AP PSYCH UNIT 9

attribution theory

explaining someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation (external circumstances) or the person’s disposition (internal characteristics)

fundamental attribution theory

We tend to overestimate personality traits (disposition) and underestimate the influence of the situation when explaining others behavior.

Ex. We tend to think “Crazy Driver,” “Careless Employee” and “Rude Waiter”

Fundamental Attribution Error is less likely to occur in collectivist cultures

Making quick judgements, stereotyping

Actor-observer bias

when its others – blame the person, when it’s you, blame the situation

self-serving bias

explaining our successes by our dispositions (internal) and our failures by the situation (external). We tend to take more credit for the good outcomes.

Ex. A student receiving a test score

If you get an A – you’re intelligent

If you get a D – the questions were unfair

the halo effect

1st impressions matter

Tendency to have one judgement (often an early judgement of a person affect many other attributions that we give them. Ex.- better looking people are more likely to be judged as more intelligent.

just world belief (just world phenomenon)

people get what they deserve

tendency to blame the victim

What goes around comes around

Ex. “What terrible criminals these prisoners must have been to receive such treatment”

Ex. “She should have known better”

attitude

any belief that includes an evaluation of some object, person, or event and predisposes us to act in certain way toward that object, person, or event.

role-playing

when given a new role, you try to follow the social expectations

Ex. Beginning of marriage feels like playing house

Eventually the “role” becomes how you really act

media as providing social scripts

for new roles.

stanford prison study

College kids act out a simulated prison

Randomly assigned to play guards or prisoners

After 2 days, “roles” became more serious and less of an act

Experiment had to be shut down due to cruelty

4 years ago- revelations that the experimenters coaxed some of the guards into doing some of the things that they did.

Questions about whether or not this was an experiment- given that fact that there was no Independent Variable (IV)

central route to persuasion

present information with strong arguments, facts and logic.

peripheral route to persuasion

emphasize emotional appeal, focus on positive feelings, and focus on personal traits.

elaboration likelihood model

a dual process theory describing the change of attitudes

foot in door theory

Small request is made, Small request is agreed to, larger request is made.

You are more likely to agree to the larger request having agreed to the small task.

door in face theory

(compliance strategy)

a large request is made, large request is rejected, more likely to agree with a more reasonable request

Ex. Dad… can I stay out Friday night until 4AM? No way… that’s far too late for you to be out. Then can I stay out until 1 AM?

Norms of Reciprocity

– if people do something nice for you, you feel obligated to do something nice in return

Ex. Someone helps you with homework you want to help them

Ex. Companies that offer free coffee/soda while considering a car OR take clients out to dinner/Panther tickets.

Ex. Free weekend at condo to listen to time share presentation

cognitive dissonance theory

Psychological (often unconscious) discomfort, tension, guilt (dissonance) occurs when we have 2 conflicting thoughts. To reduce this dissonance we changing our attitudes OR changing our behaviors.

Festinger and Carlsmith Study

1950’s – subjects perform boring tasks (Subjects agreed that the task that they performed was boring) and then are paid to tell the incoming subject (actually a confederate) that they enjoyed the task.

After lying to the confederate, the subject was asked to reveal his/her real attitude toward the boring task.

Participants who were paid $20

Lied and told the next person it was so much fun!!

Still found the task boring will later asked about the task

No Dissonance – felt that their payment justified their lies

Participants who were paid $1

Lied and told the next person the task was fun

Later when asked… they reported that the task was actually fun for them.

Those paid $1 experience dissonance and changed their attitudes to match their behaviors (telling others it was fun)

conformity

adjusting one’s behavior to coincide with a group standard.

The chameleon effect- doing what others around you are doing to blend into your environment

Asch’s Line Study

Participant joins group of five seated at a table. The experimenter asks which of three comparison lines is identical to a standard line. On the third question the first 5 “participants” give the same wrong answer. The last participant struggles with what answer to give.

__ findings – More than 1/3 of the time “well meaning college students were willing to call white black.”

Normative Social Influence

conforming to group pressure out of a need for approval and acceptance

price we pay for breaking social norms may be severe.

Ex. Applauding at a play, even if you did not enjoy the performance.

Ex. Standing for the pledge of allegiance

Informational Social Influence

conforming because of a need for information and direction

Conform because others may have more information than we do.

Ex. Getting your political information from a source that appears to know more than you do and is confident about their opinions.

Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Study

Advertisement for a Yale University study that “concerns the effects of punishment on learning.”

Subjects become “teachers.” Their job is to teach and then test the learner on a list of word pairs. The learner is punished for a wrong answer by giving brief electric shocks. After each wrong answer the teacher is to give a higher voltage of shock.

Findings of the study? 63%

“ordinary people can become agents in

a destructive process”

Subjects were debriefed

Milgram repeated the study with new “teachers.” His results were consistent with previous findings (65% fully complied)

What details affected compliance rate?

Legitimate authority figure giving orders

Prestige of the university

The victim is at a distance / Depersonalized

No role models for defiance (subjects did not see any others refuse to shock the learner)

obedience

following direct commands, usually from an authority figure.

social facilitation

improved performance of well known tasks in the presence of others.

