PSYCH CH 11 & 12

Social Psychology

The study of the interaction between the person and their environment, including other individuals and groups.

Social Influence

How individuals change their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors based on the presence or actions of others

Conformity

When individuals change their behavior or beliefs to match those of a group

Muzafer Sherif’s

Robbers Cave Experiment and he believed in Realistic Conflict Theory

Solomon Asch

Conformity experiment (line test)

Normative Social Influence

When people change their behavior to fit in with a group

Social Facilitation

The positive performance increase in tasks due to the presence of others.

Information Social Influence

when people look to others for guidance on how to behave, especially in uncertain situations

Group thinking

Happens when a group of people makes decisions together but doesn’t think critically about those decisions. They focus more on agreeing with each other than on considering different ideas or potential problems

Irving Janis

Came up with 8 symptoms of group thinking

Illusion of Invulnerability

The group feels overly confident and ignores risks

Collective Rationalization

Members dismiss warnings and don’t rethink their decisions

Belief in Inherent Morality

The group thinks their decisions are morally right, ignoring ethics

Stereotyped Views of Out-Groups

They view opposing groups negatively, making it easier to ignore them

Direct Pressure on Dissenters

Members feel pressured not to disagree

Self-Censorship

Individuals keep their doubts to themselves

Social Impairment

The negative effect on performance due to the presence of others, especially in difficult or new tasks.

Illusion of Unanimity

Silence is mistaken for agreement

Self-Appointed ‘Mudguards’

Some members protect the group from conflicting information

Group Polarization

when a group’s opinions become stronger after discussing them together. This often leads to stronger beliefs than what individuals originally thought

Social Loafing

when people put in less effort when working in a group compared to when they work alone

Deindividuation

 When people lose their sense of individuality and self-awareness in a group

Social Facilitation

Positive influence of being around others, which can boost performance on simple or well-practiced tasks

Social impairment

Negative influence where the presence of others can hinder performance, especially on complex or new task

Consumer Psychology

The branch of psychology that studies the habits of consumers in the marketplace

Compliance

When people change their behavior because someone else asks them to

Obedience

Following commands or instructions from someone in authority.

Door-in-the-Face Technique

A way to get someone to agree to a request. First, you ask for something big that they will likely refuse. Then, you follow up with a smaller request, which seems more reasonable

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

To get someone to agree to a big request by first asking them for a small favor

Lowball Technique

A persuasion strategy that involves changing a deal to be less favorable after agreement.

Stanley Milgram

Study of obedience

Meeus and Raaijimaker

Examined obedience in a different culture 

Attitude

Refers to a person's way of thinking or feeling about something, which often influences their behavior

Affect

Feelings: the way a person feels toward an object, person, or situation

Behavior

Actions: A person takes in regard to the person, object, or situation 

Cognition

Thoughts: The way a person thinks about himself or herself, an object, or a situation

Elaboration likelihood model (ELM)

Theory about how people are persuaded

Central Route

Involves careful and thoughtful thinking about the message (used when people are motivated and able to think about the message)

Peripheral Route

Involves involves less thought. People rely on superficial cues, like the attractiveness of the speaker or the number of arguments presented (used when people are not motivated or able to think deeply about the message

Cognitive Dissonance

Uncomfortable feeling you get when you have two conflicting thoughts or beliefs. To feel better, people try to change something about their thoughts or behavior

Change behavior

Start doing what you believe

Change beliefs

Adjust your thinking to justify your actions

Create new beliefs

Come up with new ideas that support your behavior

Leon Festinger and James Carl smith

Show cognitive dissonance through experiment

Self-Perception Theory

The theory is that people develop attitudes by observing their own behavior (Daryl Bem)

Impression Formation

the process by which we develop opinions and judgments about others based on the information we receive about them

Primacy Effect

The tendency to remember the first piece of information we encounter about someone.

Social categorization

Is the process of classifying people based on shared characteristics, such as race, gender, age, or interests

Implicit Association test (IAT)

Taken by the computer to measure people’s hidden biases

Attribution Theory

The theory that explains how we assign reasons for our behavior and the behavior of others.

Heider

Ideas of understanding the causes of behavior by attributing them to either internal or external factos

Dispositional

Internal factors (personality, traits)

Situational

External (delays, actions of others)

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to think that other people's actions are mainly due to their personality or character while ignoring the influence of the situation they are in

Masuda and Kitaymam

Explore how culture influences perception and attribution

Prejudice

A negative attitude towards a person or group based on characteristics like race or gender.

Discrimination

The unfair treatment of individuals based on characteristics such as race or gender.

Microaggression

small, often unintentional comment or action that shows bias against a marginalized group

Scapegoat

A person or group is unfairly blamed for problems or negative outcomes on one person in the team

Realistic Conflict Theory

happen when groups compete for limited resources, like money or power

Jane Elliott's Brown

Eyes/Blue Eyes experiment

Social Identity Theory

The theory that describes how individuals develop their identity based on their group memberships.

social categorization

hen people categorize themselves and others into groups to determine how they should behave

Social Identification

self concept that includes the view of oneself as a member of a particular social group within the social category,

Social comparison

People compare their group (in-group) to others (out-groups), often favoring their group

Self-fulfilling prophecy

a person's belief or expectation about something causes that expectation to come true

Equal status contact

interactions between individuals or groups who are on the same social level, meaning they share similar backgrounds, roles, or education

jigsaw classroom

cooperative learning technique where each individual is given only part of the info needed to solve a problem, causing the separate individuals to be forced to work together to find the solution

Interpersonal attraction

is liking or having the desire for a relationship with another person

Mere exposure effect

We tend to like things more the more we see them

Reciprocity

is the tendency of people to like other people more when we know they like them in return or back

Curtis and Miller

reciprocal liking experiment

Robert Sternberg

Theory of love or Triangular Theory of Love

Intimacy

Emotional closeness and connection

Passion

Physical attraction and romantic feelings

Commitment

The decision to maintain the relationship over time

Romantic Love

(intimacy + passion)

Companionate Love

(intimacy + commitment)

Consummate Love

(all three components)

Altruism

 when someone helps others without wanting anything in return. It’s about caring for others and doing good things for them, even if it costs you something

Philip Zimbardo

Jail experiment

Bystander Effect

when people are less likely to help someone in trouble if others are around. They think someone else will step in

Bibb Latane and John Darley

Bystander effect

Diffusion of Responsibility

When people are in a group, they often assume that someone else will take action, which leads them to do nothing themselve

Stressor

Anything that causes stress or tension in a person

Distress

Negative stress that can lead to anxiety, frustration, or health problems. It comes from challenging situations

Eustress

Positive stress that can motivate and energize you

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

controls automatic body functions that you don't think about, like heart rate and digestion

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

is the body's three-stage response to stress found by Selye

Alarm

The body’s immediate reaction to stress. You feel a rush of energy and alertness

Resistance

The body tries to adapt to the ongoing stress. You may feel tired but are still managing

Exhaustion

Stress leads to fatigue and burnout. Your body can’t handle it anymore

catastrophe

sudden event that causes significant damage, suffering, or destruction

Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe

Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

Lazarus and Folkman

Hassles

Pressure

occurs when people feel that they must work harder or faster or do more, because of deadline or studying for final exams

Ellen Langer and Judith Rodin

studied how having control and choices affects older adults' happiness and health

Frustration

happens when you feel blocked from reaching your goals or getting what you want. An emotional reaction to the problems

Internal Frustration aka personal frustration

occurs when the goal or need can’t be attained because of within yourself, like personal trait (internal) or limitation

Persistence

the ability to keep trying and working toward a goal, even when faced with difficulties or setbacks