Social Test #2 (Ch 4-8) (social perception, the self, Cog dissonance, attitudes and attitude change, conformity/obedience)

social perception

the study of how we form impressions of and make inferences about other people

social perception is about more than how we see each other, its about how we___why others behave as they do

explain

nonverbal communication

The way in which people communicate, intentionally or unintentionally, without words; nonverbal cues include facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, body position and movement, the use of touch, and gaze

encode

to express or emit nonverbal behavior, such as smiling or patting someone on the back, thumbs up, crossing arms (doesn't always include interacting with others)

decode

to interpret the meaning of the nonverbal behavior other people express, such as deciding that a pat on the back was an expression of condescension and not kindness

why is decoding sometimes difficult

affect blends

affect blends

facial expressions in which one part of the face registers one emotion while another part of the face registers a different emotion

Imagine a person gets a promotion but is worried about the extra responsibilities. Their face might show happiness (a smile) and fear (wide eyes and raised eyebrows) at the same time. This mix of emotions is an affect blend.

whats particular to each culture

display rules

display rules

culturally determined rules about which nonverbal behaviors are appropriate to display

emblems

nonverbal gestures that have well-understood definitions within a given culture; they usually have direct verbal translations, such as the OK sign

how we make some first impressions

facial expressions, nonverbal, how u decorate ur space

thin-slicing

drawing meaningful conclusions about another person's personality or skills based on an extremely brief sample of behavior

we can start with small observations and our schemas fill in the gaps. because of this first impressions color the way we interpret the info we learn next

primary effect

when it comes to forming impressions, the first traits we perceive in others influence how we view information that we learn about them later

belief perseverance

The tendency to stick with an initial judgment even in the face of new information that should prompt us to reconsider

attribution theory

a description of the way in which people explain the causes of their own and other people's behavior

the study of how we infer the causes of other peoples behavior

internal attribution--harold kelley

the inference that a person is behaving in a certain way because of something about the person, such as attitude, character, or personality

father is yelling because he has bad parenting skills

external attribution --harold Kelley

The inference that a person is behaving a certain way because of something about the situation he or she is in; the assumption is that most people would respond the same way in that situation

he yelled because his daughter walked into traffic

covariation model--harold Kelley

A theory that states that to form an attribution about what caused a person's behavior, we note the pattern between when the behavior occurs and the presence or absence of possible causal factors

when forming an attribution we gather data (using covariation) to find what causes their behavior

what kinds of covariation info do we examine when forming an attribution

consensus, distinctiveness, consistency

consensus info

the extent to which other people behave the same way toward the same stimulus as the actor does

if Hannah is always yelled at by multiple people maybe her job performance is to blame and her boss isn't just a jerk

distinctiveness info

the extent to which one particular actor behaves in the same way to different stimuli

if boss only yells at Hannah and no one else (high D) then what is wrong with her? but If boss yells at everyone and not just Hannah (low D) maybe he's the problem

High Distinctiveness = The behavior is unique to one person/situation (Hannah → Maybe something is wrong with her).

Low Distinctiveness = The behavior applies to many people/situations (everyone → The boss is the problem).

consistency info

the extent to which the behavior between one actor and one stimulus is the same across time and circumstances

does boss always yell at Hannah no matter the time or day, if low in consistency (he doenst do it alot) we would usually just see it as a fluke

Making attributions means explaining the causes of behaviors or events, either by attributing them to internal factors (like personality) or external factors (like the situation).

fundamental attribution error

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which people's behavior is due to internal, dispositional factors and to underestimate the role of situational factors

perceptual salience

the seeming importance of information that is the focus of people's attention

Imagine two people are having a heated argument in public. If you can only see one of them (because they’re closer or facing you), you’re more likely to think that person is the one causing the argument because they’re the most visually noticeable to you. However, the other person could be equally responsible—you just don’t notice them as much.

Two-Step Attribution Process

analyzing behavior first by making an automatic internal attribution and only then thinking about possible situational reasons for the behavior

Step 1: Your automatic reaction might be, “Wow, what a rude and careless driver!” (internal attribution).

Step 2: After thinking about it, you might realize, “Maybe they’re rushing to the hospital or having a bad day.” (adjusting for situational factors).

Often, people stop at Step 1, but making it to Step 2 helps avoid misjudging others!

self-serving attributions

explanations for one's successes that credit internal, dispositional factors and explanations for one's failures that blame external, situational factors

belief in a just world

A form of defensive attribution wherein people assume that bad things happen to bad people and that good things happen to good people

what causes people to often blame the victim because they can't belief in a sense of randomness, it helps them feel better abt a disturbing attack

bias blind spot

the tendency to think that other people are more susceptible to attributional biases in their thinking than we are

cultural differences in attribution error

both individualistic and collectivist cultures demonstrate the fundamental attribution error but collectivist cultures are more sensitive to situational causes of behavior as long as its salient

aslo evidence fro cultural differences in self-serving and belief in a just world

Attribution is how we explain the reasons behind someone's behavior, like whether it's caused by their personality or the situation they're in.

ch 5-the self

self-concept

Who am I?