Ex. Comedians performing in front of a full house

Ex. Home team fans

Ex. Bowling or Pool

social impairment aka inhibition

when being observed while performing a difficult task performance is hard… making the task seem nearly impossible

Ex. Children that do not read well

Ex. Bowling or Pool

social loafing

tendency for people to exert less effort in a group than when they are individually accountable

Ex. Group projects

deindividuation

the loss of self-restraint occurs when group members feel anonymous, being in a crowd reduces guilt and self-awareness.

Ex. KKK

Ex. Guards in Prison study with sunglasses

Ex. cafeteria food fight

Ex. The armed forces to soldiers

Ex. comments/opinions on the internet

group polarization

the phenomenon in which group interaction reinforces the majority’s point of view and shifts that view to a more extreme position

Ex. MSNBC (liberals)or Fox News (conservatives) and tribalism.

Ex. Internet chat rooms (9/11 Terrorists, Hate groups)

groupthink

Faulty decision making that occurs when a highly cohesive group strives for agreement and avoids critical thinking and inconsistent information

Examples of groupthink

Bay of Pigs invasion

Juries

Invasion of Iraq (2003)

prejudice

an unjustifiable attitude toward a group of people (prejudgement)

ethnocentrism

the practice of regarding one’s own ethnic, racial, or social group as the center of all things

discrimination

when one acts on one’s prejudices (behavior)

Ex. Jim Crow Segregation Laws 1877-1964

Ex. Study showing that Job Applicants with more A-A sounding names were less likely to get called for a interview

ingroup

Us,” people who share a common identity.

outgroup

“Them,” those perceived as different from one’s group

ingroup bias

tendency to favor one's in-group.

scapegoat theory

prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame. Aggression is displaced to another group that often cannot fight back.

Ex. Bullies target the small, introverted kids

Ex. Coaches are blamed for losing a game.

Ex. Jews in Germany

Ex. US Immigrants

outgroup homogeneity

judging members of the ingroup as more diverse than those of the out-groups.

Why? We lack familiarity with the out-group.

other race effect

example of outgroup homogeneity

Thinking that people in your own racial group look very different but other racial groups all look alike.

stereotypes

an overgeneralized belief about a group of people

Can be negative or positive

A byproduct of how we simplify our world

contact theory

The more contact one has with a prejudiced group usually results in lowering prejudice toward that group. Partially because stereotypes become lessened.

Ex. Americans attending desegregated vs. segregated schools.

Ex. CMS teacher requirements for group work

Robber’s Cave Experiment (Sherif Camp Study)

combative boys at summer camp began getting along after working cooperatively toward a shared superordinate goal. This also caused and increased use of cooperative learning (groupwork - with one grade) in schools during integration.

Superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences. (cooperation becomes required).

“Remember The Titans” movie is an outstanding example of this

Players on integrated teams in the 1950’s/60’s

economic inequalities

When people have money, power, and prestige and others do not, the “haves” develop attitudes that justify their position. In extreme cases slave owners perceived slaves as innately lazy, ignorant and irresponsible.

implicit bias

biases that we are not aware of that affect and control our behaviors.

vivid cases

how quickly and clearly an actual example comes to your mind.

Blue collar vs. white collar crimes.

According to the FBI, street crimes (ex. robbery) cost society $15 billion/yr. compared to embezzlement and stock manipulation which costs $1 trillion/yr.

frustration-aggression principle

frustration, the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal, creates anger, which generates aggression.

Ex. Correlation between economic inequality and aggression

instrumental aggression

premeditated used as a means to an end

Ex.- a soccer player aggressively tackles a player to try to win the ball.

hostile aggression

mpulsive behavior that is motivated by a desire to hurt someone.

Ex.- fighting or bullying someone

passionate love

an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship.

companionate love

deep affectionate attachment we feel for those whom our lives are intertwined.

mere exposure effect

the more we are exposed to something the more we will come to like it.

Ex. New product that has been advertised on radio and TV. If you have heard these ads (been exposed) then you are more likely to buy it.

Ex. Candidate that spends more money on campaign much more likely to win

Ex. College lecture hall and people that were in same room

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

Ex. Firefighters during 9/11

social exchange theory

our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. We decide how to give and take.

Ex. Volunteer work is use by some as a status symbol (we have enough $ that I don’t need to work) OR to show others what a good person they are OR to relieve unconscious guilt of there privileged position.

social responsibility norm

The expectation that we should help those who need our help

EX.- Europeans and asylum seekers, poor and

vulnerable.

social trap

a situation in which the conflicting parties, each pursuing their own self-interests, become caught in mutually destructive behavior.

The Prisoner’s Dilemma

the prisoner’s dilemma

Two prisoners are accused of a crime. If one confesses and the other does not, the one who confesses will be released immediately and the other will spend 20 years in prison. If neither confesses, each will be held only a few months. If both confess, they will each be jailed 15 years.

bystander’s effect (aka bystander intervention)

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

Ex. Kitty Genovese Murder in Queens, NY

diffusion of responsibility

people feel less responsible to act with more people present.

pluralistic ignorance

People define appropriate behavior by observing others.