psyc 102 lec 9

Social Psychology

The field that seeks to understand, explain, and predict how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others

Social Cognition

How we perceive and interpret ourselves and others in our social world

ABC Model of Attitudes – Affective Component

How we feel toward an object (e.g., "I'm afraid of tigers")

ABC Model of Attitudes – Behavioural Component

How we behave toward an object; predispositions to act (e.g., "I will run away from tigers")

ABC Model of Attitudes – Cognitive Component

What we believe about an object (e.g., "Tigers are dangerous")

Developing and Shaping Attitudes

Parents play a major role early on; we generalize individual experiences into overall attitudes; peers, teachers, media, and social media also shape attitudes as we mature

Mere Thought Effect

Just thinking about something makes it more significant and important to a person

Cognitive Dissonance

Emotional discomfort that results from holding contradictory beliefs or a belief that contradicts one's behaviour; to reduce discomfort, we change our beliefs to justify our actions

Festinger and Carlsmith's Study

Participants paid $1 to describe a boring task as fun reported enjoying it more than those paid $20; demonstrates cognitive dissonance — low payment forced internal justification

Self-Perception Alternative

When uncertain of our attitudes, we infer them by observing our own behaviour; used when attitudes are unclear or behaviour is only slightly out of character

Attitude Specificity

The more specific an attitude, the more likely it is to predict behaviour (e.g., "I love McDonald's" predicts going there better than "I don't mind fast food")

Attitude Strength

Stronger attitudes predict behaviour more accurately than weak or vague attitudes

Social Desirability

Attitudes that mirror what we think others desire in a person

Social Desirable Responding

The tendency to respond in a way we believe will be viewed favourably by others rather than providing honest or accurate responses; has major impacts on research

Implicit Attitudes

An attitude or belief that we are unaware of; assessed through the Implicit Association Test (IAT)

Stereotypes

Fixed, overgeneralized, and oversimplified beliefs about a person or group based on assumptions about the group; cognitive component of prejudice

Prejudice

Negative and unjust feelings about individuals based on their inclusion in a particular group; the affective component

Discrimination

Negative and unjust treatment of individuals based on stereotypes and prejudices; the behavioural component

Mere Categorization Effect

The tendency to identify with a group based on similarities and differences, forming in-groups (us) and out-groups (them)

Realistic Conflict Theory

Argues that competition and prejudice arise between groups because of conflict over scarce resources

Social Identity Theory

Emphasizes social cognitive factors in the onset of prejudice; prejudice emerges from social categorization, social identity, and social comparison

Social Categorization

We affiliate with a group to figure out how to act and react in the world

Social Identity

We form an identity with a group

Social Comparison

We compare our group favourably with other groups, creating a sense of superiority and positive well-being

Central Route of Persuasion

Focuses on content, factual information, and logic to change attitudes (e.g., a car ad emphasizing fuel efficiency)

Peripheral Route of Persuasion

Focuses on superficial information, feelings, and impressions to change attitudes (e.g., a beer ad showing an attractive person)

Aids to Persuasion – The Source

Persuasion is more effective when the source is knowledgeable and likable, similar to us, and presents both sides of an issue

Appeals to Fear

A persuasion technique where ads make it seem like something bad will happen if you do not comply

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

Getting a person to agree to something small so they will agree to something larger later

Door-in-the-Face Technique

Asking for something very large knowing it will be refused, then asking for the smaller thing you actually wanted

Barriers to Persuasion

Forewarning an audience raises their defenses; beginning with a weak argument makes subsequent arguments seem weaker

Attributions

Causal explanations of behaviour

Dispositional (Internal) Attribution

The belief that behaviour was caused by the person's own traits, personality, or character

Situational (External) Attribution

The belief that behaviour was caused by external circumstances or the situation

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to use dispositional attributions to explain the behaviour of other people, even when situational factors are more likely

Actor-Observer Effect

The tendency to make situational attributions about our own behaviour and dispositional attributions about the behaviour of others

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute our successes to internal causes (our ability) and our failures to external causes (bad luck)

Norms

Social rules about how members of a society are expected to act; provide order and predictability; can be explicit or implicit

