AP Psych- Unit 4 Social Psychology

social psychology

concerned with the way individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others

person perception

forming impressions of others

attribution theory

we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition

dispositional attributions

ascribe the causes of behavior to personal traits, abilities, and feelings

situational attributions

ascribe the causes of behavior to demands of the time or place (environmental constraints)

pessimistic explanatory style

tendency to view setbacks as personal, permanent, and will continue indefinitely

optomistic explanatory style

tendency to view setbacks as temporary and blame them on outside forces; might attribute bad experiences to bad luck

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

actor-observer bias

the tendency to blame our actions on external factors (situational), and blame the actions of others on internal factors or traits (disposition)

self-serving bias

attribute one's success to internal factors and failures to external factors

internal locus of control

We control our own fate

external locus of control

outside forces determine our fate

mere exposure effect

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to things increases liking of them

self-fullfilling prophecy

a belief in something causes it to come true

social comparison

Process of evaluating oneself by comparing to others

relative deprivation

the perception that one is worse off than those with whom one compares themself to

attitude

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

prejudice

unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group of people

stereotype

A generalized belief about a group of people

discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

implicit prejudice

unconscious bias or attitudes towards a group of people

explicit prejudice

conscious and openly expressed negative beliefs/attitudes about a group of people

just-world phenomenon

people get what they deserve and deserve what they get

in-group

people you identify with (us)

out-group

people you don't identify with (them)

Belief Perservation

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

confirmation bias

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

cognitive dissonance

when our attitudes and behaviors don't line up

cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when our actions are inconsistent with our thoughts (change action, attitude, or rationalize our attitude about the action) [ex. stealing]

norms

unwritten, social rules

normative social influence

Going along with others in pursuit of social approval or belonging (ex. wearing similar clothes as your friends)

informative social influence

Going along with others because their ideas and behavior make sense, the evidence in our social environment changes our minds (ex. deciding which side of the road to drive on)

central route persuasion

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts (ex. decision based on research)

peripheral route persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness

halo effect

tendency to make a decision based on a single trait or attitude (ex. celebrity endorsements)

Foot-in-the-Door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request (ex. free trial --> buying product)

Door-in-the-Face Phenomenon

the tendency for people to comply to a smaller request after rejecting an initially larger one (ex. asking for $100 then $20)

cultural individualism

value personal independence and achievement - what works best for you

cultural collectivism

value group goals, social identity, and commitments - what works best for the family

Multiculturalism

values diverse cultures and how they are interacting together within society

bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present (ex. Kitty Genovese murder case)

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity (ex. mob mentality- feeling empowered when part of a group rather than alone)

social loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable (ex. group projects)

social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others (ex. home team advantage)

social impairment

reduced performance on difficult or unpracticed tasks in the presence of others (ex. stage fright)

false consensus effect

cognitive bias where individuals overestimate the extent to which their beliefs, behaviors, or opinions are shared by others

superordinate goal

shared goal that overrides differences among people and requires cooperation (ex. Robber's cave experiment w/ the rival teams)

social trap

a situation in which a person or group of people work to attain a short-term goal, which will ultimately have long-term consequences for the larger population (ex. chemical companies disposing of waste in the ocean + prisoner's dilemma)

group polarization

a phenomenon where in the decisions and opinions of people in a group setting become more extreme than their actual, privately held beliefs after discussion within the group

groupthink

you want to get along with the group rather than having an adverse view (ex. The Challenger disaster)

industrial-organizational (IO) psychologists

focus on workplace dynamics

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others, or engaging in kindness acts without expecting anything in return

social exchange theory

our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs

Social Reciprocity Norm

an expectation that people will help those that have helped them

social responsibility norm

people will help those in need of help

aggression

any behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally

influences on sexual attraction

proximity, physical attractiveness, and similarity

Conformity

refers to adjusting our behavior or thinking to fit in with a group standard (Asch's experiment- people being asked to match the length of a line to one of three other lines- 1/3 complied)

influences on conformity

made to feel incompetent, group of 3+ people, status of those in the group, and everyone agrees in group

Obedience

yielding to real or imagined pressure from another or an authority figure (Milgram's Experiment- shocking students and analyzing the teacher while an authority figure applies pressure on him; 2/3 complied)

Stanford Prison Experiment

Zimbardo's role conformity experiment - participants quickly internalized their roles and began to exhibit extreme and abusive behaviors