Social Psychology: Theories, Biases, and Self-Perception

What is sociometer theory?

Self-esteem acts like a monitor of social acceptance and rejection.

What happens to self-esteem after social acceptance?

Self-esteem tends to increase.

What happens to self-esteem after social rejection?

Self-esteem tends to decrease.

What did Leary et al. (1995) test?

Whether perceived social acceptance or rejection changes self-esteem.

What is Gilbert's Stage Model?

Attribution happens in two stages: an automatic internal attribution, followed by correction for the situation.

What happens in Gilbert's Stage 1?

You automatically make an internal/personality-based attribution.

What happens in Gilbert's Stage 2?

You consider situational factors and correct your initial attribution if needed.

What are Kelley's three pieces of information?

CDC — Consensus, Distinctiveness, Consistency.

What does consensus ask?

Do other people behave the same way?

What does distinctiveness ask?

Does this person behave this way only in this situation?

What does consistency ask?

Does this happen every time this situation occurs?

What is the main difference between Gilbert and Kelley?

Gilbert = stages/process. Kelley = information/patterns.

What is cognitive dissonance?

The uncomfortable feeling caused by a conflict between your beliefs/attitudes and your behavior.

How can behavior change attitudes?

When behavior conflicts with your beliefs, you experience dissonance and may change your attitude to reduce the discomfort.

What is insufficient justification?

Not having enough external reason or reward to explain why you behaved a certain way.

What is a classic insufficient-justification example?

You dislike a class but tell someone the class is good for only $1. Since $1 isn't enough justification, you may change your attitude and convince yourself the class isn't actually that bad.

What is confirmation bias?

Favoring information that supports your existing beliefs while ignoring or discounting information that disagrees.

What is an example of confirmation bias?

A Panthers fan focuses on articles predicting the team will be good and ignores articles saying they will struggle.

What is the fundamental attribution error?

Overestimating personal causes and underestimating situational causes when explaining someone else's behavior.

What is an example of the fundamental attribution error?

A classmate is late and you assume they're lazy instead of considering traffic or an emergency.

What is an internal/dispositional attribution?

Explaining behavior using characteristics of the person.

What is an example of an internal attribution?

"He failed because he is lazy."

What is an external/situational attribution?

Explaining behavior using circumstances or the environment.

What is an example of an external attribution?

"He failed because the test was unusually difficult."

What does the Theory of Planned Behavior explain?

How beliefs influence intentions, which then influence behavior.

What are the 3 TPB predictors of intention?

Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Perceived Behavioral Control.

What is attitude in TPB?

Your positive or negative evaluation of the behavior.

What is subjective norm?

Your perception of what important people think you should do.

What is perceived behavioral control?

Your belief that you can actually perform the behavior.

What comes after the 3 TPB predictors?

Behavioral intention → behavior.

What is the full TPB sequence?

Attitude + Subjective Norm + Perceived Behavioral Control → Intention → Behavior.

What is an easy way to remember the TPB model?

"I want to, they want me to, I can → I'm going to → I did it."

What does pancultural self-enhancement mean?

The tendency for people across different cultures to view themselves positively.

What does "pancultural" mean?

Across cultures.

What does "self-enhancement" mean?

Having a tendency to view yourself positively.

What was the purpose of Sedikides et al. (2003), Study 1?

To investigate whether self-enhancement occurs across different cultures.

What did the researchers hypothesize?

That people from different cultures would show self-enhancement.

What did participants do in the study?

They rated themselves on different characteristics and compared themselves with others.

What was the result of the study?

The study found evidence of self-enhancement across cultures.

Why was the result important?

It suggested that viewing yourself positively is not limited to one particular culture.

What is the self-concept?

Your beliefs and ideas about who you are.

What is self-esteem?

How positively or negatively you evaluate yourself.

What is self-efficacy?

Your belief that you can successfully perform a specific task or behavior.

What is an attitude?

A positive or negative evaluation of something.

What is a schema?

A mental framework or "file folder" that helps you organize and understand information.

What is a heuristic?

A mental shortcut used to make quick judgments or decisions.