Unit 9 - Social Psych

attribution theory (HEIDER)

attribution theory (HEIDER)

the theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition

Darley and Latane

two psychologists who conducted research on diffusion of responsibility

higher odds for helping

• the victim is in need and deserves help

• the victim is similar to us

• we have observed someone being helpful

• we are not in a hurry

• we are in a small town/rural area

• we feel guilty

• we are not preoccupied

• we are in a good mood

kitty genovese

• stalker stabbed and raped her to death

• she laid screaming and dying outside her new york apartment

• 38 of her neighbors opened their windows, listening to the attack

• not one of them called the police until the stalker left, 20 min after the attack

philip zimbardo stanford prison experiment

to preface: not a valid study since it was highly influenced and manipulated

-Volunteers were placed in a simulated prison, some chosen to act as guards while others chosen to act as prisoners.
-After a few days of role-playing, the volunteers began to turn into their roles
-Guards developed attitudes of superiority, some using cruel methods to punish the prisoners for real
-Prisoners began to break down and rebel, feeling truly oppressed and inferior

-Experiment proved: After "playing" a part long enough, our attitudes and actions start to mold so that we are no longer be playing the part, instead we are doing it for real.
-i.e: Role-playing affects attitudes

boring task/money

-James Carlsmith and Leon Festinger Conducted experiment about cognitive dissonance
-Participants performed boring tasks
were told to lie, say they enjoyed them
-Half the subjects were paid $20 to lie, half paid $1
-The attitudes of the participants was measured after lying
-Those who were paid $20 had felt little dissonance about lying
-They still had a bad attitude, didn't feel the need to change it
-They did it for the $20
-Those who were paid $1 had felt high dissonance about lying
-They had a better attitude, from changing it to relieve the tension
-The amount of money was not high enough to be an external motivator, so they felt badly about lying

solomon asch line study

• Asch devised an experiment to test conformity in a group setting.

• A group of actors and one college-student sit at a table where they are shown a standard line and three comparison lines.

• One by one, the actors say aloud which line they think is the same length as the standard, followed by the student.

• The actors would sometimes unanimously say the wrong answer

• 30% of the time the student will agree, while knowing that the answer given is wrong.

stanley milgram shock study

-Milgram creates an experiment to test human reactions to commands.
-Drawing names from a hat, one of two people becomes the "learner" and the other becomes the "teacher"
-The learner is strapped to a chair with electric wiring as the teacher reads aloud questions for the learner to answer
-Each time the answer is wrong, the teacher flicks a switch and shocks the learner
-Each successive wrong answer comes with a higher voltage and a more painful shock.
-After numerous flicks of the switch, the learner starts to grunt and shout in pain
-The shouts of pain cause the teacher to hesitate, but Milgram tells him that he must go on
-65% of people fully complied to Milgram's commands up until the very last switch, fully aware of its lethality

-Stanley Milgram was criticized for his ethics.

Leon Festinger

an American social psychologist who originated the theory of cognitive dissonance and social comparison theory

Muzafer Sherif’s robber cave experiment

-Researcher who tested cooperation between conflicting parties
-Brought 22 boys to a camp and divided them into two teams
-As the teams competed, they became more prejudice towards one another
-Fist and fights broke out, ransacking of cabins, etc.
-Sherif then gave all 22 boys superordinate goals

-Goals shared by conflicting parties that override their differences
-Can only be accomplished if worked on together

-After working together to achieve the goals, the strangers-made-enemies became enemies-made-friends

genetic influences on aggression

brain levels of the neurotoxin serotonin correlate with aggression, and genetic manipulation of these levels can enhance/reduce aggressive behavior

neural influences on aggression

We have neural systems in their brains which will produce aggression when stimulated; reduced activity (damaged, inactive, disconnected, not fully mature) of the prefrontal cortex is associated with higher displays of violent aggression

ex: A woman had an electrode implanted in a neural system in her brain. When activated, she began to scream and strike the doctor.

biochemical influences on aggression

hormones, alcohol and other substances that travel by blood influence the neural systems which control aggression

• testosterone boosts aggression

• serotonin helps inhibit aggression

• negative emotions (particularly when accompanied by high arousal) may create aggression

• alcohol may promote aggressive and frustrative responses

reinforcement and modeling

some aggression is learned through modeling the violence we see all around us everyday; albert bandura demonstrated that children learned new aggressive behaviors by observing aggressive models

ex: If the adult model is punished for his/her aggressive behavior, the probability that the child will show aggressive behavior is reduced. In contrast, positive reinforcement or no reinforcement of the model leads to increased aggression on the part of the child (vicarious/indirect learning)

situational attribution (aka external)

a type of attribution in which you infer that a behavior or event is caused by some factor relative to the situation

→ we can credit behavior to the situation

dispositional attribution (aka internal)

A type of attribution in which you assign responsibility for an event or action to the person involved

→ we can credit behavior to the person’s stable, enduring traits

fundamental attribution error (aka FAE)

the tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and overestimate the impact of personal disposition

