Psychology: Social Influence, Attitudes, and Group Behavior

Cognitive Dissonance

Discomfort when actions and beliefs don't match; usually leads to changing beliefs to reduce tension. Ex: A smoker knows smoking is harmful but says, "It helps me relax."

Conformity

Adjusting behavior/thinking to match a group. Ex: Saying the wrong answer in class because everyone else did.

Factors that increase conformity (7)

Group size (3+), unanimity, admiration of group status, feeling insecure, no prior commitment, group observes behavior, culture values respect. Ex: People are more likely to give in if everyone else agrees.

Obedience

Following orders from an authority figure. Ex: Soldiers following commands, even if uncomfortable.

Factors that increase obedience (4)

Authority nearby/legit, supported by institution, victim depersonalized, no role models for defiance. Ex: People in Milgram's study obeyed when the experimenter wore a lab coat.

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

Agree to small request → more likely to agree to larger one. Ex: First signing a petition, later volunteering hours.

Door-in-the-face phenomenon

Deny a big request → more likely to accept smaller one. Ex: Saying no to donating $100, then saying yes to $10.

Just-world phenomenon

Belief that people get what they deserve. Ex: Believing poor people are lazy.

Effort justification

Valuing something more because you worked hard for it. Ex: Enjoying your AP class more because of all the studying.

3 factors to adhere to principles

Awareness of beliefs, practice/rehearsal, role models/consistency. Ex: Practicing honesty daily makes it easier to stay honest.

Normative social influence

Conform to fit in/avoid rejection. Ex: Wearing a certain style to be liked by peers.

Informational social influence

Conform because others provide useful info. Ex: Looking at others when unsure how to act in a fancy restaurant.

Social responsibility norm

Help those who depend on us. Ex: Taking care of a younger sibling.

Reciprocity norm

Help those who help us. Ex: Doing a favor for someone who once lent you money.

Social facilitation

Better performance on easy tasks when others are watching. Ex: Running faster when people cheer.

Social inhibition

Worse performance on hard tasks when others are watching. Ex: Forgetting lines during a speech because of the audience.

Social loafing

People put in less effort when in a group vs. alone. Ex: Slacking during a group project.

Deindividuation

Loss of self-awareness/restraint in groups. Ex: Rioting fans vandalizing after a game.

Groupthink

Desire for harmony overrides good decision-making. Ex: NASA ignoring warnings before the Challenger disaster.

Group polarization

Group discussion strengthens group's initial beliefs. Ex: Political debates making opinions more extreme.

Elaboration likelihood model

Two routes to persuasion: Central = facts, logic, evidence. Peripheral = superficial cues (appearance, slogans). Ex: Buying a product because of strong evidence (central) vs. celebrity ad (peripheral).

Ingroup bias

Favor your own group. Ex: Rooting for your school's team even if they're losing.

Ethnocentrism

Belief your culture is superior. Ex: Thinking your country's customs are 'the right way.'

Scapegoating

Blaming outgroup for problems. Ex: Blaming immigrants for unemployment.

Fundamental attribution error

Overestimating personality, underestimating situation. Ex: Assuming someone is mean because they didn't smile, not because they're tired.

Self-serving bias

Success = internal factors, failure = external factors. Ex: 'I passed because I'm smart; I failed because the teacher is bad.'

Internal attribution

Behavior explained by personality. Ex: 'He's late because he's irresponsible.'

External attribution

Behavior explained by situation. Ex: 'He's late because of traffic.'

Stereotype

Belief about a group. Ex: 'All athletes are dumb.'

Prejudice

Negative attitude toward a group. Ex: Disliking people from a certain race.

Discrimination

Negative action/behavior toward a group. Ex: Refusing to hire someone because of their gender.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Belief that causes itself to come true. Ex: Thinking you'll fail a test → not studying → failing.

Other-race effect

Easier to recognize faces of one's own race. Ex: Saying 'all people of another race look alike.'

Outgroup homogeneity

Belief that outgroup members are all the same. Ex: Thinking all rival school students are alike.

Halo effect

One good trait leads us to assume other positive traits. Ex: Assuming attractive people are also smart.

Cognitive load

When overwhelmed, brain relies on shortcuts/biases. Ex: Stereotyping more when stressed during exams.

Mere exposure effect

Repeated exposure increases liking. Ex: Liking a song more after hearing it multiple times.

Dual processing

Thinking on two tracks: automatic/unconscious vs. deliberate/conscious. Ex: Instinctively braking vs. carefully planning a trip.

Bystander effect

Less likely to help with more people present. Ex: Ignoring someone fainting in a crowd because 'someone else will help.'

Altruism

Selfless concern for others. Ex: Donating anonymously to charity.

Social trap

Pursuing self-interest → worse outcome for group. Ex: Overfishing until the supply runs out.

Superordinate goals

Shared goals requiring cooperation; reduce conflict. Ex: Rival groups working together to fix a broken water supply.