Social Psychology

Social Psychology:

Scientific study of how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others

List the parts of the Self:

• The knower: perceives, learns, gathers information

• The doer: Active, physical execution of what the knower has processed.

• The performer: Acts for an audience or for external validation while performing a task. 

• Collectivism:

• value on relationships, interdependence

• Individualism:

• Value on self-reliance, autonomy

• Introspection:

• process of looking inward to examine thoughts, feelings, and motivativations

• __________ theory: We learn about ourselves by observing our own behavior

• Bem’s self-perceptions

• ________ theory: When we focus attention on ourselves, we become self-conscious.

• Self-awareness

• Spotlight effect:

• People overestimate how much others notice their actions, appearance, or mistakes. 

• Self-esteem:

• Overall evaluation of ourselves

• Leary’s sociometer hypothesis: ______ is a meter summarizing how we think others are responding to us. 

self-esteem

• Self-discrepancy Theory: Discrepancy between _____ self and ______ self leads to emotional distress

• actual

• desired

• Self-enhancement strategies:

• Social Comparisons

• Better than average effect

• Self-handicapping

• Self-serving bias 

• Self-enhancement strategies:

  • Social Comparisons: _____ or _____ comparisons

• upward or downward

• Self-enhancement strategies:

  • Self-handicapping: People intentionally create or claim _____ to their own success

• obstacles

_______: How people select, interpret, remember, and use social information to make judgements and decisions

Social Cognition

Attitude:

A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor. It consists of three components:

Attitude: A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor.

• 3 components:

• Affective

• Cognitive

• Behavioral

  • (ABCs)

Attitude: A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor.

• 3 components (ABCs): 1. Affective:

• Emotional reactions toward the attitude object.

Attitude: A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor.

• 3 components (ABCs): 2. Cognitive:

• Thoughts and beliefs about the attitude object.

Attitude: A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor.

• 3 components (ABCs): 3. Behavioral:

• Actions or observable behavior toward the attitude object.

Attitude: A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor. ~3 components (Affective, Cognitive, & Behavioral)

• Consistency in Attitudes: When ___ and ____ align, behavior is more predictable.

• affect & cognition

Attitude: A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor. It consists of three components:

Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination~

• Prejudice (______):

• Prejudice (Affect): Negative emotional feelings towards a group.

Attitude: A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor. It consists of three components:

Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination~

• Stereotyping (______): Beliefs about the characteristics of a group.

• Stereotyping (Cognitive): Beliefs about the characteristics of a group.

Attitude: A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor. It consists of three components:

Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination~

• Discrimination (______):

• Discrimination (Behavior): Actions taken based on prejudice and stereotyping.

Attitude: A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor. It consists of three components:

• _______: Deliberate and conscious attitudes.

• Explicit

Attitude: A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor. It consists of three components:

• _______: Unconscious attitudes, measured by tools.

• Implicit

Attitude: A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor. It consists of three components:

• Cognitive Dissonance:

• A feeling of discomfort when one’s behavior is inconsistent with their beliefs or values.

Attitude: A psychological tendency expressed by evaluating something with favor or disfavor. It consists of three components:

• Cognitive Dissonance: A feeling of discomfort when one’s behavior is inconsistent with their beliefs or values.

  • It can be reduced by:

• Changing behavior.

• Changing beliefs.

• Adding new cognitions.

_______: The tendency to like something more if you worked hard to attain it.

Justification of Effort

_______ Theory: Explains how people determine the causes of behavior.

Attribution

Attribution Theory: Explains how people determine the causes of behavior.

• List the types-

• Internal Attribution

• External Attribution

Attribution Theory: Explains how people determine the causes of behavior.

• Internal Attribution:

• External Attribution:

• Internal Attribution: Behavior due to personal traits (dispositional).

• External Attribution: Behavior due to the situation (situational).

Attribution Theory: Explains how people determine the causes of behavior.

• Internal Attribution: Behavior due to personal traits (dispositional).

