AP Psych Unit 9 Social Psychology

Attribution theory

Proposed by Fritz Heider, a theory where we can credit or blame (attitude) the behavior on the person’s internal stable traits, or we can attribute it to the external situation.

Dispositional attribution theory

Relates to the personality traits, credit or blaming someones behavior because of their internal, enduring traits.

Situational attribution theory

Relates to what is actually happening in their environment, crediting or blaming their behavior on the external situation.

Fundamental attribution error

Error in way of thought: the tendency, when analyzing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and overestimate the impact of personal disposition. Basically quick to judge someones character.

Attitude

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

Peripheral route persuasion

Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues such as a speaker's attractiveness or emotional appeal, rather than the content of the message itself.

Central route persuasion

Occurs when people are influenced by arguments and respond with favorable thoughts (uses logic, facts, arguments, stats.)

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request involving gradual increasing demands.

Door-in-the-face phenomenon

A largely unreasonable request that is denied, followed by a more reasonable request.

Low-ball technique

A persuasion strategy where a commitment is gained from a person at a low cost, but then the cost is increased after the commitment is made.

Role

A set of expectations about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave. (Philip Zimbardo= Standford Prison experiment).

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

The theory that suggests people experience discomfort from holding conflicting beliefs or behaviors, prompting them to change one to reduce the dissonance.

self-serving bias

An idea where you will always make yourself look good, you will downplay your character, and overestimate the environment.

Norms

understood rules for accepted and expected behavior

Chameleon effect

The tendency to mimic the behaviors and mannerisms of others, often unconsciously, to promote social bonding and acceptance.

Conformity

Adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard because of real or imagined pressure to fit in.

Normative social influence

Action based, influenced resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid diapproval

Informational social influence

Opinions are based, influenced by a person's desire to be correct and gain accurate information. Usually, people look at others to see if something is “correct.”

Soloman Asch

Known for giving the line test and see if people conform

Stanley Milgram

Conducting over 20 replication and trails of his obedience study (lab test with the teacher, shock thing), More than 60% complied fully to the last switch (2/3rds).

Positive Hearding

positivity creates more positive

Minority Influence

The power of a few to sway the majority

Social Facilitation

improved performance when people are watching, also it can happen if your bad at something people do better are watching

Social Loafing

Tendency for individuals to put in less effort when working in a group compared to working alone.

Deindividuation

Loss of self-awareness and individual accountability in groups, often leading to an increase in impulsive and deviant behavior. (Seen in mob behavior)

Group Polarization

The tendency for group discussions to amplify the beliefs and attitudes of group members, leading to more extreme positions.

Group think

A mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives, often leading to poor decisions.

Culture

The shared beliefs, values, customs, and behaviors of a group of people, which shape their worldview and influence their social interactions.

Culture Shock

When we don’t understand what’s expected or accepted, we may experience culture shock