Psychology Chapter 11: Social Psychology

Social psychology

study of human cognition, emotion, and behavior in relation to others

Confederates

people secretly working for the researchers

Social cognition

the way one thinks about others, attends to social information and uses information in life, both consciously and unconsciously

Attributions

beliefs we develop to explain human behaviors and characteristics, as well as solutions

Observer

person making the attribution

Actor

person exhibiting the behavior of interest

Fundamental attribution error

tendency to use dispositional attribution rather than situational attribution; blame the person over the environment

Dispositional error

particular type of internal attribution wherein behaviors are assumed to result from traits or personality characteristics (ex: “she was late bc she is snotty”)

Situational error

external attribution wherein behaviors are assumed to be a result from situational factors (ex: “she was late bc of traffic”)

Just-world hypothesis

assumes that if people are suffering, they must have done something to deserve it; the world is a fair place and “bad” things happen for a reason

False consensus effect

the tendency to overestimate the degree to which others think and act like we do

Self-serving bias

people who attribute their successes to internal characteristics and their failures to the enviornment

Attitudes

relatively stable thoughts, feelings, and responses we have toward people, situations, ideas, and things

Cognitive dissonance

the tension that results when a behavior clashes w an attitude (ex: “I know smoking is bad but I do it anyways”)

Social influence

how a person is affected by others as evidenced in behaviors, emotions, and cognition

Persuasion

one intentionally tries to make other people change their beliefs and attitudes which may/may not lead to changes in their behavior

The source

people are more likely to be persuaded if the individual or organization sending the message is credible

The message

persuasion is more likely if the delivery of the message is logical and to the point

The audience

many characteristics are important, ex: age (adults are harder to convince than children) emotion: happy people are more persuadable

Elaboration likelihood method

proposes that the way people process information can impact how persuadable they are

Central route

those who think critically and focus on the content of the message

Peripheral route

those who pay more attention to “simple, irrelevant cues”

Compliance

occurs when people voluntarily change their behavior at the request or direction of another person (or group) that generally has no authority over them

Foot-in-the-door

making a small request followed by a larger one

Door-in-the-face

making a large, sometimes unreasonable request followed by a smaller one

Conformity

the tendency to modify our behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions to match others

What are the three major reasons for conformity?

1) Normative social influence

2) Informational social influence

3) Reference group

Normative social influence

most of us want the approval of others and this desire for acceptance may influence our behaviors

Informational social influence

we follow others in order to be “correct”

Reference group

we conform to other bc they belong to a certain group we respect/admire/long to join

Obedience

occurs when we change our behaviors, or act in a way we might not normally act bc we have been ordered to do that by an authority figure

Social facilitation

personal performance may improve when the activity is fairly straightforward and the person is adequately prepped

Social loafing

tendency for people to put forth less than their best effort when individual contributions are too complicated to measure

Diffusion of responsibility

sharing of responsibilities among all group member; can lead to feelings of decreased accountability and motivation

Deindividuation

diminished sense of personal responsibility, inhibition, or adherence to social norms that occurs when group members are not treated as individuals

Group polarization

the tendency for group members to take a more extreme stance after deliberation

Group think

the tendency for group members to maintain cohesiveness and agreement in decision making and fail to consider alternatives

Bystander effect

tendency for people to avoid getting involved in a situation bc they think someone else will help

Aggression

intimidating or threatening behavior or attitudes intended to hurt someone

Microaggressions

smaller, more “subtle” forms of aggression , often repeated

Frustration-aggression hypothesis

we all exhibit aggressive behavior when placed in a frustrating situation

Direct aggression

common in men, physical displays like hitting

Relational aggression

common in women, indirect and aimed at relationships, like gossip, exclusion, ignoring

Sterotypes

the conclusions or inferences we make about people who are different from us based on their group membership (race, sex, religion, etc)

In-group

the group to which we belong

Out-group

people outside the group to which we belong

Scapegoat

target of negative emotions, beliefs, and behaviors. typically a member of the out-group who receives the blame

Social identity

how we view ourselves w/in a social group

Ethnocentrism

seeing the world only from the perspective of one’s own group

Discrimination

showing favoritism or hostility to others bc of their affiliation w a group

Prejudice

holding hostile or negative attitudes toward an individual or group

Stereotype threat

a “situational threat” to which individuals are aware of others’ negative expectations, which lead to a fear of being judged or treated as inferior.

Social roles

positions we hold in social groups and the responsibilities and expectations associated w these roles

Altruism

helping others w no expectation of something in return

Interpersonal attraction

the factors that lead us to form friendships or romantic relationships w others

Proximity

nearness; plays an important roles in the formation of relationships

Mere-exposure effect

the more we are exposed to someone or something, the more positive our reaction to it becomes

Romantic love

love that is a combination of connection, concern, care, and intimacy

Compainonate love

love that consists of profound fondness, understanding, and emotional closeness

Consummate love

love that combines intimacy, commitment, and passion