AP Psych Mod 74-80

Social Psychologists

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

attribution theory

theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition

• dispositional attribution: credit to traits

• situational attribution: credit to situation

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analyzing other's’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

attitudes

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

peripheral route persuasion

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

• trigger emotion-based snap judgements

central route persuasion

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

• evidence/arguments trigger careful thinking

• more durable

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

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

role

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

Philip Zimbardo

Stanford prison experiment

• you become your roles over time

Leon Festinger

cognitive dissonance theory

cognitive dissonance theory

the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when 2 of our thoughts are inconsistent

• when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes

norms

understood rules for accepted and expected behavior, they prescribe “proper” behavior

conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

Solomon Asch

Asch line test

• conformity

• 3rd time people say wrong line and you hesitate

• more than 1/3 of the time people go along with group even when they think a different answer

normative social influence

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

informational social influence

influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept other’s opinions about reality

Stanley Milgram

shocking learner for wrong answers, even when in distress

• obedience

  • highest when:

    • person giving orders was close and seen as authority figure

    • supported by powerful/prestigious institution

    • depersonalized, distanced

    • no models for defiance

social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others

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

deindividuation

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

group polarization

the enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group (w/ similar ideas)

groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

culture

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

• supports survival and reproduction by transmitting learned behaviors that give a group an edge

prejudice

an unjustifiable attitude towards a group and its members

• generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and predisposition to discriminatory action

stereotypes

a generalized belief about a group of people (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized)

discriminate

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

explicit prejudice

aware of it

implicit prejudice

unconsciously discriminating

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

test with quick pairing of image to trait to show negative associations and automatic prejudice

just-world phenomenon

the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get

ingroup

“us”- people with whom we share a common identity

outgroup

“them”- those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup

ingroup bias

the tendency to favor our own bias

scapegoat theory

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

other-race effect

the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races

aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally

frustration-aggression principle

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

social scripts

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

mere exposure effect

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

passionate love

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

• short term

two-factor theory of emotion

explains intense positive absorption of romantic love

• assumes: emotions are made from physical arousal and cognitive appraisal, and arousal from any source can enhance emotion, depending on how we interpret and label the arousal

companionate love

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

• long term

equity

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

• helps sustain and satisfying companionate love

self-disclosure

the act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

bystander effect

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

social exchange theory

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

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 needing their help

conflict

a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas

social traps

a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behavior

mirror-image perceptions

mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive

self-fulfilling prophecies

a belief that leads to its own fulfillment

superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

GRIT

a strategy designed to decrease international tensions

• Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction

• one side announces its recognition of mutual interest and intent to reduce tensions and then does 1+ conciliatory act first the other then does similar