Happens around 18-24 months

the overall set of beliefs that people have about their persona; attributes

independent view of the self

a way of defining oneself in terms of one's own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions and not in terms of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of other people

western culture

we think its crazy to give up ur career for a man

Interdependent View of the self

a way of defining oneself in terms of one's relationships to other people, recognizing that one's behavior is often determined by the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others

asian culture

its not crazy to Give up career for a man like marrying the prince

Schatcher-Singer Two Factor Theory

They gave people a shot of adrenaline (which makes your heart race and body feel hyped up).

Some people were told the shot would make them feel this way. Others weren't told anything or were given the wrong info.

Then, they put them in a room with an actor who was either super happy or really angry.

The people who didn't know the shot was causing their body's reaction looked at the actor and thought, "Oh, I must be happy too!" or "Wow, I'm mad!"

The people who knew the shot would make them feel weird didn't fall for it—they just thought, "Oh yeah, that's just the shot."

self is socially constructed and may differ from culture to culture

4 main functions of the self

self-knowledge, self-control, impression management, self-esteem

self-knowledge

the way we understand who we are and formulate and organize this information

introspection

self-control

the way we make plans and execute decisions

impression management

the way we present ourselves to other people and get them to see us the way we want to be seen

self-esteem

the way in which we try to maintain positive views of ourselves

introspection

the process whereby people look inward and examine their own thoughts, feelings, and motives

self- awareness theory

the idea that when people focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behavior to their internal standards and values

we may try to escape self (like drugs and alc), or figure out why we feel the way we do

causal theories

theories about the causes of one's own feelings and behaviors; often we learn such theories from our culture (like absence makes the heart grow fonder)

so if introspection can't always reveal who we are or why we do what we do how else do we figure it out?

we can know ourselves by observing our own behavior

self-perception theory

2 factor theory of emotion

self-perception theory

The theory that when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our behavior and the situation in which it occurs

Imagine you start volunteering at an animal shelter. You never really thought of yourself as an "animal lover," but over time, you notice that you enjoy spending time with the animals and look forward to helping them. Because of this, you start to believe, "I must really love animals!"

In this case, you figured out something about yourself (your love for animals) by observing your own behavior (volunteering and enjoying it).

two factor theory of emotion

the idea that emotional experience is the result of a two-step self-perception process in which people first experience physiological arousal and then seek an appropriate explanation for it

you first experience psychological arousal then attach an explanation to it, my heart is pounding-oh its because I like this person, the next day its because ur at the gym, then its because u are anxious

misattribution of arousal

the process whereby people make mistaken inferences about what is causing them to feel the way they do

like approaching a guy after he runs, his arousal is high so he thinks he likes her alot and calls her later, but the same guy sat on a bench yesterday without arousal because no activity and the same woman approached but he didn't call the next day

positive reinforcement

giving an award each time a beahvior occurs will increase the likelihood of that behavior

intrinsic motivation

the desire to engage in an activity because we enjoy it or find it interesting, not because of external rewards or pressures

extrinsic motivation

the desire to engage in an activity because of external rewards or pressures, not because we enjoy the task or find it interesting

over justification effect

the tendency for people to view their behavior as caused by compelling extrinsic reasons, making them underestimate the extent to which it was caused by intrinsic reasons

like a child who actually likes to read but then teacher says they will also get a reward if they read, so now it turns external so the child will assume its only because of the external and not because they like it, this makes them less likely to read in the future

test-contingent rewards

rewards that are given for performing a task, regardless of how well the task is done

performance-contingent rewards

rewards that are based on how well we perform a task

better to reward kids for doing well not just for doing something because it will increase interest as they will also believe they are good at what they are being rewarded for

fixed mindset

the idea that we have a set amount of an ability that cannot change

growth mindset

the idea that achievement is the result of working hard, trying new strategies, and seeking input from others

using other ppl to know ourselves

social, upward, and downward social comparison

social comparison theory

The idea that we learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves to other people

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

self-control

the ability to subdue immediate desires to achieve long-term goals

implementation intentions

people's specific plans about when, where, and how they will fulfill a goal and avoid temptations

impression management

the attempt by people to get others to see them as they want to be seen

ingratiation

the process whereby people flatter, praise, and generally try to make themselves likable to another person, often of higher status

self-handicapping

the strategy whereby people create obstacles and excuses for themselves so that if they do poorly on a task, they can avoid blaming themselves

behavioral self-handicapping

people act in ways that reduce the likelihood that they will succeed on a task so that if they fail, they can blame it on the obstacles they created rather than on their lack of ability

reported self-handicapping

rather than creating obstacles to success, people devise ready-made excuses in case they fail

like bad mood and test anxiety

ch 6--Cog dissonance + need to protect self esteem

psychs most important theory and who developed it

cognitive dissonance, Leon Festinger

cognitive dissonance

the discomfort that people feel when two cognitions (beliefs, attitudes) conflict, or when they behave in ways that are inconsistent with their conception of themselves

how to reduce cog dissonance (which we must do)

and state how smoking cigs knowing its unhealthy is represented in each reduction

change behavior, change cognition, or add new cognition (consonant cognitions)

ex, smoking but u find out its bad for you, throw them out is behavior, dont believe it causes cancer is change cog, believe it relaxes you is add a new cog

postdecision dissonance

dissonance aroused after making a decision, typically reduced by enhancing the attractiveness of the chosen alternative and devaluating the rejected alternatives

