4.1-4.3 Social Situations

social facilitation

in the presence of others, improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks, and worsened performance on difficult tasks

social loafing

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

deindividuation

loss of self-awareness and self restraint occuring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

group polarization

enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussions within the group

groupthink

mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides any opposing viewpoints

culture

enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

tight cultures

a place with clearly defined and reliably imposed norms

loose cultures

a place with flexible and informal norms

attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular war to objects, people, and events

role

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

cognitive dissonance theory

theory that we act to reduce discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent

persuasion

changing people’s attitudes, potentially influencing their actions

peripheral route persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues (ex. speaker’s attraction)

central route persuasion

occurs when interested people’s thinking is influenced by considering evidence and arguments

norms

society’s understood rules for accepted and expected behavior

social contagion

spontaneous spread of behavior

conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

normative social influence

influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

informational social influence

influence resulting from a person’s willingness to accept others’ thoughts and opinions (persuastion)

obedience

complying with an order or demand

attribution theory

the process of ascribing the reason for other’s behavior as either due to their disposition or the external circumstances of their situation

dispositional attribution

the process of ascribing the reason for behavior to internal or psychological causes, such as a mood, personality, or effort

situational attribution

the process of ascribing the reason for behavior to causes outside the person, such as luck, other people, or external circumstances

fundamental attribution error

people tend to overestimate how dispositional attributes instead of situational attributes determine behavior

actor-observer bias

people tend to attribute their behavior to situational attributes instead of situational attributes, but observers do the opposite, making the fundamental attribution error

self-serving bias

interpreting events that ascribe success to oneself but deny responsibility for failure (situational attribution)

optimism

expecting good things to happen

pessimism

expecting bad things to happen

internal locus of control

behavior and a corresponding belief that life outcomes result from one’s abilities

external locus of control

behavior and the corresponding belief that life outcomes result from factors outside one’s control

mere-exposure effect

individuals demonstrate a more favorable attitude toward something or someone after repeated exposure

relative deprivation

a person thinks they have less resources (money, social status, material items) than the people around them

stereo

prejudice

“pre-judge” a negative attitude toward another person or group without any experience with them

discrimination

treating others differently based on some group characteristic

just-world phenomenon

the belief that the world is a fair place and whatever happens to people is what they deserve

out-group homogeneity bias

the tendency to view people who don’t share similar characteristics as inferior

in-group bias

the tendency to favor one’s group as superior to others

ethnocentrism

viewing one’s ethnic, racial, or national group as the center of everything

social norms

unwritten rules of social behavior

elaboration

the process of thinking about the merits of relevant information

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

people are more likely to comply with a large request if someone first asks them to comply with a smaller one

door-in-the-face phenomenon

people are more likely to compromise with a reasonable request if they deny someone an extreme request

Behavioral Study of Obedience

Stanley Milgram tested obedience to authority by asking a subject to shock a person, increasing in value, even when the patient expressed pain- found that most people would administer a lethal shock if told

individualism

emphasis on the individual and their role in culture

collectivism

emphasis on being a member of a larger social group instead of independent

multiculturalism

different ethnic and cultural groups have equal social status but maintain their own identity

diffusion of responsibility

feeling less accountable for duties when in the presence of others