals. It's the belief that each person is unique and valuable, and that everyone should have the right to be themselves and pursue their own goals and desires.

Collectivism

the tendency to view oneself as a member of a larger (family or social) group, rather than as an isolated, independent being.

Multiculturalism

the quality or condition of a society in which different ethnic and cultural groups have equal status and access to power but each maintains its own identity, characteristics, and mores.

Group polarization

When group discussions make people’s opinions more extreme than they were before.

Ex: If a group somewhat or kind of dislikes school lunches, after talking, they might end up really hating them even if they didn't before.

Groupthink

When a group wants to agree so badly that they make bad decisions and ignore other ideas.

Ex: A team agrees on a risky plan without asking questions just to keep the peace.

Diffusion of responsibility

the diminished sense of responsibility often experienced by individuals in groups and social collectives.

Social loafing

when people don't try as hard in a group as they would if they were working alone.

Ex: in a group project, one person doesn't do much because they assume the others will handle it — but if they were doing it by themselves, they'd put in way more effort.

Deindividuation

when people lose their sense of self and act differently — sometimes in ways they normally wouldn't — because they feel anonymous or hidden in a group.

Ex: someone might scream or break things during a riot, even though they'd never do that alone, because the big crowd makes them feel like they won't be judged or caught.

Social facilitation

when someone does better at an easy or well-practiced task just because other people are watching.

Ex: a basketball player who's practiced free throws a lot might make more shots when a crowd is watching compared to when they're alone.

False consensus effect

when you think more people agree with you or think like you than they actually do.

Ex: you might assume everyone in your class hates homework just because you do — but actually, lots of people might not mind it or even like it.

Superordinate goals

a big goal that different groups have to work together to achieve — they can't do it alone.

Ex: in a camp competition, two rival groups had to work together to fix a water supply issue — even though they didn't like each other, they had to team up to solve the problem.

Social traps

when people do things that feel good or easy right now, even though those choices cause problems later. Once they start, it's hard to stop, even if it ends up being harmful for them or everyone else.

I/O Psychologist

A type of psychologist that studies how people behave at work and helps make jobs, teams, and workplaces better and more effective.

Burnout

when you're completely exhausted — mentally, emotionally, or physically — from too much stress or overworking for too long. it makes you feel unmotivated, negative, and drained.

Altruism

when someone does something nice for others, even if it costs them something, like time or effort. Sometimes, though, people might still get something out of it, like feeling good or gaining favors later.

Ex: helping a friend move even though you're tired is an example of altruism — you're doing it for them, even though it takes effort from you

Social reciprocity norm

the idea that if someone does something nice for you, you should return the favor in the future.

Social responsibility norm

the belief that people should help others who are in need, even if they don't get anything in return.

Bystander effect

when people are less likely to help someone in need when others are around, because they think someone else will help instead.

Ex: if someone falls in a crowded place, people might just watch and not help, thinking someone else will step in — but everyone thinks that, so no one helps.