For example, after buying a Honda, you might initially worry that the Toyota had better gas mileage or the Ford was cheaper. To reduce this dissonance, you start emphasizing the positives of your Honda—how reliable it is, how smooth it drives—and downplaying the rejected cars by thinking, The Toyota wasn’t as comfortable anyway or The Ford probably wouldn’t have lasted as long. This mental shift helps you feel more confident in your decision.

the more important the decision the greater the dissonance

why are people more happier with a final sales final than with a decision they could take back

the more permeant the more need to reduce dissonance

When a decision is permanent—like when a car purchase is final sale—you can’t change your mind, so the dissonance (regret or doubt) is stronger. Since you’re stuck with your choice, your brain works harder to reduce the discomfort by convincing you that you made the best decision.

justification of effort

the tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain, especially if they have freely chosen to exert that effort

to clean ur room u buy a pre made storage box or one that u have to assemble, both the same price--this effect saays that if we CHOOSE to get the one u have to assemble, and u spent time on building it, you would like it more that the one that came pre made

counterattitudinal behavior

acting in a way that runs counter to ones private beliefs (that dress is so cute but u think it's ugly)

external justification

explaining a counterattitudinal behavior as due to something about the situation or environment--explaining a counter attitudinal beavhior as due to something in external environment--Jen spent so much money get her dresses tailored, so u have to say its cute to avoid dissonance

dissonance

psychological discomfort

internal justification

the reduction of dissonance by changing something about oneself--say Jen is wealthy and can get another dress but u lie and say its cute--knowlege that u lied crashes with the belief that ur a good person=dissoance--now u will name all the good things about the dress trying to say it wasn't that ugly

the justification of kindness

if we have done someone a personal favor, we are likely to feel more positively toward that person than if we don't do the favor or do the favor because of an impersonal request

justifying immoral acts and explain this in context of cheating on an exam

we will try to justify the action by minimizing its negative aspects (dictator says its for the good of the country, cheating on an exam says it doesn't harm anyone, or not cheating when tempted may justify giving up a good grade by saying cheating is the worse thing)

insufficient punishment and explain how this relates to the toy experiment

the dissonance aroused when individuals lack sufficient external justification for having resisted a desired activity or object, usually resulting in individuals devaluing the forbidden activity or object

when there isnt a lot of external justification (a harsh punishment) there needs to be an increase in internal justification--children are told not to play with a toy but given a mild threat/punishmnet, they will still listen because it builds their internal justification, they will find a way to help their dissonance and say that they really dont even like the toy that much, even though the threat was mild. with a harsh threat, they are more likely to play with it. why? Severe punishment provides strong external justification, meaning children obey out of fear rather than changing their internal beliefs, and internal beliefs is better for listening in the long run because they still believe they like the toy vs believing they dont

hypocrisy induction

The arousal of dissonance by having individuals make statements that run counter to their behaviors and then reminding them of the inconsistency between what they advocated and their behavior. The purpose is to lead individuals to more responsible behavior.

like researching the importance of using condoms and then being told to think abt all the times they didn't use condoms vs those that just reasreched it. this caused dissonance because they are preaching what they aren't practicing, so to resolve this and mantain self esteem they have to start practicing what they preach

dissonance can be seen differently in cultures --like foreign exchange wanting to take cultural identity and identity of peers

self-affirmation theory

the idea that people can reduce threats to their self-esteem by affirming themselves in areas unrelated to the source of the threat

yeah I may eat meat even tho its hurts animals but I'm a really good student

Self-Evaluation Maintenance Theory

The idea that people experience dissonance when someone close to us outperforms us in an area that is central to our self-esteem. This dissonance can be reduced by becoming less close to the person, changing our behavior so that we now outperform them, or deciding that the area is not that important to us after all.

narcissism

the combination of excessive self-love and a lack of empathy toward others

terror management theory

the theory that self-esteem serves as a buffer, protecting people from terrifying thoughts about their own mortality

ch 7--attitudes and attitude change

attitudes

evaluations of people, objects, and ideas

attitudes determine__

what we do

where do attitudes come from

genetics (twins have similar attitudes even if raised in diff homes)--like temperament makes u more likely or not to like rollercosters and social experinces

three components of attitudes

affective, cognitive, behavioral

any attitude can be based on 1 of these or a combo of these

cognitively based attitude

an attitude based primarily on people's beliefs about the properties of an attitude object--how well that vacuum works, how well it picks up dirt, straight facts