Social Psychology Final

nonverbal communication

communication without words (facial expression, tone, gestures, body positions, touch, eye gaze)

encoded

expressed

decoded

interpreted

nonverbal expressions of pride are…

universal

The nonverbal behaviors that are considered appropriate or normative…

vary by cultureand can influence social interactions.

Rule, Ambady, & Hallett (2009)

research supported the hypothesis that from facial features, a woman’s sexual orientation could be determined.

thin slice judgement

is the ability to make quick assessments about others based on brief observations of their behavior.

impressions tend to be _____ over time

stable

primacy effect

what we learn first about someone impacts how we interpret things we learn about them later on

trait schemas

mental shortcuts for sets of traits that we believe “go together”

ex: halo effect

belief perseverance

tendency to stick with an initial judgement even in the face of new info that should make us reconsider that judgement

cognitive dissonance

discomfort when we have two conflicting beliefs/attitudes

natural desire to avoid/resolve dissonance when it occurs

attributions

explanations for a behavior or outcome

internal attribution

this person’s behavior/outcomes are because of something about this person, such as attitude, character, or personality

external attribution

this person’s outcomes/behavior is because of something about the situation they are in (most people would respond the same way/get the same outcome in that situ

fundamental attribution error

overestimate the extent to which others’ behavior is due to internal factors AND underestimate the extent to which others’ behavior is due to external factors

Castro Essay Experiment demonstrates…

Fundamental attribution error

in the Castro Essay experiment, what happened when P’s learned that the essay writer chose which position to write about?

Ps assumed the essay position reflected the writer’s true attitude

What happened when Ps learned that the essay writer had no choice in their position?

Ps still assumed the essay position reflected the writer’s true attitude

Why is internal attribution our default?

It is easy, occurs quickly with little effort

2 step attribution process

we first make an internal attribution for behavior and only after that do we think about possible external/situational causes for the behavior

Self serving bias in attributions

we tend to attribute our successes to internal factors and our failures to external factors

White privilege

unearned advantages that White people get simply because they are White

Why are white people threatened by the idea of White privilege?

because it is difficult for white people to think that they might be ignorant or privileged

Motivations that lead to self serving attributes

self-esteem motive

self presentation motive (make a good impression, gain others’ acceptance)

Cognitive processes that lead to self-serving attributions

positive outcomes → consistent w/ self view → internal attribution

negative outcomes → inconsistent w/ self view → external attribution

bias blind spot

we tend to think that other people are more susceptible to attributional biases than we are

cultural differences in explaining success (self-serving bias)

individualist cultures tend to attribute success to the individual

collectivist cultures tend to attribute success to those around the individual

Groups must include…

interaction and interdependence

interaction

all members within a group interact with each other

interdependence

shared needs and goals such that the members influence each other

functions of groups

accomplish goals that would be hard to accomplish alone

satisfy human need for belonging

satisfy human desire to be distinctive/special

help define our self-concept

social facilitation

the presence of other people improves individual performance when compared to doing the task alone

Simple tasks in front of an audience

social facilitation (well-learned, dominant or basic response required)

complex tasks in front of an audience

social interference (novel/new, non-dominant or complicated response required)

social interference

the presence of other people hinders individual performance compared to when doing the task alone

Why are complex tasks harder to do in front of others?

Heightens arousal, concern with being evaluated

Performance in a group study 1 - results

when participants knew that their individual responses were not being counted, they put in less work overall than when their individual contributions were being counted.

Social loafing

when people are in the presence of others and their individual performance cannot be evaluated they tend to perform worse (compared to when alone)

Performance in group study 2 - results

external motivation (prize) increased contribution in both the “group ideas tallied” condition and the “individual ideas tallied” condition.

deindividuation

when surrounded by others, an individual may adopt thoughts and actions of the group and lose individual identity

power

the ability to control one’s own outcomes as well as the outcomes of others

behaviors in high power

more “approach” behaviors (goal driven behaviors, less concerned with others’ evaluation, can lead to rash decision making)

low power behaviors

more “inhibition” behaviors (restrained behavior, careful in making judgements/decisions, concerned w/ evaluation from others)

Power and perspective taking study - results

participants who wrote a story about a time when they were in power were more likely to draw a self-oriented E than those who had to write a story where they had to submit to someone else - consistent w/ hypothesis

power and empathy

more power = less likely to empathize with others

power and stereotypes

more power = more likely to rely on stereotypes rather than getting to know others individually

groups tend to focus on ________ information, which can lead to ineffective problem solving.

shared

shared information bias most likely to arise when:

• there is a desire to reach closure quickly

• people want their contributions to be accepted by group mems

• individuals within the group are encouraged to be competitive rather than cooperative

Group motives and shared information bias study - results

when groups are asked to come to a joint decision, share rate was significantly higher. when groups were asked to compete against each other, far less information was shared.