• External Attribution: Behavior due to the situation (situational).

Fundamental Attribution Error:

The tendency to

• overestimate = personal traits/dispositional

• underestimate = situational factors

• when judging others' behavior.

Attribution Theory: Explains how people determine the causes of behavior.

• Internal Attribution: Behavior due to personal traits (dispositional).

• External Attribution: Behavior due to the situation (situational).

Fundamental Attribution Error

• Ex:

Blaming a fall on:

• being clumsy (personal trait/dispositional) rather than

• slipping on ice (situational factors)

Attribution Theory: Explains how people determine the causes of behavior.

• Internal Attribution: Behavior due to personal traits (dispositional).

• External Attribution: Behavior due to the situation (situational).

Self-Serving Bias:

Attributing:

• Personal success = internal factors/dispositional

• Failure = external factors.

Attribution Theory: Explains how people determine the causes of behavior.

Two-Step Attribution Process:

1. Automatically make an internal attribution.

2. Adjust attribution with situational factors if time and motivation allow.

Attribution Theory: Explains how people determine the causes of behavior.

• Internal Attribution: Behavior due to personal traits (dispositional).

• External Attribution: Behavior due to the situation (situational).

Ultimate Attribution Error:

With OUTGROUP members attribute:

• Negative behavior = Internal Attribution/ dispositional factors

• Positive behavior = External/ Situational factors,

maintaining prejudice against the outgroup.

List the Types of Bias:

• Blatant Bias (Old-Fashioned Bias)

• Modern Biases

• Implicit Bias

• Explicit Bias

• Systemic Bias

Types of Bias

• Blatant Bias ("Old-fashioned Bias"):

• Overt and obvious bias, often hateful.

Types of Bias

• Modern Biases:

• Subtle forms of bias like modern racism and modern sexism. These biases are often hidden due to social desirability but still persist.

Types of Bias

• Implicit Bias:

• Unconscious and automatic associations, such as the Weapon Bias (associating Black faces with weapons).

• Automatic Thinking; thinking that is nonconscious, unintentional. Involuntary, and effortless

  • _____: mental structures we use to organize our knowledge around themes

• Schemas

Automatic Thinking; thinking that is nonconscious, unintentional. Involuntary, and effortless

• Schemas: mental structures we use to organize our knowledge around themes

  • Provide mental ______

  • ______ current experiences with potentially relevant info from past experiences

  • Helps make sense of ______ information

• Provide mental shortcuts

• Connect current experiences with potentially relevant info from past experiences

• Helps make sense of ambiguous information

Automatic Thinking; thinking that is nonconscious, unintentional. Involuntary, and effortless

• _______: The activation of a concept through subtle or non-conscious presentation

• Priming

Automatic Thinking; thinking that is nonconscious, unintentional. Involuntary, and effortless

• ___________: We make judgements based on how much an event/object resembles the typical case

• Representativeness Heuristic

Automatic Thinking; thinking that is nonconscious, unintentional. Involuntary, and effortless

• ________________: People chronically and optimistically underestimate how long tasks will take

• Planning Fallacy

Types of Bias

• Implicit Bias: Unconscious and automatic associations

  • Weapon Bias:

Weapon Bias: Automatic association of Black people with weapons, regardless of participants’ race. Police officers with weapons training showed less bias.

Types of Bias

• Explicit Bias:

• Conscious and deliberate prejudices.

  • Controlled thinking

Types of Bias

• Systemic Bias:

Systemic Bias: Bias embedded within institutions and structures (e.g., housing discrimination). It is often overlooked because people focus on individual bias.

Stereotype Content Model: Stereotypes are based on —

perceived competition and capabilities of a group.

Stereotype Content Model: Stereotypes are based on perceived competition and capabilities of a group.

• List the types of sexisms→

• Hostile Sexism

• Benevolent Sexism

Stereotype Content Model: Stereotypes are based on perceived competition and capabilities of a group.

• List the types of sexisms→

  • Hostile Sexism:

  • Benevolent Sexism:

• Hostile Sexism: Openly negative stereotypes.

