Unit 4 | Social Psychology, Personality, Motivation, Emotion

prosocial behavior

actions intended to benefit others

social influence theory

the study of how a person’s thoughts and behavior are influenced by others

attribution

the theory that we explain the success of others by accrediting it to either their disposition, or their environment

situational attribution

attributing outcomes to external factors/the environment

situational variables

the variables of a person’s environment that impact their behavior

Fundamental Attribution Error

the tendency for observers to overestimate the effects of a person’s disposition on the outcome and underestimate environmental factors

example: thinking a waiter is clumsy when they slip instead of noticing the floor is wet

actor observer bias

the tendency to attribute our own behavior to situational factors and others’ behavior to dispositional factors

self serving bias

the tendency to view oneself favorably

• our successes = our dispositional factors

• our failures = situational factors

false consensus effect

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs

just world phenomenon

belief that the world is “just” and people get what they asked for (often leads to victim blaming)

mere exposure effect

the phenomenon that increasing exposure to something gets us to like it (you hate a song at first but like it after it’s played 10x on the radio)

Elaboration Likelihood Model

a theory of persuasion that suggests there are two ways to change a person’s mind:

1. central route: focusing on the logic and facts of an argument (focusing on the topic at hand and using reason)

2. peripheral route: focusing on surface level, off-topic cues, like attractiveness or celebrity endorsements

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

the theory that we act in ways to reduce the discomfort of having conflicting thoughts

(for example, smoking but knowing it’s bad, so you tell yourself you’ll quit soon)

foot in the door technique

persuading someone to purchase something or do something by getting a person to initially comply with a smaller request

door in the face technique

asking for a large outrageous request (getting the door slammed in your face deliberately) to make a smaller one (the request you actually want fulfilled) seem more reasonable

social norms

understood rules for accepted behavior

norms of reciprocity

the norm that people will help those that have helped them

social responsibility norm

the expectation that people will help those in need, even if costs outweigh the benefits

in-group bias

the tendency to favor our own group

out-group homogeneity bias

the tendency to see outside groups as all the same, while viewing your own group as nuanced and different

implicit attitude

an attitude at the unconscious level unknown to ourselves

social facilitation

performing in front of an audience facilitates a better performance

social inhibition

performing in front of an audience impairs our performance

conformity

adjusting our behavior to match a group standard

normative social influence

conforming because we seek social approval (or at least want to avoid disapproval)—people might conform even though they KNOW it’s wrong with this type

informational social influence

people conform because they believe the majority opinion is true, or they come to believe that

obedience studies

refers to milgram’s study—what does it require to get someone to obey orders

bystander effect

the tendency for bystanders to be less likely to intervene if other bystanders are present (do to social diffusion of responsibility)

superordinate goals

shared goals that override individualistic differences and require group cooperation

upward social comparison

comparing yourself to someone better—can lead to frustration

downward social comparison

comparing yourself to someone worse—makes you feel better

Relative Deprivation Theory

basically just the idea that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence—that you’re worse off compared to others, or relatively deprived compared to others

social loafing

the tendency for people to exert less effort when part of a group (because somebody has the logic others will do the heavy lifting)

group polarization

the enhancing of a group’s beliefs or increasing intensity of their inclinations due to discussions within the group (all of which have similar beliefs)

example: if a group of people who slightly dislike a movie talk about it for an hour, most of them will leave the room now hating it

groupthink

the harmony in thought that prevails in a group over the desire for realistic, better alternatives

example: members of a group censor their own doubts to keep the peace or follow a strong leader, which ends up leading to an awful decision

deindividuation

“the mob mentality”: when you’re in a crowd, you lose identity and “face” because you feel anonymous, thus prompting you to do behaviors you’d never do on your own (for example, cyberbullying)