Social Psychology - AP Psychology 2024

social psychology

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

attribution theory

theory that suggests how we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition

Internal/dispositional attribution

attributing one's behavior to his or her personality; for example, attributing a child's hostility to their aggressive personality

external/situational attribution

attributing one's behavior to an outside factor; for example, attributing a child's hostility to stress or abuse

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

self-serving bias

the tendency to credit successes to internal factors and blame failures on external factors

attitudes

feelings, often based on our beliefs, that cause us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

foot in the door phenomenon

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

door in the face phenomenon

making a large request to persuade someone to agree to a smaller request later on

cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent; for example, when our awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes

conformity

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

normative social influence

persuading someone based on a desire to fit in or be like others

informational social influence

persuading someone based on facts or evidence

social facilitation

phenomenon in which stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks are present in the presence of others or when working with a group

social loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts towards attaining a common goal than when individually accountable

deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity; basically, you do something with a group of people that you would not do alone

group polarization

when the belief of individuals become more extreme when they talk to a like-minded group; for example, if a racist person talks to other racist people, they will become more racist

groupthink

When you go along with the group because you don't want to stand out or cause problems, but you do not change your opinion to agree with that of the group.

prejudice

an unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude towards a group and its members; typically involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action

stereotype

a generalized belief about a group of people

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior towards a group or its members

blame the victim dynamic

the tendency for people to believe that the victim of a crime is partially responsible for that crime

ingroup bias

"us" - people with whom one shares a common identity, we tend to believe that we are each unique and different

outgroup homogeneity bias

"them" - those perceived as different or apart from one's closest peers, we tend to believe that these people are "all the same"

scapegoat theory

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

just world phenomenon

the tendency of people to believe the world is fair and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy whether done reactively out of hostility or proactively as a calculated means to an end

frustration aggression principle

the principle that frustration- the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal- creates anger, which can generate aggression

conflict

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas

social trap

a situation in which each person does what is best for him/herself which ends up harming the group.

mirror image perceptions

this happens when two opponents view each other as the other views them; each demonizes the other; while they believe themselves to be seeking peace and being helpful

mere exposure effect

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to new stimuli increases liking of them

passionate love

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

companionate love

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

equity

a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it

self disclosure

revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

bystander effect

the tendency effect for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

diffusion of responsibility

the occurrence in which more people share responsibility and are therefore less likely to help or step up and volunteer

social exchange theory

the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs, people weigh benefits and risks of any social relationship.

reciprocity norm

an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them

social responsibility norm

an expectation that people will help those dependent upon them

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

GRIT

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction; a strategy designed to decrease international tensions

(Solomon) Asch

This psychologist did an experiment in which he showed participants a "standard line" and then three others; the participants had to identify which line was closest standard line. The confederates participating in the experiment purposely said the wrong answer to see if the blind participant would conform.

(Philip) Zimbardo

This psychologist conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment in which some participants were "prisoners" and some were "prison guards". The prison guards ended up being hardcore and the prisoners either tried to rebel or had mental breakdowns. The experiment lasted 6 days.

(Stanley) Milgram

This psychologist is best known for his Yale experiment on obedience. The confederate played the role of the "learner" where they would try (and often fail) to learn a set of words, and the "teacher" (the blind participant) would shock them when they failed.

Ethonocentrism

Evaluating another culture through the values and norms of your own culture. Believing your culture is "right" and others are odd, strange or wrong.

norm

a (usually unspoken) rule that governs social behavior.

personal space

the social norm that determines how far away we should be from one another to feel comfortable.

social inhibition

The tendency to perform worse in the presence of others, especially at new or poorly learned tasks.

central route persuasion

Convincing someone to agree with you by using facts and evidence

peripheral route persuasion

Convincing someone to agree by using celebrities, experts or attractive people, not by the information of the message.

Other-race Effect

the tendency to believe that those of another race all look similar

self-fulfilling prophecy

the tendency to live up to or down to expectations about a behavior or ability placed on us by ourselves or others

Halo effect

the tendency to assume positive characteristics of those whom we find attractive

Social identity

the "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships

person perception

The mental processes we use to form judgments and draw conclusions about the characteristics and motives of other people.

Actor-observer bias

the tendency to blame our actions on the situation and blame the actions of others on their personalities

Upward social comparison

comparing ourselves to people who are better than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability

downward social comparison

comparing ourselves to people who are worse than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability

Relative deprivation

the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself

role

a set of expectations about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

Elaboration Likelihood Model

a theory of how persuasive messages lead to attitude changes

implicit attitude

an attitude, such as prejudice, that one is not aware of having

belief perserverance

tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore contradictory evidence

obedience

changing one's behavior at the command of an authority figure

tight culture

has rigid social norms expects members to conform with them

loose culture

has relaxed social norms and allows conformity by members to vary a good deal

social script

a commonly understood pattern of interaction that serves as a model of behavior in familiar situations

prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior

false consensus effect

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

Attentional Variables

A factor that directly influences where someone shifts their focus.

Cognitive load

the volume of resources necessary to complete a task