• Benevolent Sexism: Positive stereotypes that still restrict a group

  • “women are nurturing but incompetent”

  • "Women should be protected by men."

Stereotype Threat:

Fear of confirming negative stereotypes about one’s group, which can cause anxiety, overthinking, and disengagement.

Cognitive Dissonance: Discomfort when attitudes and behaviors conflict.

• Reducing Dissonance: 

  • _________: A reason or explanation for bad behavior that resides outside of the individual.

• External Justification

Cognitive Dissonance: Discomfort when attitudes and behaviors conflict.

• Reducing Dissonance: 

  • ___________: Reducing dissonance by changing something about oneself (attitude or behavior)

• Internal Justification

Cognitive Dissonance: Discomfort when attitudes and behaviors conflict.

• Reducing Dissonance: 

  • Internal Justification: Reducing dissonance by changing something about oneself (attitude or behavior)

    • ________y: State an opinion that is counter to private belief. 

• Counterattitudinal Advocac

Reducing Bias

• Cognitive Dissonance: Discomfort when attitudes and behaviors conflict.

  • List ways to reduce Bias using Cognitive Dissonance~

• Dual-Processing Theory

• Contact Hypothesis

Reducing Bias

• Cognitive Dissonance: Discomfort when attitudes and behaviors conflict.

  • Ways to reduce Bias using Cognitive Dissonance~

    • Dual-Processing Theory

• System 1 = Fast, automatic thinking

• System 2 = Slow, controlled thinking

  • Automatic impulses (System 1) are influenced by implicit biases, but cognitive control (System 2) can reduce these biases.

Reducing Bias

• Cognitive Dissonance: Discomfort when attitudes and behaviors conflict.

  • Ways to reduce Bias using Cognitive Dissonance~

    • Dual-Processing Theory

      • Ex: An automatic stereotype comes to mind, but a person _______ rejects it.

• consciously

Reducing Bias

• Cognitive Dissonance: Discomfort when attitudes and behaviors conflict.

  • Ways to reduce Bias using Cognitive Dissonance~

    • Contact Hypothesis:

• Positive contact between groups reduces prejudice

Reducing Bias

• Cognitive Dissonance: Discomfort when attitudes and behaviors conflict.

  • Ways to reduce Bias using Cognitive Dissonance~

    • Contact Hypothesis: Positive contact between groups reduces prejudice

      • when six conditions are met, including mutual _______ and _________.

• when six conditions are met, including mutual interdependence and equal status.

1. Equal status

2. Common goals

3. Cooperation

4. Institutional support

5. Personal interaction

6. Mutual interdependence

Reducing Bias

• _______ training and _________ strategies can help reduce automatic biases.

• Extensive

• cognitive control

Reducing Bias

• ______ Bias Training: Has mixed results; one-off events are less effective than continuous efforts.

• Implicit

Definition of Aggression

• Aggression:

• Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

• List the types of Aggression~

• Hostile Aggression

• Instrumental Aggression

• Relational Aggression

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

• Hostile Aggression:

• Stems from anger; the goal is to inflict pain (e.g., seeking revenge).

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

• Instrumental Aggression:

• Used as a means to achieve another goal (e.g., military operations).

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

• Relational Aggression:

• Utilizes social relationships to harm others (e.g., gossip).

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

Types and Forms

• _____, _____, & _____ aggression distinctions.

• Verbal, physical, and emotional

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

Types and Forms

• __________ involve the perception of experience and agency in acts of aggression (e.g., power dynamics between individuals).

• Moral dyads

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

Causes of Aggression

• List the types~

• Evolutionary Factors

• Biological Factors

• Cultural & Social Norms

• External Influences

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

Causes of Aggression

• Evolutionary Factors:

• Dominance and jealousy were advantageous traits in survival.

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

Causes of Aggression

• Biological Factors:

  • Brain structure (________).

  • _______ influences (serotonin and testosterone).

