AP psych - social psychology

social psychology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

ex. someone cuts you off: You think they're a terrible, rude person, not considering they might be rushing to the hospital.

attribution theory

tendency to give a causal explanation for someone's behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition

foot in door phenomenon

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

ex. get a friend to lend you $20 (small) before asking to borrow $100 (bigger). 

door in face phenomenon

the tendency for people who won't agree to a large task, to then agree when a smaller request is made

ex. asking "Would you be willing to donate $100 to our cause?" then saying "Oh, okay. Well, would you be able to spare $10 instead?"

cognitive dissonance theory

explains the mental discomfort (dissonance) we feel when our actions clash with our beliefs

ex. a smoker who knows smoking is unhealthy but continues to smoke, creating conflict with her belief and action

social facilitation

a psychology concept where people perform better on simple, well-learned tasks and worse on complex, new tasks when others are present

ex. an actor or musician delivering a more dynamic performance when they have an engaged audience. 

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

ex. a group school project where some students do little work, assuming others will carry the load

deindividuation

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

ex. individuals in a large, anonymous crowd may loot or destroy property, actions they'd never do alone, feeling anonymous in the group

group polarization

discussion among like-minded individuals makes their shared opinions more extreme than they were initially

ex. online forums or groups reinforce existing beliefs, pushing members to more extreme stances due to constant exposure to like-minded content. 

groupthink

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

ex. Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961): regardless of noticing flaws in the plan, Kennedy's team suppressed doubts about the CIA-backed invasion plan, leading to its failure.

prejudice

an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.

ex. racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, and religious bias

stereotype

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

ex. "blondes are dumb," "Asians are good at math,"

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

just world phenomenon

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

ex. blaming a rape victim for wearing revealing clothes or drinking too much, assuming they must have somehow caused the assault, rather than accepting that random, unjust things happen to innocent people

ingroup

"us" - people with whom we share a common identity

ex. people who support the same team, like wearing the same team's jersey

outgroup

"them" - those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup

ex. rival sports fans

ingroup bias

the tendency to favor our own group (the ingroup)

ex. A fan of a sports team may feel an instant connection to another fan of the same team and may view the actions of rival team fans more negatively, regardless of the actual behavior.

scapegoat theory

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

ex. blaming immigrants for job losses during an economic recession

Other-Race Effect / Cross-Race Effect

the tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races.

kitty genovese

Was attacked and killed in New, York in front of many witnesses but nobody did anything to help. This tragic event developed the concept of the "Bystander Effect".

bystander effect

where individuals are less likely to help someone in distress when other people are present, as responsibility gets "diffused" among the group, leading to inaction or delays in aid

amadou diallo

Man that was shot by 4 police officers in New, York. He was reaching for his wallet but the cops portrayed it as a gun and began shooting. This is an example of race-influenced perception.

jane elliot

Created the blue eyes-brown eyes exercise which was a powerful social exercise demonstrating racial discrimination by dividing elementary school students into "superior" (e.g., blue-eyed) and "inferior" (e.g., brown-eyed) groups, giving privileges to one, and observing how quickly prejudice, arrogance, and subservience develop, proving how easily people internalize assigned roles and discrimination. 

implicit racial associations

researchers claim that even people who deny having racial prejudices may carry negative associations

ex. black-sounding names getting fewer callbacks after interviews

unconscious patronization

when you treat someone, generally one with disabilities, less harsh, assuming they need help or have less capability

ex. a doctor unconsciously gives less pain medication to a patient of color than a white patient with the same symptoms, assuming they handle pain differently

race influenced perceptions

our expectations influence our perceptions

ex. keith Paine experiment - people viewed a black or a white face then a gun or a hand tool. Participants were more likely to perceive a hand tool as a gun when associated with a black face.

reflexive bodily responses

people may give off telltale signs of prejudice as their body responds selectively to another’s race

ex. one might have different facial muscle responses when talking to someone white vs. someone black.

mere exposure effect

people develop a preference for things (people, brands, songs, ideas) simply because they are familiar with them, with repeated, exposure leading to increased liking, comfort, and positive feelings towards that thing.

ex. seeing a brand's logo or jingle constantly makes you more likely to choose that product over an unknown one

Frustration-Aggression Principle

when a person's goal-directed behavior is blocked (frustration), it creates an aggressive drive, leading to angry feelings and potentially aggressive actions, with the intensity depending on how close they were to the goal and the presence of aggressive cues

ex. Losing 15 pages of an unsaved paper to a computer crash is more frustrating (and likely to cause an outburst) than losing just one page, because you were closer to the goal (finishing)

conformity

adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

ex. posting content similar to what's popular to get likes and validation.

Normative Social Influence (Conformity)

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

ex. buying popular brands or dressing like your friends to feel like you belong to that social group.

informational social influence

influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality because they assume the others are right

ex. in a new city, you follow the large group of people exiting a train station because you assume they know the way to the exits or public transport

peripheral route persuasion

people are influenced by incidental cues, such as celebrities or physical appearance

ex. a popular actor in a car commercial makes you want the car, even if you know nothing about its engine

central route persuasion

uses logic, facts, and strong arguments to convince someone of something

ex. a salesperson explains a laptop's superior processing speed

Regression

a person, under stress or anxiety, reverts to behaviors, feelings, or thoughts from an earlier, more comforting developmental stage to cope

ex. a student is embarrassed in front of peers during a class presentations, they shut down, pout, and refuse to participate afterwards

repression

unconsciously blocking anxiety-provoking thoughts or memories from your conscious

ex. a student who was publicly humiliated earlier in the year and cannot recall the incident, but still they avoid group discussion

reaction formation

expressing feelings opposite of one’s true feelings

ex. a student who feels jealousy toward a popular classmate acts overly supportive and complimentary toward them in group settings

denial

refusing to accept reality to avoid anxiety

ex. a student who is socially excluded insists that they don’t care what others think, despite clear signs of wanting peer acceptance

projection

attributing one’s own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to others

ex. a student who feels insecure in group work accuses classmates of judging or disliking them

displacement

Transferring emotions associated with a particular person/event to another person, object, or situation that is less threatening

ex. after being criticized by a teacher in front of classmates, a student later snaps at a friend