Descriptive Norms

Agreed-on expectations about what members of a group actually do

Injunctive Norms

Agreed-on expectations about what members of a group ought to do

Social Role

A set of norms ascribed to a person's social position; includes expectations and duties associated with one's position in family, work, and community

Stanford Prison Experiment (1971)

Conducted by Philip Zimbardo; participants so completely absorbed their roles as guards and prisoners that the experiment was stopped after 6 days due to psychological torture and physical harm

Conformity

The tendency to yield to social pressure

The Asch Studies

Participants matched line lengths; despite an obvious correct answer, ~75% conformed to confederates' wrong answers; key factor is group unanimity; effect weakens below 4 group members

Individualistic Cultures and Conformity

Conformity is viewed negatively; members want to stand out and be different

Collectivistic Cultures and Conformity

Value fitting in; conformity is seen as a sign of maturity, respect for others, and appropriate self-control

Obedience

The act of following direct commands, usually given by an authority figure

Milgram Experiment (1961)

Studied how far people would go harming others under authority; no participant stopped before 300 volts; 65% continued to the highest shock level

Group

An organized, stable collection of individuals in which members are aware of and influence one another and share a common identity

Group Dynamics

How membership or participation in a group influences our thoughts and behaviours

Additive Task

Members perform parallel actions; productivity increases with group size

Conjunctive Task

The group is only as productive as its weakest member; larger groups may not be more productive

Disjunctive Task

A single solution is required; the most competent member is likely to provide it; larger groups are more likely to have a strong member

Divisible Task

Requires simultaneous performance of several tasks; a larger group with a coordinating leader is optimal

Social Facilitation

Improvement in performance because others are present; includes co-action effects and audience effects; applies to both physical and mental tasks

Co-Action Effects

Performance improves just because other people are doing the same task alongside you

Audience Effects

Performance improves because you are doing something in front of an audience (though some people perform worse when observed)

Social Loafing

The phenomenon where people exert less effort to achieve a goal when working in a group than when working alone; most common when individual contributions are not obvious

Group Polarization

Initial attitudes become more intense and extreme with group interaction; the group as a whole moves toward a more extreme position than any individual held initially

Groupthink

Faulty group decision making as a result of trying too hard to agree; members suppress dissenting opinions to maintain group harmony and cohesiveness

Altruism

Self-sacrificing behaviour carried out for the benefit of others

Egoistic Helping Behaviours

Helping motivated by a desire to reduce one's own personal distress or to receive rewards

Bystander Effect (Apathy)

The more people present, the less likely any one person will attempt to help

Diffusion of Responsibility

We are less likely to assist in a large group because the responsibility to help is shared among all those present

Bystander Intervention Steps

To intervene, a bystander must: 1) notice the event, 2) interpret it as an emergency, 3) feel personal responsibility, 4) consider what assistance is needed, 5) implement action

Aggression

A broad range of behaviours intended to harm others; has a genetic component; associated with high testosterone and low serotonin

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

We become aggressive in response to frustration

Relational Aggression (Women)

A form of aggression more common in women involving snubbing, gossiping, and exclusion from groups

Direct Aggression (Men)

A form of aggression more common in men involving verbal and physical abuse

Interpersonal Attraction – Five Key Factors

Similarity, proximity, self-disclosure, situational factors, and physical attractiveness are all linked to liking another person

Sternberg's Theory of Love

Consummate love — the fullest form of love — includes intimacy, passion, and commitment

Sternberg's Love Triangle – Romantic Love

Intimacy + Passion (no commitment)

Sternberg's Love Triangle – Companionate Love

Intimacy + Commitment (no passion)

Sternberg's Love Triangle – Fatuous Love

Passion + Commitment (no intimacy)

Sternberg's Love Triangle – Infatuation

Passion only

Sternberg's Love Triangle – Empty Love

Commitment only

Secure Attachment (Adults)

Comfortable with dependence; do not fear closeness or abandonment; ~53% of adults

Avoidant Attachment (Adults)

Uncomfortable with closeness; difficulty trusting and depending on others; ~26% of adults

Anxious Attachment (Adults)

Insecure; worry that partners do not really love them and will leave; ~20% of adults

Disorganized / Avoidant-Fearful Attachment

A mix of avoidant and anxious patterns; flip-flops around commitment; struggles with trust; tends to over-give in relationships