social psychology

person-situation controversy

person-situation controversy

a debate in psychology that questions whether one’s personality or situation explains one’s behavior

social psychology

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

culture

the set of ideas, beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and traditions that exist within groups of people, large or small

individualism

priority to personal wants and needs over the group’s

collectivism

focus on priorities of the group and not the individual

social norms

the general cultural rules of how people are expected to act in a situation, group, or society

social role

the part people play as members of any group. with each role, your behavior changes to meet your and everyone’s expectations of that role

gender role

a set of expectations held by society about the way which people are to behave based on gender

social script

the specific steps you are expected to carry out in a particular situation base on the culture

reciprocal determinism

a person’s behavior is influenced by their thoughts, which are influenced by their environment, which is influenced by their behavior, in a cycle

conformity

adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to match those of others, whether it’s right or wrong. matching is not the ame as being directly persuaded or told by others

asch effect

a form of conformity in which a group majority influences individual judgments

normative social influence

change your behavior/thinking to match others even if you know they are wrong because you want to fit in

individual social influence

change your behavior/thinking to match because you think they know what is correct better than you

compliance

being directly persuaded by a group/ person who doesn’t have control over you, to do something they want you to do

have no control, but persuades you

commitment/ consistency

we’re more likely to be persuaded to do something if we have already agreed to do it in some way, especially if we communicate this to others

foot in the door

get someone to do a large request by first doing a small request

goal gradient theory

we are more likely to keep working towards a big long-term goal if we break it up into smaller short term goals

low balling

after offering someone a low price, after thy have agreed and started purchase process, raise the price by adding fees

reciprocity

we’re more likely to be persuaded to do something if someone has already done something for us

door in the face

get someone to do something you want by first making a large request, then they reject you and feel bad. then you ask for something smaller and they feel like you’ve done them a favor by lowering your request so they reciprocate by saying yes

authority/credibility

we’re more likely to be persuaded if the person asking seems credible, even if their credibility isn’t directly related to what they’re asking about

social proof/ consensus

more likely to be persuaded to do something if it seems like others are doing it, especially if the others seem similar to us

likeability

more likely to be persuaded to do something if the person asking is pleasant, friendly, and praises or values us

scarcity

more likely to be persuaded to do something if it seems like the thing we are being offered seems to be limited/running out soon

obedience

when you change your opinions, judgments, or actions because someone who has some power or control over you told you to, even if you don’t agree with it

social categorization

classifying people into groups based on similar characteristics

social comparison

judging an individual or group in relation to another individual or group

social identity theory

our self-esteem is influenced by how we feel about the groups we identify with. thus, we compare our groups with other groups, seek ways to make our group look good and other groups look bad

in-group

the groups we identify with tend to view as positive, diverse, superior. pay more attention go good things, maybe even overlook bad things

out-group

the group(s) we donut’s identify with tend to view as homogeneous and inferior.

minimal group paradigm

it takes very little to feel like you’re a part of an in group with others. once you do, you tend to feel positively towards your in group and negatively towards each out group

other race effect

recall faces of one’s race more accurately than the faces of others

stereotype

an over generalized belief about a particular group (large or small) or people

prejudice

negative and unjustified attitudes that are directed towards people who belong to a social group

discrimination

the actions, usually negative, towards an individual or group of people, especially on the basis of sex, race, social class, etc.

grain of truth hypothesis

one experience with an individual can cause that experience to be generalized to a group of similar people

social distance

the feeling you have of how much you can relate to and understand another person, group, or culture. not actual physical distance

scapegoat theory

tendency to blame another person or group (usually unfairly) for one’s own problems, a process that often results in feelings of prejudice toward the person or group that one is blaming.

just-world phenomenon

the tendency to believe that people get what they deserve. this can result in prejudice towards peoples and groups

ethnocentrism

the belief that your society, group, or culture is superior to all others

social trap (prisoner’s dilemma)

a short term gain for oneself or one’s group that ultimately causes a loss for others and then even ally a loss for oneself or a group

anchoring bias

first impression, tendency to rely too much of the first information or impression we receive when judging something

confirmation bias

focused on proving ourselves right than wrong, tendency to only pay attention to information that supports one’s prior judgments

attitudes

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

false consensus effect

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors, believes everyone else thinks the same thing

halo effect

the tendency for positive/negative impressions of a person, thing, or organization in one criteria to positively/ negatively influence one’s impression of that person, thing, or organization in another criteria

ie. someone’s attractive → better personality

attribution theory

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

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers to underestimate the situational impact and overestimate the dispositional impact

ie. a person is homeless is because they’re lazy not because of their circumstances

self serving bias

you tend to attribute your good behaviors to your personality but your bad behavior to the situation

modesty bias

attribute good behavior and success to situation and failure to personality

elaboration likelihood model of persuasion

a theory of persuasion that explains how people process stimuli differently and how these processes change attitudes and consequently, behavior

central route persuasion

being influenced by facts and logic

peripheral route persuasion

being influenced by things other than facts and logic such as appearance, expectations, biases, etc.

cognitive dissonance

a discomfort that results from either:

• thought that is inconsistent with behavior or

• two thoughts that conflict with each other

to resolve this, we subconsciously either:

• change our though to match our behavior

• change our though to match our thought

thoughts are the easiest to change

self fulfilling prophecy

a positive/negative belief that causes one to have that belief come true. you tend to behave in ways to reinforce you beliefs → comes true

stereotype threat

when a negative stereotype about the group you identify with causes you to live down to that stereotype.

at risk of confirming to negative stereotypes

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

mere exposure effect (proximity principle)

repeated exposure to someone or something tends to increase our positive feeling of that person or thing

similarity principle (matching hypothesis)

people are attracted to or more likely to help others who are like them

reward theory

we will likely pursue a relationship with or help someone if we perceive we can gain something

social exchange theory

we will likely will pursue a relationship with or help some if we perceive that:

• what we get will be equal or > (gain)

• what we have to put into it (effort)

expectancy value theory

we decide whether or not to help someone or pursue a relationship with someone based:

• whether we think the person will want a relationship with us (expectancy)

• whether we think the relationship will be worth it (value)

passionate love

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

companionate love

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

self disclosure

relationships are strengthened when people reveal intimate aspects of themselves

equity theory

relationships are strengthened when people perceive that what they receive is in proportion to what they give

mirror image perceptions

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

aggression

behavior motivated by the intent to cause harm to another person who wishes to avoid that harm

violence

extreme subtype of aggression, a physical behavior with the intent to kill or permanently injure

frustration-aggression principle

frustration (the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal) → anger → aggression

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation → cohesiveness

mutual interdependence

a condition in which two or more people must on each other to accomplish a goal that is important to each of them → cohesiveness

social facilitation

people perform certain tasks better when they are being watched, or think they’re being watched by others

social loafing

tendency for ppl in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal

social inhibition

when a person restrains or alters their normal behavior when around others in a socal setting for fear of being judged or facing the disapproval of others

diffusion of responsibility

a situation where it is not clear who, if anyone, is responsible for something, therefore no one is likely to take action

bystander effect

we are less likely to help a victim in need when other people are present, because we assume someone else will help

deindividuation

the tendency for people in groups to not act like themselves but instead act like the group is acting, especially in highly energized situations

group polarization

the tendency for members of a group to start with moderate views of something but after talking a bit about it they all end up with more extreme views of that thing

group think

when people within a group become os consumed with maintaining group cohesiveness that they lose their ability to think independently and make good judgements. the group then often reaches a conclusion that everyone agrees with but don’t actually support

social contagion

the spread of behaviors, attitudes, and affect brought crowds and other types of social aggregates from one member to another