PSYCH Chap. 13

Social psychology

involves use of scientific methods to explore ways in which person’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by actual, imagined, or implied presence of others

Need to belong

• evolutionary basis

• universal

• guides social cognition (social brain hypothesis)

Social Influence

• social comparison (upward and downward)

• social facilitation: presence of others changes performance (arousal, evaluation, distraction)

attribution

• casual explanation ppl give for their own/others’ behavior

• internal factors: personality traits, feelings

• external factors: aspects of situation

• help to understand and predict social world

• type of attribution will influence how you respond to situation

Fundamental attribution error

tendency to overestimate extent to which ppl’s behavior is due to internal, dispositional factors and to underestimate role of situational/external factors

Actor/Observer Bias

• perceptions and info differ for actor and observer

• actors = often biased by attributing good self outcomes to internal factors and bad outcomes to external factors

• observers = judge actions; intentions and situational factors are more difficult to perceive and consider

Person perception

• impression formation

• automatically focus and remember person’s most observable characteristics

• *attractiveness

• stereotypes

Ingroup

group to which we belong and that forms part of our social identity

outgroup

any group w/ which we do not share membership

Conformity

changing one’s behavior to match responses/actions of others (w/ and w/o pressure from others)

Normal social influence

seek approval, avoid rejection

Informational social influence

others as sources of appropriate behavior

Milgram experiment

shocking ppl because we comply to an obedient figure

Attitude

making social judgments (positive or negative)

3 components of attitude

1. affect (emotions/feelings)

2. cognition (thoughts/beliefs)

3. behavior (behavior/avert response)

mere exposure effect

positive exposure to something changes our attitude on it

Cognitive dissonance

uncomfortable mental state due to contradiction b/n 2 attitudes or b/n attitude and behavior

cognitive dissonance theory

• suggests that ppl have drive for consistency

• ppl reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes/behaviors

Dissonance reduction

• strive for more consistent behavior b/n beliefs and behavior

• change behavior

• change beliefs

• rationalization

• diminish importance of info/belief

• justification

Rationalization

get new info that outweighs dissonant beliefs

Justification

increase liking for something you suffered to attain

Prosocial behavior

acting for benefit of others

altrusim

helping when it is needed w/o any apparent reward for doing so

Bystander effect

failure to offer help by those who observe someone in need

4 majors reasons for bystander effect

1. diffusion of responsibility

2. anonymity

3. fear

4. pluralistic ignorance