social psychology

attitude

an association b/w an act/object and an evaluation

e.g believing alcohol is a dangerous drug

• attitudes vary in strengths

• changing over time

• has an impact if it affects behaviour and influences the way the person thinks and feels

components of an attitude

• cognitive component

  • e.g. alcohol contributes to social problems such as traffic fatalities

• emotional/evaluative component

  • e.g. alcohol is bad

• behavioural disposition

  • e.g. alcohol should be avoided

tripartite theory of attitudes

multicomponent model was referred to as the ABC model;

• Affective

• Behavioural

• Cognitive

attitude strength

refers to the durability and impact of an attitude

• attitude is durable if it tends to resist change over time

attitude importance

personal relevance of an attitude and the psychological significance of that attitude for an individual

attitude accessibility

refers to the ease w/ which an attitude comes to mind

social psychology

study of how ppl. influence others behaviour, beliefs and attitudes

implicit attitudes

attitudes that regulate thought and behaviour unconsciously and automatically

explicit attitude

deliberately formed; easy to report

cognitive complexity

dimensions of which attitudes differ

• varies w/ gender and culture

• culture as a mediator for cognitive complexity

attitude inoculation

building up a receivers resistance to an opposing attitude by presenting weak arguments for it

attitudinal ambivalence

the extent to which a given attitude object is associated w/ conflict evaluative responses

attitudinal coherence

extent to which an attitude is internally consistent

persuasion

refers to deliberate efforts to change an attitude. components of persuasion:

• source - speakers tend to be more persuasive when they r appear credible

• message - the type of appeal

• channel - the means by which a message is sent

• context

• receiver - qualities of the person the communicator is trying to persuade

the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion

proposes that knowing how to appeal to a person requires figuring out the likelihood that they will think much about the arguments

1st/central route

involves inducing the recipient of a message to think carefully & weigh the arguments

• more convincing

• high elaboration

• careful processing of info.

• degree to attitude change depends on quality of arguements

2nd/peripheral route

a method of persuasion that appeals less to rational and thoughtful processes than to automatic ones

• low level argumenets

• low elaboration

• careful processing does not occur

• attitude change depends on presence of persuasion cues

conservation psychology

relationship b/w humans and rest of nature

cognitive dissonance

refers to a perceived discrepancy b/w an attitude and a behaviour/b/w an attitude and a new piece of info.

• according to Festinger, leads to state of psychological tension

self-perception theory

alternative explanation of cognitive dissonance which holds that individuals become aware about their attitudes and internal states by observing their own behaviour

• happens when our initial feelings are unclear

social cognitive

how ppl. percieve and think about themselves and other ppl

identity

a stable sense of knowing who is and what one’s values and ideals are

first impressions

the initial perception of another person that affect future beliefs about that person

halo effect

the tendency to assume that positive qualities cluster together

self-fulfilling prophecy

false impression of a situation that evokes behaviour that, in turn, makes impressions become true

schemas

the patterns of thought hypothesised to organise human experience

stereotypes

characteristics attributed to ppl. based on their membership of specific groups

• often overgeneralised, inaccurate and resistant to new info.

prejudice

judging ppl. based on negative stereotypes

discrimination

the behavioural component of prejudice

racism

a specific form of prejudice, where the assumption of the belief there is a biological hierarchy b/w one group and another

polyculturalism

the belief that all cultures are interrelated and dynamic w/ loose boundaries

ingroups

ppl. perceived as belonging to a valued group

outgroup

ppl. perceived as not belonging to a valued group

social identity theory

suggests that ppl. derive part of their identity from groups to which they think they belong

superordinate goals

goals requiring groups to cooperate for the benefit of all

ostracism

occurs when ppl. are ignored, excluded or rejected, and can be painful and distressing for the individuals involved

• affects 4 human needs: belonging, self-esteem, control and meaning

attribution

the process of making inferences about the causes of one’s own and others’ thoughts, feelings and behaviour

• attempt at understanding your experiences, behaviours and the behaviour of others

attribution style

a person’s habitual manner of assigning causes to behaviours/events

confirmation bias

tendency to seek out info. that confirms one’s hypothesis

external attributions

an explanation of behaviour that attributes the behaviour to situation rather than the person

internal attributions

an explanation of behaviour that attributes it to the person rather than situation