Groupthink

when maintaining group cohesiveness and solidarity is more important than considering the facts in a realistic manner

desire to be accepted by group overrides rational decisionmaking

illusion of consensus

since no one is disagreeing with the group or paying attention to dissenting views, it seems like the group is in total agreement

combatting groupthink

seeking outside opinions from people not in the group

seek anonymous opinions

assign a “devils advocate”

discussions within like-minded groups creating more extreme attitudes study - results

people assume their attitude was strong all along, not impacted by the group

group polarization occurs when…

individuals are exposed to new persuasive arguments aligned with the initial attitude

there is a desire to be accepted by the group

stereotyping

cognitive - associations between a group and particular traits (often unconscious/automatic)

prejudice

emotional - negative feelings towards other groups

Discrimination

behavioral - treating people differently/worse based on their group membership

stereotypes are mental _________ and often come at the expense of _________.

shortcuts, accuracy

Stereotype Content Model

warmth and competence scales

where do stereotypes come from?

observing how others are treated

observing what others do

media portrayals

stereotypes often encourage us to _________ differences _________ groups and _____________ differences __________ groups.

underestimate, within, overestimate, between

Social identity threat

feeling of threat experienced when someone perceives that others are evaluating them as a member of their group rather than as an individual

Stereotype threat

a type of social identity threat where target worries about the fact that they are going to be evaluated as their stereotypes - desire to disprove negative stereotypes about their group

race salience study - results

black students performed much worse on a test where they had to indicate their race beforehand

stereotype threat → anxiety/rumination/distraction → impaired performance

combatting stereotype threat

removing the weight of the stereotype, making salient another identity that does not carry negative stereotypes, self affirmation, learning about social identity threat

positive stereotype study - results

increase in negative feelings in asian american students when they were told to do a specific problem because “asians are good at math”

negative stereotype perception

how much do you think this person also thinks you are… subservient, spineless, gullible, whiny, fussy, emotional

descriptive stereotypes

how most people in a group supposedly think, feel, and behave/what characteristics they have

prescriptive stereotypes

how people in a group supposedly SHOULD think, feel, and behave/what characteristics they SHOULD have

how does it feel to be the target of a descriptive stereotype?

creates pressure to fit a certain image

often easier to stay within bounds of expectations

how does it feel to be the target of prescriptive stereotypes?

demand conformity with certain thoughts, feelings, behaviors

limiting options of the stereotyped group

most of us think of discrimination as…

overt, intentional, explicit

microaggressions

everyday slights, insults, putdowns, invalidations, or offensive behaviors that people experience in everyday interactions

inaction as a form of discrimination

failing to represent/value the experiences of people with minoritized identities

academic role model study - results

when native american students had a native american role model, they tended to feel a greater sense of belonging

institutional (structural) discrimination

differential treatment based on group membership that is established (accepted as normal; ingrained) in the everyday practices or policies of organizations

mitigating institutional discrimination

policy changes (DEI trainings, objective and transparent evaluation criteria)

social identity

part of a person’s self-concept based on their identification with a particular social group

impact how we perceive and treat people within and outside of those identities

ingroup bias

we tend to favor people within our own group and give ingroup members special preferences compared to people in other groups

outgroup homogeneity

perception that individuals in the outgroup are more similar to each other than they really are, and more similar to each other than members of the ingroup are to each other(“they” are all alike)

the contact hypothesis

the prediction that social interactions between social groups will reduce prejudice/discrimination

challenges with intergroup contact

lack of opportunity

mistrust between groups

can increase hostility if relations between groups are already hostile/violent

deep dive topic

stereotype threat in the context of women in a male-dominated field

findings of the ambient identity cues study

room with items congruent with stereotypical computer science majors made women indicate less interest in comp sci overall as compared to in a room with items incongruent with stereotypical comp sci majors.

Whistling Vivaldi strategy

a tactic where someone from a marginalized group consciously performs a behavior associated with a positive stereotype (like whistling classical music, specifically Vivaldi) to counteract negative stereotypes about their group when in a situation where they might be judged based on those stereotypes, essentially trying to signal their positive identity and alleviate anxieties in others around them

why is the whistling vivaldi strategy not a good strategy to combat stereotype threat?

it is not fair to ask people to change how they behave because they are the target of a stereotype. it can be superficial and exacerbate anxiety associated with the stereotype