→ culture effects attribution

actor-observer bias

the tendency to attribute other’s behavior to internal causes while attributing our own behavior to external or situational causes

self-serving bias

our tendency to attribute our successes to internal factors and our failures to external ones

most common in individualistic cultures

Graduated and reciprocated initiatives in tension-reduction

Conciliation GRIT - conflict can be reconciled through GRIT in which one of the two parties in the conflict makes a one-sided concession with the expectation of the same gesture from the other party

self-effacing (modesty) bias

the tendency to blame ourselves for our failures, attributing them to internal, personal causes, while downplaying our successes by attributing them to external, situational ones

most common in collectivistic cultures

false consensus effect

the tendency to assume that one’s own opinions, beliefs, attributes, or behaviors are more widely shared than is actually the case

self-fulfilling prophecy

when a person unknowingly causes a prediction to come true, due to the simple fact that they expect it to come true

• Pygmalion effect - your belief about what will happen drives the actions that make that outcome ultimately come to pass

• Oedipus effect - when someone believes so strongly in a self-fulfilling prophecy that they alter the bahavior of themselves consciously or unconsciously

attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

peripheral route persuasion

(elaboration likelihood model) occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness

central route persuasion

(elaboration likelihood model) occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

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

compliance

changing one’s behavior as a result of other people directly or asking for the change

door-in-the-face phenomenon

a persuasive technique that begins with an outrageous request in order to increase the likelihood that a second, more reasonable request is granted

cognitive dissonance theory (FESTINGER)

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

conformity

adjusting our behaviors or thinking to coincide with a group standard

reciprocity norm

the assumption that if someone does something for a person, that person should do something for the other in return

The tendency to help people who help you, which helps to explain altruistic behavior towards non-family members

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

lowball technique

getting a commitment from a person and then raising the cost of that commitment

chameleon effect

social contagion → body language mimicry

refers to nonconscious mimicry of the postures, mannerisms, facial expressions, and other behaviors of one's interaction partners, such that one's behavior passively and unintentionally changes to match that of others in one's current social environment

confederate

in an experimental situation, an aide of the experimenter who poses as a participant but whose behavior is rehearsed prior to the experiment

obedience

a form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from someone in a position of authority

normative social influence

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

informational social influence

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

social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others

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

deindividuation

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

group polarization

the enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group

groupthink

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

cultures

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

affects attributions

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

stereotype

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

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

just-world phenomenon

(social roots of prejudice) the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

scapegoat theory

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

aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally

frustration-aggression principle

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

social script

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

mere exposure effect

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

passionate love

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

companionate love

the 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 to it

self-disclosure

the act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

Prosocial behaviors that benefit other people at a cost to yourself

bystander effect (diffusion of responsibility) (DARLEY + LATANE)

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

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 needing their help

conflict

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas

social trap (dilemma)

a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior

mirror-image perceptions

mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive

superordinate goals (SHERIF)

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

social inhibition

the tendency to perform complex tasks more poorly in the presence of others

social striving

the tendency when in a group to give your entire effort to impress or to not let your group members down

risky shift

(group polarization) a tendency for the decisions of individuals to be more risky following group discussion - changing decisions to more extremes when part of a group

ethnocentrism

the prejudicial belief that one’s culture is superior to all other cultures

overt prejudice

blatant prejudice/discrimination; prejudice that is shown openly and declare as a self-acknowledged belief of the individual

subtle prejudice

prejudice that we deny exists, and we keep it to ourselves. For example, if you were in a social setting, you may feel uncomfortable dating someone of another race

implicit associations

subconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner

ingroup bias

our tendency to favor our own group as opposed to the outgroup

outgroup bias

the tendency to have negative views about people that are not part of one’s own group

social categorization

mental process of classifying people into groups based on common characteristics like gender, race, age, or occupation (pros-provide us with basic info and mentally organize & remember info about others. cons-based on superficial info and jump to conclusions) ->grouping

outgroup homogeneity

the tendency for people to view members of outgroups as being more alike than the members of the group they belong to

→ We tend to perceive more individual differences between members of the ingroup and see everyone in the outgroup as the same

proximity

the tendency to like people geographically close to you

similarity

the tendency to be attracted to people who share characteristics with you

reciprocal liking

the tendency to like people who like you

physical attractiveness

The possession of outward physiological characteristics deemed to be appealing

matching hypothesis

The tendency for people to pick partners who are roughly equal in level of attractiveness to themselves

instrumental aggression

“Cold” aggressive behaviors that are carried out to attain a certain goal

hostile aggression

“Hot” aggressive behaviors that aim to inflict pain or harm

halo effect

when positive impressions of people lead to positive views about their character and personality traits

For example, if you see someone as attractive you may think of them as having better personality traits and character even though this isn't necessarily true

public goods dilemma

a situation in which the whole group can benefit if some of the members give something for the common good but individuals benefit from “free riding” if enough others contribute

prisoner’s dilemma

a situation where two parties, separated and unable to communicate, must each choose between cooperating with the other or not

the highest reward for each party occurs when both parties choose to cooperate

contact theory

theory that states that is you bring hostile groups together, and give them a common goal (they call superordinate goal) then they will work together and prejudice will be reduced