Unit 9: Social Psychology (copy)

Social psychology

scientifically studies how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

attribution theory

we have a tendency to give casual explanations for someone’s behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition (personality traits)

fundamental attribution error (FAE)

tendency to attribute another person’s behavior to their personality rather than the situation they’re in

attitude

a belief and feeling that predisposes a person t respond in a particular way to objects, other people, and events

peripheral route persuasion

the use of positive association with cues such as beauty, fame, and positive emotions (temporary behavior changes)

central route persuasion

the use of facts and information to persuade potential consumers and change people’s attitudes (long term behavior changes)

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

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

role

he social expectations and the social scripts of family roles (?)

cognitive dissonance theory

when our attitudes don’t match our behaviors (actions)

conformity

changing your attitudes, beliefs, thoughts, or behaviors in order to be more consistent with others

normative social influence

influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid rejection

informational social influence

the group may provide valuable information, but stubborn people will never listen to others (we conform to other because we think their opinions must be right)

social facilitation

perform better on simple or well learned tasks in front of others ( improved performance on tasks in the presence of others)

social loafing

tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their effort together

deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity (quiet person in a concert is loud)

group polarization

enhances a groups prevailing attitudes through a discussion ( the more time spent with a group, the stronger their thoughts and opinions will become)

groupthink

desire for harmony within a group leads to everyone going along with the same thinking, ignoring other possibilities or bad ideas

culture

the values, beliefs, language, rituals, traditions, and other behaviors that are passed from one generation to another within any social group

norm

an expectation based on multiple observations

prejudice

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

stereotype

specific beliefs or assumptions about individuals based solely on their membership in a group, regardless of their individual characteristics

discrimination

negative actions toward individuals as a result of their membership in a particular group

just-world phenomenon

the tendency of people to believe this world is just (fair) and people get what they deserve and deserve what they get

in group

“us” people with whom we share a common identity

out group

“them” people perceived as different or not part of the group

in group bias

the tendency to favor one’s own group

scapegoat theory

prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone else to blame

other-race effect

the tendency to recognize and remember faces of one's own race more readily than those of other races

aggression

seeking to cause harm or pain to another person

frustration-aggression principle

theory states that when humans are prevented from achieving an important goal, they become frustrated and aggressive

social script

a set of actions that are previously expected by an individual in certain circumstances or contexts. It seems that these actions are shaped by social roles that teach the individuals to act in a specific way in a large range of situations, such as school, work, etc.

mere exposure

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

passionate love

an aroused state of intense positive absorbtion in one anothe, usually presented at the beginning of a love relationship

companionate love

a deep, affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined

equity

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

self-disclosure

revealing intimate aspects of one self to others

altruism

an unselfish regard for the welfare of others (behavior that is unselfish and may even be determinal but which benefits others)

bystander effect

tendency of any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

social exchange theory

our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim is to maximize benefits and minimize costs

reciprocity norm

the expectation that we should return help and not harm those who have helped us

social responsibility norm

largely learned, it is a norm that tells us to help others when they need us even though they may not repay us

conflict

is perceived as an incompatibility of actions, goods, or ideas

social trap

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

mirror-image perceptions

the human tendency to see oneself (especially while in the throes of conflict) as the opposite of the person with whom they are having a conflict

self fulling prophecy

an expectation or belief that can influence your behaviors, thus causing the belief to come true

super ordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

GRIT

(Graduated Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction) a strategy designed to decrease international tensions

door-in-the-face strategy

argues that after people refuse a large request, they will look more favorably upon a follow-up request that seems, in comparison, much more reasonable.

Norms of reciprocity

are at work when you feel compelled to send money to the charity that sent you free return address labels or when you cast your vote in the student election for the candidate that handed out those delicious chocolate chip cookies.

Attribution theory

is another area of study within the field of social cognition.

Harold Kelley

put forth a theory that explains the kind of attributions people make based on three kinds of information

Consistency

refers to how similarly the individual acts in the same situation over time.

Distinctiveness

refers to how similar this situation is to other situations in which we have watched Charley.

False-consensus effect

The tendency for people to overestimate the number of people who agree with them.

Self-serving bias

is the tendency to take more credit for good outcomes than for bad ones.

Stereotypes

may be either negative or positive and can be applied to virtually any group of people (e.g., racial, ethnic, geographic).

Prejudice

is an undeserved, usually negative, attitude toward a group of people.

Stereotyping

can lead to prejudice when negative stereotypes (those rude New Yorkers) are applied uncritically to all members of a group (she is from New York, therefore she must be rude) and a negative attitude results.

Ethnocentrism

the belief that one’s culture (e.g., ethnic, racial) is superior to others, is a specific kind of prejudice.

contact theory

states that contact between hostile groups will reduce animosity, but only if the groups are made to work toward a goal that benefits all and necessitates the participation of all.

Muzafer Sherif’s (1966)

camp study (also known as the Robbers Cave study) illustrates both how easily out-group bias can be created and how superordinate goals can be used to unite formerly antagonistic groups.

Instrumental aggression

is when the aggressive act is intended to secure a particular end.

Hostile aggression

has no such clear purpose.

bystander intervention

the conditions under which people nearby are more and less likely to help someone in trouble.

Solomon Asch (1951)

conducted one of the most interesting conformity experiments.

social impairment

When the task being observed was a difficult one rather than a simple, well-practiced skill, being watched by others actually hurt performance

Social loafing

is the phenomenon when individuals do not put in as much effort when acting as part of a group as they do when acting alone.

halo effect

if your 1st impression someone is good, you’ll interpret other info about them in a good way