  • _________ studies (e.g., silver fox study).

• Brain structure (amygdala).

• Hormonal influences (serotonin and testosterone).

• Genetic studies (e.g., silver fox study).

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

Causes of Aggression

• Cultural & Social Norms:

  • Influence of a "culture of _______."

  • Aggressive _______ (e.g., weapons effect).

  • Observational _______ from social influence.

• Influence of a "culture of honor."

• Aggressive stimuli (e.g., weapons effect).

• Observational learning from social influence.

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

Causes of Aggression

• External Influences

  • ________: Includes factors such as heat, crowding, pain, frustration, and rejection.

• Discomfort

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

Causes of Aggression

• External Influences

  • Social Situations:

    • Frustration: The perception of being ______ from a goal increases aggression.

• blocked

Aggression: Intentional behavior aimed at causing harm or pain to another person.

Causes of Aggression

• External Influences

  • Social Situations:

    • ______-Aggression Theory: Explains the likelihood of aggression under frustrating circumstances.

• Frustration

Motivation for Helping

• _______ Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

• Prosocial

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

• Why Help? List the types~

• Evolutionary Psychology

• Social Exchange Theory

• Positive Mood Effect

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

• Why Help? → Evolutionary Psychology:

  • List the reasons—

• Kin Selection

• Norm of Reciprocity

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

• Why Help? → Evolutionary Psychology:

  • Kin Selection:

• Helping relatives increases survival of shared genes.

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

• Why Help?→ Evolutionary Psychology:

  • Norm of Reciprocity:

• Helping others increases the likelihood they’ll help you in return.

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

• Why Help?→ Social Exchange Theory:

• People weigh costs and benefits before helping.

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

• Why Help? → Positive Mood Effect:

• People in good moods are more likely to help (e.g., Isen & Levin, 1972 dime experiment).

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

• Empathy:

• Ability to share another's feelings and perspective.

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Empathy: Ability to share another's feelings and perspective.

• Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis (Batson):

• Helping can be motivated purely by empathy, regardless of self-interest.

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

• ______ increases helping behavior (e.g., Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006 study on helping after receiving assistance).

• Gratitude

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Barriers to Helping~ List them~

• The Bystander Effect

• Social Situations

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Barriers to Helping~ The Bystander Effect (Latane & Darley):

The presence of others reduces the likelihood of helping

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Barriers to Helping~ The Bystander Effect (Latane & Darley): The presence of others reduces the likelihood of helping

• Due to:

• Diffusion of Responsibility: Individuals feel less personal obligation in groups.

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Barriers to Helping~ Social Situations:

Fear of risk or social judgment.

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Increasing Helping Behavior

• ______ Individuals: Asking one person specifically leads to quicker and more effective help (e.g., Markey, 2000 chat study).

• Target

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Increasing Helping Behavior

• ________ Programs: Teaching about the bystander effect and promoting active intervention.

• Intervention

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Increasing Helping Behavior

• Relationships: Helping ______ by ____ of relationship:

• varies by type

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Increasing Helping Behavior

• Relationships: Helping varies by type of relationship

  • List the types~

• Communal Relationships

• Exchange Relationships

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Increasing Helping Behavior

• Relationships: Helping varies by type of relationship

  • Communal Relationships:

  • Exchange Relationships:

• Communal Relationships: Emphasize care without expectation of repayment.

• Exchange Relationships: Helping tied to reciprocity and fairness.

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Norms and Cultural Factors

• Norm of ______: Social expectation to return favors (e.g., holiday card exchanges).

• Reciprocity

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Norms and Cultural Factors

• ________: Helping is influenced by relationship type (e.g., strangers, friends, family, coworkers).

• Relational Dynamics

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Contextual Considerations

• Helping During a ______: Highlights risks and moral dilemmas.

• Pandemic

Motivation for Helping→ Prosocial Behavior: Acts intended to benefit others.

Contextual Considerations

• Behavioral Insights: Caring actions should avoid “________” to foster positive relationships.

• keeping score